DavidMI
19-04-2011, 22:16
I'm a big fan of sabermetrics - not in the shallow, pop internet sense (stating common sense stuff like, "Walks are good!") but in terms of trying to make general observations about baseball and then trying to test it out with the stats.
I'm a semi-regular at such sabermetric sites as:
1) BaseballProspectus.com
This site has really, really fallen in recent years as far as novel research and interesting studies. In fact, they even now have a stupid daily column with all sorts of (supposed) observations - thoroughly unsubstantiated - by (supposed scouts). They don't do any testing of this against stats. This site, under new management the past couple of years, has fallen well behind Fangraphs in terms of its insight and usefulness.
Worse yet, their customer service SUCKS. I've periodically been a "premium" member, and I can NEVER get questions asked. For example, I had questions about their "Defense" stat (did it measure runs saved cost prorated to 162 games, or a just tally it up based upon the dude's playing time?) and also about their "Depth Chart" feature (when the hell are the going to update it? How regularly?) I had several others, too. The scumbags NEVER respond, even though (a) I'm a paying customer and (b) I ask the questions politely and coherently.
In short, Baseball Prospectus is existing off of their past reputation alone: the company as it currently exists is junk. That's my opinion.
2) Fangraphs
Awesome site. Just awesome. They provide great stats, great projections, and a diverse array of insights - almost all of which is totally free. To illustrate just how much they've blown by BP, they are clearly the default source of Pitch F/X analysis. Conversely, BP has almost none - and no comprehensive stats that I'm aware of.
3) TheHardballTimes.com
This is an okay site, but one standout thing they have is the Oliver projection system, which is one of the best, I believe. It costs $15 (which I paid for), but their customer service is great. For instance, I was able to ask the system's creator direct questions to help me clarify some things.
Beyond Oliver, most of the best stuff at THT is in their archives - about four and five years ago, they had some really great articles.
4) BaseballAnalysts.com
This is a rarely-updated site, but they have great summaries of all the old Bill James Abstracts, and they periodically have great stuff.
Anyway, this past year I was doing a lot of research on baserunning and defense, and so I spent a lot of time there. If anybody has any thoughts or opinions, I'll be happy to have a discourse.
I'm a semi-regular at such sabermetric sites as:
1) BaseballProspectus.com
This site has really, really fallen in recent years as far as novel research and interesting studies. In fact, they even now have a stupid daily column with all sorts of (supposed) observations - thoroughly unsubstantiated - by (supposed scouts). They don't do any testing of this against stats. This site, under new management the past couple of years, has fallen well behind Fangraphs in terms of its insight and usefulness.
Worse yet, their customer service SUCKS. I've periodically been a "premium" member, and I can NEVER get questions asked. For example, I had questions about their "Defense" stat (did it measure runs saved cost prorated to 162 games, or a just tally it up based upon the dude's playing time?) and also about their "Depth Chart" feature (when the hell are the going to update it? How regularly?) I had several others, too. The scumbags NEVER respond, even though (a) I'm a paying customer and (b) I ask the questions politely and coherently.
In short, Baseball Prospectus is existing off of their past reputation alone: the company as it currently exists is junk. That's my opinion.
2) Fangraphs
Awesome site. Just awesome. They provide great stats, great projections, and a diverse array of insights - almost all of which is totally free. To illustrate just how much they've blown by BP, they are clearly the default source of Pitch F/X analysis. Conversely, BP has almost none - and no comprehensive stats that I'm aware of.
3) TheHardballTimes.com
This is an okay site, but one standout thing they have is the Oliver projection system, which is one of the best, I believe. It costs $15 (which I paid for), but their customer service is great. For instance, I was able to ask the system's creator direct questions to help me clarify some things.
Beyond Oliver, most of the best stuff at THT is in their archives - about four and five years ago, they had some really great articles.
4) BaseballAnalysts.com
This is a rarely-updated site, but they have great summaries of all the old Bill James Abstracts, and they periodically have great stuff.
Anyway, this past year I was doing a lot of research on baserunning and defense, and so I spent a lot of time there. If anybody has any thoughts or opinions, I'll be happy to have a discourse.