First Pitch Arizona Preview: Why BABS?

On Saturday, November 5, I will be making a presentation about BABS at First Pitch Arizona. It will be a 45-minute look at what BABS is, why we need it, some 2016 successes and an early look at 2017. Here is an excerpt from the “why we need it” section.  We can’t integrate risk elements…

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My Keeper List Decision

Last week I asked for your help! My decision appears below. I have a keeper list due this Friday, October 21 in advance of the November 4 XFL draft and am still on the fence for my last few picks. This is a great exercise for all of us in using BABS to support the…

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Trout, Freeman pace the field as we enter the homestretch

I should have a little more faith in BABS. She’s been good to me; I should support her even when her ratings seem a little off. To wit: A few weeks ago, I was a guest of Patrick Davitt’s on Baseball HQ Radio. He was looking over the late July BABS update and noticed some…

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This is how I remember it: Baseball HQ’s 20th Anniversary

The following article appears concurrently at BaseballHQ.com. This week celebrates the 20th anniversary of the site’s launch and I was asked to contribute some memories.  Once upon a time, there was no internet. It was a period of great struggle for fantasy leaguers looking for an edge. We had to rely on ancient forms of…

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Ron Shandler on BaseballHQ Radio

I am the featured guest on this week’s BaseballHQ.com podcast, with Patrick Davitt. My segment starts at the 44:50 mark of the 2+ hour pod and it runs for almost an hour. But I give you nearly 7 hours of content because I talk very, very fast. Here are the major topics we discuss: How…

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Luck and the law

Some people make their own luck and some have luck thrust upon them. We all resign ourselves to the fact that winning in this game requires a good amount of the “L” word, though there is some disagreement over how much. 25%? 33%? 50%? 75%? I’ve always felt close to the 33% figure, but the…

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Deconstructing an Outwardly Lopsided Trade

I run polls on this site because the results often fascinate me. There was no better an example this past week with my fake case study regarding a keeper league trade decision. I asked: You own hot prospect Alex Bregman in a keeper league in which you still have 2016 title hopes. The last place…

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The 9 Rookie Trajectories

Last month at ESPN.com, I wrote a piece about how difficult it is to project young players when they are first promoted to the majors. As much as we’d like to draw conclusions based on minor league performance or scouting reports, they are faulty indicators for future success. BABS essentially throws her hands up, shakes…

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Donaldson, Bradley pace June BABS leaders

Nearly halfway through the season and we are seeing many players’ performances settle down to the levels we had expected in the pre-season. A reminder about how to use the chart: Batters and pitchers, individually, are ranked by skill, regardless of playing time. In this way, you can identify the skills tiers and cherry pick…

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Why I hate FAAB

This article was originally published at BaseballHQ.com on June 10, 2005. My opinion has not changed. Sometimes I can’t believe the things we accept about this game. One of the great allures of playing fantasy — you might even call it the foundation of the game — is the sense of control it gives us.…

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