Baseball Prospectus [Archive] - NetShrine Discussion Forum

nyy26wc

02-05-2002, 03:01 PM

From Baseball Prospectus--

"Baseball Prospectus 2002 will arrive in our publisher's warehouse on Tuesday, February 5. From there, it will be sent to resellers and on to you. To aid in comparison, we're four days behind the timetable for last year's book, so if you ordered that online, you can expect to get it about four days later than you did last year.

"Something we've neglected to publish previously is Brassey's direct order number. By calling 800 775 2518 and ordering a copy of this year's book, you should get your book a few days earlier than any other method. The downside is that you'll have to pay the full cover price."

I can't wait to get their book. When I saw this, I cancelled my order at Amazon, called the publisher and ordered one to be shipped overnight.

Xanadu Dragon

02-05-2002, 03:04 PM

Am I the only guy that doesn't get excited about this book?

sweaver

02-05-2002, 03:10 PM

Yes.

Just kidding. Haven't seen the book yet, although I ordered this year's version. Love the website.

Xanadu Dragon

02-05-2002, 03:10 PM

I have two editions of it from the past. What am I missing? What's so great?

SmedIndy

02-05-2002, 04:10 PM

For me, it fills the void left by Bill James' Abstract. Though it is more stats heavy and you have to get your mind about looking at the translated numbers and not the real ones.

Xanadu Dragon

02-05-2002, 04:13 PM

Originally posted by SmedIndy
Though it is more stats heavy and you have to get your mind about looking at the translated numbers and not the real ones.

That's the thing that bugs me the most - when I look under Bonds, 2001, HR, I want to see 73 - - not 74 or 69 or whatever they think the number should have been.

nyy26wc

02-06-2002, 06:00 PM

There is a simple solution--don't even look at their stat lines. Instead, just look at everything else in the book.

Xanadu Dragon

02-06-2002, 06:13 PM

Don't look at the stats? Can't - it's like telling me to read with my eyes closed or something. ;)

nyy26wc

02-06-2002, 06:33 PM

I understand so much that I would say that sounds like something I would write.

But, since I've done it for the past few years, I can say that, in this narrow situation, it's doable.

Of course, another alternative is to read the book with a copy of the SBE next to you.

Xanadu Dragon

02-06-2002, 10:47 PM

Originally posted by nyy26wc
Of course, another alternative is to read the book with a copy of the SBE next to you.

;)

SmedIndy

02-07-2002, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon

That's the thing that bugs me the most - when I look under Bonds, 2001, HR, I want to see 73 - - not 74 or 69 or whatever they think the number should have been.

XD - It bothered me at first, but then I realized I was looking at the numbers normalized to pert near every professional baseball player which gives me a sense of how good (or bad) a player is.

gyb13

02-07-2002, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by SmedIndy
XD - It bothered me at first, but then I realized I was looking at the numbers normalized to pert near every professional baseball player which gives me a sense of how good (or bad) a player is.
Plus, if you have the players' actual stats next to the BP ones, it's easy to see who is peaking, struggled, or had a fluke year.

Xanadu Dragon

02-10-2002, 08:51 PM

Baseball Prospectus 2002 will arrive in our publisher's warehouse on Tuesday, February 5. From there, it will be sent to resellers and on to you.

Still not in my local B&N Superstore as of 2/9. :(

sweaver

02-10-2002, 10:19 PM

amazon.com has not yet told me they shipped mine, either.

nyy26wc

02-11-2002, 02:36 PM

I called the publisher's warehouse on Friday afternoon and they said they are still waiting for the book to arrive.

Xanadu Dragon

02-11-2002, 05:19 PM

Thanks Lee - so much for 2/5/02, huh?

SmedIndy

02-11-2002, 05:20 PM

I used to work in publishing. Those dates seem to be, shall we say, a bit optimistic anyway.

nyy26wc

02-11-2002, 07:33 PM

I worked in a bookstore for years and the one thing I knew to count on was, unless the book was by a big name author and was an immediate best seller, release date was actually a code word for you have no chance to get that book on this date.

Xanadu Dragon

02-11-2002, 07:49 PM

Yeah, when I was at B&N, they told me it had a 1/31 release date; so, it should be there any day - right.................

nyy26wc

02-13-2002, 05:41 PM

Last Monday, I called the publisher and placed the order. I charged the book to my Paypal Mastercard debit card.

When I buy something with the card, the charge shows up immediately as soon as the transaction is processed. The amount is always deducted the day of the transaction.

Except, it didn't happen this time. Every day, I checked my Paypal account and each day, no charge showed up.

On Friday, I received through smail mail, a paper confirmation stating the book is on back order and will be charged to my card when it's available.

A couple of hours ago, I checked my Paypal account and the deduction finally showed up, with today's date on it.

I take this as my confirmation that the book is on its way.

Since I ordered it through UPS overnight, I'm going to be checking my doorstep constantly tomorrow and will be reacting to the slightest sound that I hear that could be the UPS truck outside.

Xanadu Dragon

02-13-2002, 06:42 PM

Lee - tomorrow is Valentine's Day - - betcha UPS will be slowed delivering Vermont Teddy Bears and the like. :D

nyy26wc

02-14-2002, 12:27 AM

I don't understand what the big deal is about Valentine's Day. People are missing the important aspect of the day--my dog's birthday.

Xanadu Dragon

02-14-2002, 07:55 AM

:loud: Nice to know we (my house) are not the only crazy ones to note their dogs B/D.

sweaver

02-14-2002, 01:15 PM

Lee needs a girl, bad.

nyy26wc

02-14-2002, 05:57 PM

Me having a family could be the most frightening thought imaginable.

To bring us back on topic, UPS dropped the book off this morning.

Skip

02-14-2002, 06:35 PM

Originally posted by sweaver
Lee needs a girl, bad.
Perhaps it should be "Lee needs a bad girl"

sweaver

02-14-2002, 11:56 PM

You could be right there, Skip.

SmedIndy

02-15-2002, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by nyy26wc
Me having a family could be the most frightening thought imaginable.

To bring us back on topic, UPS dropped the book off this morning.

Lee -

I thought so too, but then we adopted Katie.

Xanadu Dragon

02-15-2002, 11:14 AM

Hey, if ya'll want to discuss Lee's personal life with him - please don't do it in this thread - thanks.

Skip

02-15-2002, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
Hey, if ya'll want to discuss Lee's personal life with him - please don't do it in this thread - thanks.
The thread appears about 2 days dead otherwise. Grinch!! Cant we have any fun?

Xanadu Dragon

02-15-2002, 05:09 PM

FYI - in case you were going to the bookstore this weekend - - Just got this from the folks at BP:

"We've recently learned of a miscommunication in the supply
line that has had Baseball Prospectus 2002 printed and sent
to resellers later than we expected or would have liked.
We have recieved word from our publisher that the books have
been shipping out of their warehouse since Wednesday,
February 13, and we've heard from a few readers who have
already gotten their books. Both amazon.com and bn.com
should be filling orders within a couple of days, and the
book should appear in bookstores around the end of next week.

All of us at Baseball Prospectus apologize for the unexpected
delay, and we're taking steps to ensure that next year's
publication is printed and delivered in a more timely fashion."

sweaver

02-18-2002, 08:31 PM

Got an e-mail from amazon.com today, my copy is on the way.

Xanadu Dragon

02-19-2002, 09:59 PM

Stopped by B&N tonight on the way home - still nada. They don't even have the 2002 edition in the system.

There were having a 20% Off Sale on selected For Dummies books. :dizzy:

FLAIR_IS_GOD

02-20-2002, 12:29 AM

Got an email from Amazon today, I ordered Baseball Prospectus 2002 on 2-14-02, and they still haven't shipped yet. They are saying it will ship on the 21st. WHATEVER! Due to arrive tommorow are The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract and Stats Major League Handbook 2002, I'm picking these up on the recommendation of those who have posted. Looking forward to them.

sweaver

02-21-2002, 11:55 AM

My copy of BP arrived via UPS yesterday.

It's the closest thing going to the old Baseball Abstracts from the 80s.

Yeah, the stats being "Davenport Translations," normalized for league and park, looks weird. Didja know Barry Bonds hit 78 homers last year? Or would have, given precisely average conditions?

Still, the analysis is cutting and well-written, the projections are fun, every team is analyzed, every meaningful player is listed, and it's a lot of fun. I'm gonna spend a lot of time perusing this one.

Xanadu Dragon

02-22-2002, 11:33 PM

Picked it up on the way home from work on Thursday. Have to admit, I'm enjoying it. The Todd Helton entry really got me thinking.

FLAIR_IS_GOD

02-27-2002, 01:12 AM

Got mine today just started skimming it. I may be reading this wrong but it seems they only have 2002 projections for hitters, but not pitchers. Anybody know about this?

sweaver

02-28-2002, 12:16 AM

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, there are no pitcher projections. Projecting pitchers is such a difficult job, many analysts simply don't do it, including the BP guys.

The more I read the book, the more I like it. If you like the BP website, you'll love the book.

gyb13

03-01-2002, 03:03 PM

Seems like they messed up the historical pitching numbers too. For info, check this out (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/book/book.shtml)

Xanadu Dragon

03-01-2002, 03:14 PM

The stat lines for all pitchers in the book have the ERA and PERA data transposed. In addition, the earned runs in each line are wrong, having been calculated based on the PERA figure, not the ERA figure.

That is pretty bad.

sweaver

03-01-2002, 05:48 PM

Ooopsie!

Fire the Quality Control Dept.!

CpUltravox

06-20-2002, 02:40 PM

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
The stat lines for all pitchers in the book have the ERA and PERA data transposed. In addition, the earned runs in each line are wrong, having been calculated based on the PERA figure, not the ERA figure.

My favorite use for BP is and has been using the book for mid-season reference. "Is a player underachieving, or are they just Ricky Gutierrez," for example. When you're referencing the pitchers though... MAN is this a bad error to make. It defeats my main purpose for buying the book!

On an aside... One of my favorite things in reading the book is to notice who wrote certain player comments (for example, one writer (Kahrl?) has especially jaded player reviews, one writer references the prediction line in every review, and uses the word 'Wilton' constantly...

I've got plenty of issues on their player section, but it's worth a portion of the $20 just to get the team capsules and the essays at the end of the book, so I'm not wholly dissatisfied.