We’ll be conducting some live data tests over the next couple weeks, so if you own the iPhone app, you may see a few spring training games show up here and there. I think we’re only testing a few Grapefruit League games each day.
Same goes for our live scoreboard.
On the iPhone app this year, we also have the complete schedule for the year, instead of just the current days games.
RotoGraphs is now accepting applications for fantasy baseball writers. These are paid, part-time positions that require a commitment of five posts per week. We are specifically looking for writers with knowledge of multiple fantasy formats, who are comfortable with writing strategy-based articles.
Writers may be asked to tackle specific topics as assigned, but a big part of the job is to independently develop interesting topics and ideas on a regular basis. Strong writing skills and the ability to write clean copy are important along with a familiarity of the statistics found on FanGraphs.
To apply, please send us email with your background and why you’d like to write for us. Please include anything you think will be helpful in evaluating your application such as: writing samples, links to current blogs, fantasy experience, resume, etc….
Interested writers can contact us (David Appelman and Marc Hulet) at wanted+rotographs@fangraphs.com with the heading RotoGraphs Application 2010.
I was having some fun with the FAN projections and thought it might be neat to attempt to see where the visitors here at FanGraphs have collectively ranked the teams based on the individual player projections.
Just some quick notes:
– Everything had to be scaled back considerably and evened up for playing time. Pitchers as a whole are projected at about 4 wins too high per team and batters are projected at about 6 wins too high per team. Fielding stats were the most realistic and were only about 1 win too high.
– These standings are also simply based on wins above average (calculated FanGraphs WAR style) and for the most part use the entire projected player pool. Some players with well below 0 WAR were left out and players needed at least 5 ballots to be included.
– I should also note, that I’m posting these as a launching off point for discussion and not much more.
Team Wins Yankees 98 Red Sox 94 Rays 92 Orioles 78 Blue Jays 71 Twins 82 White Sox 79 Tigers 78 Indians 76 Royals 73 Rangers 84 Mariners 83 Athletics 81 Angels 80 Braves 89 Phillies 84 Marlins 80 Mets 78 Nationals 72 Cardinals 88 Cubs 78 Brewers 78 Reds 77 Astros 72 Pirates 68 Rockies 87 Diamondbacks 87 Dodgers 84 Giants 80 Padres 79
And there you have it.
If anyone wants to give these a go, you can always export the FAN Projections and try it out yourself.
Here’s a timeline of FanGraphs I put together for the Second Opinion intro, but just didn’t make it in there. I had totally forgotten that when the site first launched it didn’t even have BABIP (I think it might have been there under a different name: H%).
(click for full size image)
Tangotiger’s poll from insidethebook.com on which 3 year contracts were the best and worst from a team perspective:
FanGraphs Audio is now available on iTunes! You can either search for it and it will show up under podcasts, or you can just follow this link.
I just implemented a very slight change to how we calculate the positional adjustment for WAR. Previously we were calculating it based on full games played at a position. Now it is being calculated by innings played, which is a bit more precise.
This may shift a player’s positional adjustment up or down a run at the most, and will mainly impact multi-position players, but that’s about it.
It’s come to my attention that the Fielding component for the CHONE projections is per 150 games and not a raw total for the season that I, for some reason, thought it to be. The Fielding projections have now been properly adjusted based on projected games.
I’ve also made a few slight changes to the Fan Projections that adjusted some extremely unrealistic ballots, mostly pertaining to players with zero playing time, but who were projected to hit over zero home runs and extra base hits.
There’s a lot going on at FanGraphs each week. This week alone we had 43 posts, rolled out two new features, and made a book announcement. So in case you missed something, here were the highlights:
Splits! – Finally, FanGraphs now has splits data dating back to 2002. They include platoon, home/away, monthly, leverage, batted ball, and spray splits.
2010 Second Opinion – By the end of the month we’ll be releasing our first electronic publication, The FanGraphs Second Opinion: 2010 Fantasy Baseball Companion
FanGraphs Audio – Carson Cistulli hosts our very first podcast where we go roundtabling with Dave Cameron, Matt Klaassen, and Erik Manning.
New Contributors – Joe Pawlikowski checks out why teams are avoiding Jermaine Dye and Alex Remington looks at why signing early is what gets you the big bucks.
Split Analysis Galore – Intro | Mauer | Platoon | Weaver | Gagne | Bonds | Hill | Howard | The Minors | Looper
And on the RotoGraphs Fantasy side of things:
OBP or AVG – Zach Sanders delves into the merits and difficulties of adding On-Base Percentage to your league’s scoring categories.
ADP Values: Center Field Edition – Eno Sarris identifies some of the values to be had at the center field position.
Rzepczynski – David Golebiewski takes a hard look at Marc Rzepczynski and concludes he’s someone to target late in fantasy drafts.
Update: The 2010 Second Opinion is Now Available!
I’m pleased to announce that FanGraphs will be dipping its toes into the publishing world with its very first publication: The FanGraphs Second Opinion: 2010 Fantasy Baseball Companion, or for short, the 2010 Second Opinion.
First let’s get to what’s in it:
– Over 400 in-depth player profiles written by many of the FanGraphs and RotoGraphs contributors you’re already familiar with.
– Articles covering: closer situations, players coming back from injuries, sophomore players to watch, 2010 fantasy prospects, impact trades, the big questions for 2010, and something that Carson wrote, where he answers your questions before you even ask them!
– Stats & Graphs: Each player profile is accompanied by a stat box with 10 very useful stats for both fantasy and real-life player evaluation including spark graphs showing career trends.
– Team previews: Each team is previewed for next season, giving you the rundown on what to expect from a fantasy and real-life standpoint.
The book will first be available for download in PDF format late February for the low price of $7.95. In addition to the PDF, you will have access to all the information in the book on FanGraphs.com when logged in to your FanGraphs account. This information will include the written player profiles which will be integrated into the stats pages and all the articles and team previews in the book.
In addition, some of you may have noticed that FanGraphs has been contributing to ESPN Insider (ESPN’s all sports premium content) this past month with more to come. If you purchase the book and are logged in, you’ll also have access to these articles and future articles we publish on ESPN Insider, on FanGraphs.com, through March 1st, 2011.
As we get closer to the book’s release, there will be more information and sample pages available.
