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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenobi65" data-source="post: 3139661" data-attributes="member: 1515">Certainly.  Salary alone isn't a pure predictor of success.- Up-and-coming stars are usually relatively low-paid (see the success of Cleveland in 2005, or the Marlins this year, with bottom-tier salaries).  If a team is full of young stars, they can succeed with low salaries for a time; as those players become due for new contracts, either the team's salary rises as they pay to retain those players, or the players chase contracts elsewhere, and the team's performance predictably declines (see the Expos of the early '90s).- All too frequently, players with big salaries are fundamentally being retroactively compensated for past performance -- i.e., you put up a few good seasons, you strike it rich on your next contract.  This is particularly true of high-paid players in their mid-30s or older...while some still perform at a high level, many do see their skills diminish.  (This seems to be the problem that plagued the Yankees through the '80s, btw...overspending on free agents who were past their prime).- One of the big factors in a successful season is avoiding injuries...and a lot of of that is pure luck.  Some high-salary teams may have a big chunk of that salary base tied up in players who aren't contributing (see Cubs).Bwah-hah-hah-hah!</blockquote>