excellent post...

and that is my point.. players should play relative to each other in the same "ballpark" as their 'real" major league counterparts. It doesn't matter if Mark hits 75 homers in your league, or 20, as long as he is among the leaders.

There is going to be fluctuation because Mark is facing better pitching, but so is every other hitter in the league. Each hitter in PB will not be facing those batting average fattening AAA scrubs that they do in real life, so their numbers should dip.

By the same token, pitchers aren't going to face those hitters that would be better off in Scranton for another year. Since they are facing stronger hitting, their numbers should also suffer.

So we have hitters that should suffer, and pitchers that should suffer, and in the end, things SHOULD balance. You'll have some hitters fairing better, some worse, and the same for pitching.

What you shouldn't have though, is wide statistical anomalies. Mark should ALWAYS be in the top 10, possibly top 5 in homers. If he isn't... then something else has to be looked at.

The same goes for the ERA leaders.

I've been playing sim games for well over a decade (mostly face to face dice leagues, and Diamond Mind baseball) and I do not recall ever hearing so many conversations about statistical inaccuracies. We had a few under/over achievers, but for the most part everyone played within reasonable bounds. I think what makes people upset here is when someone is way beyond (.20 or more points lower in average) a resonable variation.

What I do find humourous is that most people will mention the players that are below their average, but neglect those who outperform.

Jeff Conine for me (W9 - Port Huron) is .050 points ABOVE his seasonal average hitting .340 and this is 125 games through the year! I won't complain about Jeff though! :D

What does bother me, is when I try to trade him to a contender. People ignore that he's hitting .350 but instead see that his "card" shows .290 and then offer me nothing in return for someone who would definitely push a team over the top. By the same token, try to push someone who is hitting .040 points BELOW what they should and people will shy away because he ISN'T performing to his card's stats.

**sigh**

It's a funny game isn't it? :D