Chicago ? As Memorial Day approached a year ago, the Cubs and White Sox were on relatively even footing. Oh, the Sox were off to a fast start, and the Cubs were already giving up ground to St. Louis, but over the longer perspective both were being guided by long-standing ownership groups with nothing to brag about.

Using World Series appearances as a measuring stick, none of Major League Baseball’s active ownership groups had been as unsuccessful for as long as the two in Chicago. That pain was one of the few things that brought fans of the White Sox and Cubs together.

But now there’s only one.

That raises a question: In the end, what made the difference? Why could Jerry Reinsdorf’s ownership group succeed with the Sox while Tribune Co. still fails with the Cubs?

“I hate to use the phrase, but the hungry dog runs the fastest,” said Jerome Holtzman, the Hall of Fame Chicago baseball writer who now serves as historian for Major League Baseball. “The White Sox certainly haven’t been well fed.”

Holtzman, eloquently making a case that has been a talk-radio favorite for years, believes the Cubs are not as motivated to put together a championship team because their popularity in the last two decades allows them to fill Wrigley Field even in their down years. The White Sox, he believes, gained a hard edge – from the ownership suite to the clubhouse – because they often felt treated like second-class citizens.

For only the second time since 1998, the White Sox have a larger total payroll than the Cubs – $102.8 million to $94.4 million, according to USA Today’s figures.

Because Sox general manager Ken Williams shrewdly has the Phillies, Yankees and Diamondbacks paying significant portions of some player salaries, the Cubs still expend slightly more on payroll than the Sox.

As recently as 2004, Sammy Sosa’s last year in Chicago, Tribune Co. was investing $25 million more in payroll than Reinsdorf’s group. The Cubs spent more than twice as much as the Sox in salaries in the years 1999 and 2000, yet it was the White Sox who had the playoff team in 2000.

Over the last decade, the Cubs have spent an average of $69.9 million on payroll, compared with $56.4 million for the White Sox. Given the difference in available resources between Tribune Co. and the collection of businessmen Reinsdorf heads, it is surprising the Cubs haven’t outspent the Sox by more.

But an examination of finances tells you only so much. It’s clear Reinsdorf and his management team have been better stewards of their resources than the various decision-makers who have overseen Tribune Co.’s baseball branch.

Holtzman mentions Randy Hundley, Billy Williams and Joe Girardi as former Cubs who could have been brought into prominent positions, either in the dugout or the front office. Mark Grace is another, but he left angry.

Williams, a Hall of Famer who as a coach contributed to Sosa’s success, quietly sought the manager’s position when the Cubs brought in Don Baylor and Baker. He was bypassed and largely serves only in a ceremonial capacity these days.

“They should have let him try,” Holtzman said. “They could have given him a shot. What’s the difference between Billy Williams and Kenny Williams?”

Maybe it’s as simple as this: One works for a corporation and the other for a fully involved owner with a lifelong passion for baseball.