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Yes, the current monetary system is skewed wildly so the "skill" of having the largest population (market) is way to big a factor in determining utlimate outcomes on the field.
But, until that changes, the system still allows poorer (maybe not poorest) teams to "get good" via draft and farm systems. 
What the poorer teams cannot do is "stay good".  Staying good is where the big wallet wins the day.  Anaheim, Texas, Tampa, Minnesota ... all of these teams GOT good with relatively low payrolls.  They all leveraged the flexibility of instantly disposable "free" players to pull together enough good young talent "simultaneously" to avoid the Pittsburgh/Royals trap of producing only a couple of decent kids at a time and then trading away the next wave of youth for civics too soon.
It is impossible for the small markets to compete in any way other than massing "free" talent.  The skill is in development and timing.  You cannot win if you start bleeding the first wave of youth before the next wave is ready. 
But, it is also impossible for a small market team to "stay" competitive without payroll bloat.  Nobody can hold on to a couple of $17 million a year guys and maintain a $50 million payroll. 
For me, the financial aspect may be the underlying cause of the slow demise of baseball --- but I believe the largest impact on fans IS the Seinfeld effect.  The NFL has a system where the "stars" continue to stay with a single team throughout their careers.  Peyton=Colts; Emmitt=Cowboys; Favre=Packers ... (and when a guy like Favre moves on in the NFL, it becomes big news and almost comical in its sideshow essense).
AROD ... Griffey ... Fielder ... Tex ... Unit ... Cliff Lee ... these are Hall of Famers who switched teams at the peak of their careers.  The economic idiocy completely prevents the majority of teams from having a reasonable chance of holding onto a Hall of Famer.  It's actually a BETTER fan experience to lose year after year, but get to watch Murphy and Horner every year than it is to watch Brian Giles get good ... then traded ... then Bay (traded) ... or Beltran (raided) ... or Fielder (raided).
Maybe you get lucky and your team manages to reach the post season before the 1% take away *your* superstar.  But, I would argue the utter disdain by the Florida Marlin fans for their team demonstrates that the pull of loyalty and familiarity of a player owned has greater positive residual impact than actually winning a World Series.
I believe, effectively getting a new expansion team every decade (because you fire sale your roster after each title) creates a fan experience no different than randomly throwing darts at a board to determine which team you will follow for the next 10 years.  The fan experience is about a lot more than simply cheering for the guys that play 81 games nearby.