peter

Fantasy baseball advice for those who ask.

Baseball Prospectus | Unfiltered

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Christina Kahrl gets mad at fantasy baseball

Ten years ago when people got mad at fantasy baseball it was possible to blame ignorance of the game, but recent spiels by George Vecsy and this one from Christina Kahrl of BP are mind-bogglingly daft (as irrational as Murray Chass ripping on Win Above Replacement as a measure of a player’s value).

There is no special virtue to real baseball fandom, and no decadent inevitability to following your fantasy team. What Christina derides as the mindless accumulating of points rather than the apparently higher calling of putting together a winning baseball team is, as Baseball Prospectus has done much to prove over the years, very similar to the putting together of a winning baseball team.

I’m a big fan of the BP blog, Unfiltered. The shorter format and less formal setting showcase the BP talents much better than the longer form pieces, at least on a daily basis. Even Christina’s misguided spew is sort of fun. Just don’t give it credit for any real thought, it’s really just a ladle of tomato-y gravy.

Fantasy 411: Ask Rotoman

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This Week’s Column

Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Should I dump young pitchers? Should I dump old pitchers? Can I dump all pitchers? Some thoughts on how to handle the inevitable disappointments this week on Ask Rotoman.

League Standings

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AMERICAN DREAM LEAGUE

I’m pretty sure the link will dead end, but the point is that last night 7 ADL teams were within 1.5 points of first place (I was 7th). 20 minutes ago I checked in and I was in 1st place. Five minues later I was in fourth (.5 behind a three-way tie).

I hope your league is as competitive, but the real lesson is that this early in the season little changes make big differences. I can’t help but feel exhilerated when my Bad Ks are in first, or depleted when they sink to third, but at this point in the season the changes are pretty meaningless.

This is the time to prey on those who mistake a slow start for disaster.

Is Age the Problem?

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Baseball Musings

David Pinto doesn’t present any evidence that age is the reason for the drop in offensive production, he’s just spitballing here, but the accompanying chart, which shows average age per plate appearance from 1871 to last year, is eye opening. Not an answer, but a jumping off point for scores of questions.

Ask Rotoman at MLB.com

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The Official Site of Major League Baseball

The new one is posted, with a defense of lowballing closers, a look at early-season speed and some pattern analysis of the Matt Murton/Cliff Floyd platoon.

Ice Nine

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The link is to a page about the scientific qualities of ice, which relates to Ice Nine, which Kurt Vonnegut invented for his novel Cat’s Cradle. I had a serious collision with Vonnegut’s novels in the winter of 1975, during which I worked the graveyard shift in a Shell Station in San Francisco. Huddled overnight on a chaise lounge with an electric heater at my feet, I read Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five and the rest of them in the wee hours, waiting impatiently for the man driving the donut truck to stop in for a fill up.

I didn’t realize then just how fabulously kind it was that he dropped off still-warm donuts nearly every night I worked, though I certainly appreciated them. I appreciated Vonnegut then, too, though he later became more of an activist gadfly model than a writer model for me.

Maybe it’s time to read Cat’s Cradle again.

Heater Magazine – Home

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Issue No. 1 2007

Looking for batting order information for Matt Murton and Cliff Floyd earlier today I remembered that Heater Magazine has such stuff. I nipped over to www.heatermagazine.com, downloaded the giant weekly compendium of stats, charts, baseball writing, more charts, graphs, lists and more charts and found exactly what I was looking for. Plus the writing of this year’s Guide rookies, Craig Brown and Jeff Sackman, and the always excellent Dave Studeman and Deric McCamey.

There’s also a Saturday supplement. This is what Baseball Weekly might have done with their stat pages, but instead John Burnson put it together. It’s cheap. Just $19 samoleans for the whole season.

The only problem is that all the information really makes me want to have one of those 30″ Apple CinemaDisplays on my desk. But even without it, this is one useful bunch of baseball/fantasy information.

Ps. I don’t make any money on this. It’s just highly recommended.

Last Patton $ on Disk 2007 Update is Live

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Ask Rotoman News

For those who have been tracking the P$oD07 updates all spring, the final one was posted last night. It includes the Patton software, merge files for those looking for updated bid prices from Alex Patton, Rotoman, and Mike Fenger, my latest (and last) projections for the year, and text lists and an Excel file for those who simply want the stuff.

Thanks to all of this year ‘s and future customers. May you kick butt all season long.

The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball Blog

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Francisco Rodriguez doctoring the ball

Sure, Derek Zumsteg is flogging his book about cheating in baseball, and I don’t have the video to see the more convincing evidence, but is it coincidence that in his first appearance after this brouhaha began K-Rod allowed a game-losing dinger? [thanks baseballmusings.com] 

Ask Rotoman at mlb.com

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The Official Site of Major League Baseball

The new column is posted, in which I pick Clay Hensley over Cole Hamels mere hours before Hamels makes an impressive season debut. Oh well, it’s a long year and I’m in it for the duration. You’ll also find some talk about Jorge Cantu, BJ Upton and the advantages of getting off to a quick start.