Diamond Draft (free download, $13 to get the full player database... so $13 ) is really very very cool. I was extremely impressed - gives you many many ways to evaluate players, customize stats, refer to previous year stats, etc. Tracks things during the draft so you can see how each team is doing statistically - it updates the projected standings based on the projected stats of each team's drafted players, etc. Well worth the $13.
"The government cannot give to anyone anything that it does not first take from someone else"
It's not too bad except for the price is a little high, I think maybe 60 or 70 bucks, but is customizable with constant updates for the software and keeps track of pretty much anything you need it to
I noticed that Baseball Prospectus' 2007 Guide is currently being offered at Amazon.com for $11.97 (40% off of MSRP). The scheduled release/ship date for the book is tomorrow.
My question for you guys is - is the book worth the cover price? I realize that it's impossible to comment on this year's edition as it isn't released yet (but may be by the time some of you read this); however, what about those of you who have purchased in years past?
Am I really going to get anything extra out of the book that I don't already have with my Rotoworld Online Draft Guide? Is it just stats, or are there decent player blurbs and articles, too? I'm also intrigued by Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster, but from what I've read, I think it might be a little too statistical for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy baseball, but math has never been a huge interest of mine.
Any and all information and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
THANKS!
"When you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's when you know you are a bad man." -Manuel A. Ramirez
I'm not real sure how those links got in there, all I know is that I didn't do it! It must be some sort of Cafe auto-feature or something. If I'd have done it, I would have at least linked to the 2007 editions.
"When you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's when you know you are a bad man." -Manuel A. Ramirez
Super Manny wrote:I noticed that Baseball Prospectus' 2007 Guide is currently being offered at Amazon.com for $11.97 (40% off of MSRP). The scheduled release/ship date for the book is tomorrow.
My question for you guys is - is the book worth the cover price? I realize that it's impossible to comment on this year's edition as it isn't released yet (but may be by the time some of you read this); however, what about those of you who have purchased in years past?
Am I really going to get anything extra out of the book that I don't already have with my Rotoworld Online Draft Guide? Is it just stats, or are there decent player blurbs and articles, too? I'm also intrigued by Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster, but from what I've read, I think it might be a little too statistical for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy baseball, but math has never been a huge interest of mine.
Any and all information and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
THANKS!
It does have short player blurbs, which I find both entertaining and informative. (Last year, they wrote: "The street signs in Tampa Bay now read Stop and McClung")
I don't know whether you'll find it worthwhile, but I like it the most of the ones I get. My copy's been pre-ordered for months and I'm psyched that it is on the way.
BP IS more wordy than Forecaster (both are funny as heck too, totally amusing humor is all over the place in both of them...) but Forecaster is pretty darn interesting too...
The Forecaster methodology is to look for 'skills', by tracking (and projecting...) some traditional stats (eg bb, K, HR) but also including ground ball, line drive and fly ball rates (expressed as a %...) in a comon sensical manner that I find extremely engaging to show how players are developing. An example I recall from last year was that Sexson was hitting more FB the prior year...but less HR, from which they concluded that he was not as strong b/c 10% of FP should equal HR. They seem to make this work for both batters and pitchers and have enough traditional stats included to make it a pretty useful means of getting a good snapshot of guys for comparison purposes.
This also allows them to conclude that some people, with a hit rate (another %age...) below the average were 'unlucky' and might be expected to improve while others who had an above average rate could reasonably be expected to regress to the mean or therabouts.
OMG, the free updated projections are up at BaseballHQ.com too...*drools*
It is my understanding that there is also quite a bit of math behind the BP stats but I don't think that they lay quite as much of it out on the page for you to drool on. I like to get both, it's mostly entertainment as I have kind of given up trying to formulate a systematic approach to 'using' them but just read through them several times. It may be a bit dicey getting full comprehension of BP in a week between when I should get it and our auction though...
AcidRock23 wrote:It is my understanding that there is also quite a bit of math behind the BP stats but I don't think that they lay quite as much of it out on the page for you to drool on. I like to get both, it's mostly entertainment as I have kind of given up trying to formulate a systematic approach to 'using' them but just read through them several times. It may be a bit dicey getting full comprehension of BP in a week between when I should get it and our auction though...
Yes, except in some of the BP articles, the math is pretty minimal. I like that they provide minor league stats translated into major league equivalents for players who have not played too many years in the majors. BP's method, contrasted to Forecaster, uses a sophisticated methodology to compare current players to past players. It then generates a career path for each player based on these similar players.
I find it useful while preparing for a draft but I also find it very useful during the season. The book is broken down by team with a two page overview of the organization focusing on what they did last year and during the offseason. They then provide stats and about a paragraph description of most players in each organization (hitters then pitchers). They also have a number of interesting baseball articles at the back of the book and finally they have ranked analysis of the best prospects in the game.
During the season last year, if I had an opening on my team due to injuries or general suckiness the information on the prospects was very helpful. Verlander, Liriano, Hamels,... I was able to quickly and quietly pick them all up during the season. Also when considering available free agents, it's very helpful to have a quick analysis available for each player.
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by pokeyjoe » Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:18 pm 
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) is really very very cool. I was extremely impressed - gives you many many ways to evaluate players, customize stats, refer to previous year stats, etc. Tracks things during the draft so you can see how each team is doing statistically - it updates the projected standings based on the projected stats of each team's drafted players, etc. Well worth the $13.
