Rotoblog

Hey there. How you doin’?

So I’ll be using this blog to post information about updates and feature additions to Rotobase, as well as posting data downloads, analysis, video tutorials and anything else that will aid in your understanding of the tool.

Really appreciate you taking the time to visit, and if you feel so moved, please think about adding this blog to your feed reader.

My not-so-humble goal here is narrow but grand: create the best fantasy player analysis tool on the intertubes. To create that tool means lots of data aggregation, an emphasis on layout and aesthetics, and a focus on communicating knowledge, not just displaying information.

Any feedback you can give to push Rotobase in that direction is really appreciated.

Now, some things you should know:

1. At the moment there are no pitchers in Rotobase. I’ll be adding them in the next week (or so). I’m still working on extracting the relevant data from the Retrosheet database. I’ll post here when that finished.

2. Rotobase is currently under active development. I’ll be adding new features probably daily for the next few weeks (until growing season in the vineyard begins in earnest), so if you want a feature in there, now is the time to ask. I’m also still working toward full Internet Explorer 7 compatibility (grumble). Please point out any bugs you find!

3. I owe a large debt of gratitude to the great folks at BaseballHQ. I’ve been a member and/or reader of the Forecaster for 10 years or so, since I was in college, and learned a ton from Ron, Ed, Burnson, Patrick and everyone else. I’m still a subscriber. To get the most out of the information here you don’t have to be a subscriber, but Ron Shandler’s books and forums are the quickest way to learn the fundamentals of using skills analysis to evaluate players for fantasy purposes.

4. Another huge thank you to Peter and Tim at Roto Sports Inc., the owners of Mockdraftcentral, for allowing me to use their ADP data. Rotowire.com also happens to be my preferred source for player news and each player page includes a link to their Rotowire news page.

5. Special thanks to Sean Smith and Tom Tango for allowing me to use their excellent projections. Both are passionate, and incredibly talented. Steve Moyer at Baseball Info Solutions was also extremely generous in allowing me to use the James projections as part of the weighted average that generates my Expected projection line. You all rock.

6. Without Retrosheet I would have no data, and thus no tool. What an unbelievable free resource. So awesome.

Finally, here’s the thread at BaseballHQ (behind pay wall) where this all began, and here’s a post over at my winery blog that has a video demo of the first version of Rotobase.

Thanks!