I tend to lean alias. I've been a baseball fan since a small child. I fully understand stats and how they equate to the GAME of baseball. However, my first SLB team finished 55-107 because I had no idea how this game worked. However, if someone read the forums, researched the good teams and learned the game before they started, they could be successful. But I don't think many people do that. They see the game and want to play. Doing all the other stuff would be like reading the instructions for Madden before playing a game. No one does that.