Starting German against the Astros was odd, and so was sitting Stanton, DJ and Rizzo each for one game. Almost as if they weren't treating these as big games.
You're mis-reading what the statement is saying.
Out of all the last place teams in the history of MLB, which one had the highest payroll? Not the highest payroll in baseball that year, but the highest of all these last place teams.
Here's a fun example on what's being talked about.
In the 2007 regular season the Yankees swept Cleveland 6-0, outscoring them 49-17.
In the 2007 ALDS Cleveland beat the Yankees 3-1.