Posts Tagged ‘fantasy baseball’
The Ethics of Tanking
In many leagues, free agents are awarded to teams in reverse order of the standings. This is intended to promote some measure of parity during the season and keep all teams engaged. The practice is common and helps a league’s bottom-dwellers stay competitive despite encountering bad luck, particularly if an owner has been hard-hit by…
Read MoreComing to terms with who BABS is
She’s my mistress, I know. Many of us have found great value in BABS, but we have also been trying to make her into someone else. We’re not satisfied with all that she provides us; we need her to give us more. It took me a few weeks in the Mediterranean to realize that maybe…
Read MoreThe Tactical Power of Doing Nothing
The following story is going to sound irrelevant, but bear with me… I recently joined a small band with some friends in my community. There are five of us: a lead guitarist, a rhythm guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. I play the keyboard. We are all in our 50s and 60s, none are professionals…
Read MoreMid-Season Rotisserie All Stars
This is my final ESPN contribution for the 2017 season. Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, Jose Altuve and Max Scherzer are players most fantasy leaguers drafted in the first round. Through mid-season, they are earning back their owners’ investments – congratulations! But as much as it’s nice to have players like these on your roster, they…
Read MoreSearching for asset group values
For the most part, BABS has done well so far this year. It has not been an easy road. The skyrocketing disabled list visits have skewed performance metrics and laid waste to playing time expectations. For instance, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard and Yu Darvish all came into the season in the (ER,K+) asset group, but…
Read MorePitcher attrition and bullpen fallout
Here is my ESPN piece for this week. As of today, 41 percent of the pre-season Top 300 have been disabled, demoted or designated for assignment. That’s only about 10 players away from the 44 percent attrition accumulated over a full season in 2010. We are on pace for about 70 percent turnover of our…
Read MoreThe dwindling 200-IP pitcher
This week’s BABS-enhanced ESPN piece. Here is the stat for today: In 2016, there were 61 pitchers from among the ADP Top 300 who spent some time on the disabled list. Just 11 weeks into this season, there are already 52 pitchers from the Top 300 who’ve spent some time on the shelf. That stat…
Read MoreIs a .400 BABIP sustainable?
My ESPN column for the week. Batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is one of those leading indicator metrics that can identify potential outlying performances. It is not a perfect gauge, but extremes are rarely sustainable. Pitchers’ BABIPs tend to regress to something near .300. Batters’ BABIPs tend to regress to their own established…
Read MoreNew views on in-season BABS
We are 10 weeks in and the BABS database was updated over the weekend. Your survey results have gotten me to rethink how we use BABS during the season, so I’ve started to reimagine different presentations of the data. First, some clarifications from recent reader emails. The “2017p” line in the database represents our pre-season…
Read MoreFirst round churn after 9 weeks
This is my ESPN Insider column for the week. There is a harsh reality we must buy into: about two-thirds of the players we draft in the first round will not earn back their draft spot. In a 15-team league, that means 10 owners will take a loss on their first round pick; only five…
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