[QuikSand]

It's been a few versions since I played OOTP, so I know I am woefully out of touch. Regardless, I bought the latest version, and have started a career in the NABA universe. I am seeing some weirdness, and am hoping that I can either be calmed down (probably by evidencing my own mistake or stupidity) or that I can be convinced that the weirdness I'm seeing is either no big deal or just something we suck it up and deal with.

Setup -- I took over the Baltimore club, and had a cheap 2B on a one year deal for 2001. I looked him over -- not really impressive hitting ratings by my scout, but he did seem to get one base and had some wheels, and posted a +7 VORP, which isn't so bad. So, I offered him a cheap three year extension - each year under $1m - and figured I'd lock him up as maybe a utility infielder, pinch runner, or whatever for that price. In 2002, for lack of options, he ends up being my starting 2B, and posts a pretty respectable season as my leadoff man -- OBP of about .370, 60 SB, and a VOPR of over 9. I'm perfectly pleased with this production, of course.

What I don't get is the "star" rating for him as a prospect/talent. At the end of 2000, I'm quite sure that he was rated as a 1-star player. Mid-season, I noticed he had been upped to a 5-star player. At the end of the same season, on the DL for a few months, he is now showing up as a 3-star player. How does any of this make any sense?

I guess I can live with a low-talent player putting up a couple years of stats that suggest he's better than we all though. And I can live with the notion that the guy just got really lucky and he will come to earth soon. But I don't see any way that a given player can very basically from the top to the bottom of the player rating system in a matter of a few months.


So... I found a lot of stuff here on the latest OOTP game, and obviously a ton at their forums, but I don't really know that I want to do another master's thesis. I'd just like to know... is this just part of the game, and the sort of thing I need to ignore if I'm going to try to enjoy my OOTP baseball universe?