Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
In my third year with one of the lowest payrolls in the league, I've taken my team after two straight 81-81 finishes to a 13 game lead in the division at the end of July. And I only made a couple of changes from last year, nothing earth shattering. So, why, with only a couple of changes would an 81-81 team be up by 13 playing nearly .700 ball?
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What's your Pythagorean record in comparison to your actual record? How's the rest of your division doing in comparison?
As to a low payroll team leading its division, this happens in the real world too on occasion. Look no further than this year's Tampa Bay Rays who had the second lowest payroll in MLB on opening day ($43.8 million). In comparison, the Yankees opened the season with a $209 million payroll, Detroit with $138.7 million, the Mets with $138.3 million, and Boston with $133.4 million.
Something else to consider in OOTP is the spread between the top and bottom payrolls; it tends to be narrower than is the case currently in MLB. The ratio of #1 to #30 in MLB at the opening of the 2008 season was 9.59:1 ($209 million to $21.8 million); the ratio of #2 to #30 was 6.36:1 ($133.8 million to $21.8 million). The ratio of #2 to #29 was still a considerable 3.17:1 ($138.7 million to $43.8 millon).
From what I recall, the spreads in OOTP of highest team payroll to lowest team payroll typical come out around to 3:1 or lower, which is far closer than in reality (which I feel is an issue within the financial model).