World Series

The Yankees got beat lastnight in the ALCS by the Boston Red Sox. It is clear that the Yankees are the most popular team in baseball, even though other teams are catching up quickly. If you look at merchandise sales the Yankees are always at the top. My question is this. With the Yankees not in the World Series this year is this going to hurt the ratings in the Series? Obviously the Red Sox are popular too, but do they draw as many fans as the Yankees do? Also, because of the Red Sox winning the ALCS, and the Yankees struggles to win a World Series for awhile now will this cause merchandise sales to go a different way?