I don't see anything wrong with knowing how the game works so that you can optimize your players or out maneuver your opponent.

Here is an excerpt from PB's own strategy guide:
"People often use things without a clear idea of how they work. Most of us know about stoves, fewer fathom the TV set and fewer still truly understand personal computer. Most of the time, we don't need to know. This is especially true of games. You don't need to know how the Quake II graphics engine produces that aggressive creature charging toward you with lethal intent. The strategy for killing it before it gets you first is what's required. Sports simulations are often the exception. Managers have a particularly close relationship with the games they play. The emotional investment in a draft league team is tremendous and may last for decades. That's probably why most cyber managers want to understand the inner workings of their favorite sims. (Some are hoping to find some sort of edge in the workings of the game, but that's for the advanced course.)"

I think that people forget that this is a strategic simulation where building a team is only part of the game. Once you have those resouces assembled, you must be able to use them efficiently. Those that can find ways to squeeze every last drop of value from all the players they have available to them will be ahead of the game.

There are many quirks and subtle strategies that you can use in PB to give your team an advantage, especially against managers who do not take the time to research or even pay attention to how the game works. The person who mentioned the long standing history of real baseball managers stretching the boundries of the rule book is absolutely right. I've heard stories of teams (long ago) going so far as to move the outfield fences in and out depending on the opponents they were facing. The rule book is always evolving in real life as well as in PB. As certian strategies become a problem, new rules are adopted. Until those changes are made, it only makes sense to give your team the best opportunity to win.

Here's a real world scenario for you, managers that don't win get fired no matter how ethical they are.