Fantasy Guide Review : Lindy’s Fantasy
Baseball 2004
by Jonathan Leshanski
February 6, 2004
I admit that last year I panned the Lindy’s guide
because it was a much lower quality product than I expected from them.
This year they made it up to me, at least partially, by delivering a quality
guide that a more experienced fantasy player will enjoy. Not to say that
this book does not have flaws, but it’s a much better effort than
what they put out last year. Even the experts may not agree on rankings
and Lindy’s and the other guides have some large discrepancies as
to where a player should be ranked.
Strengths:
Articles, planning tools (player capsules, “____” in a box
feature, projections).
Weaknesses:
Lack of simple tools (dollar values, depth in mixed league rankings, and
no league specific overall rankings), poorly thought out design on some
statistical values, overall ratings seem a bit skewed.
The Articles:
As per the Lindy’s formula there are four basic articles here.
The first is the most dubious of the bunch and is called 10 questions.
It asks 10 good fantasy questions that are often just a little beyond
what most beginning fantasy owners might ask, including: How big a factor
is a ballpark to a player’s success? Which category is the most unpredictable?
And how many seasons does it take for a top base stealer to hit his stride?
The second article is a listing of players that might find this a year
in which they breakthrough and achieve greatness. The list is nothing
special and might be useful to fantasy owners who are not on top of fantasy
ball year round.
The next article is a really good one on closers and closers in waiting
(a topic you know I like to cover here on this site). It’s a very
good article with a lot of depth to it. I disagree with some of their
picks but that’s merely personal opinion.
In my opinion, the last article of the issue is the best of the bunch.
It is called “Hot Properties” and once again is one of Lindy’s
strengths. It’s a breakdown of the best prospects in the game (by
the author’s estimation) and includes not only a top 25 but also
a position by position list of these youngsters. This alone is worth the
read - especially for those in keeper leagues.
The Capsules: Strength - some layout flaws that hurt usability.
As usual these are done by position, are pretty solid and can be rather
insightful especially in deeper leagues. Each player’s vitals are
given, along with Lindy’s key indicators (OBP, Slugging, OPS, v.
LHP, v. RHP, AB/HR for hitters and Hits/9, walks/9, K/9, slugging, OBP,
average against for pitchers), an evaluation of the player’s 2003
season and a forecast for 2004. Then they give you the last two seasons
worth of statistics. This is where I find one of Lindy’s weaknesses,
in the statistics, and it’s an issue of layout. They don’t offer
projections with the capsules so you must look them up elsewhere. Also
the projections are not listed alphabetically by position and name, but
instead they are listed by position and team. Some might find that a minute
flaw, but it slows down use of the guide, is confusing and makes it more
difficult to use as a draft tool.
Planning tools: Strength
This guide has one great feature that I have always loved. It’s the
position in a box article that evaluates the best hitters, power, base
stealers, most overrated, most underrated, rising and falling players,
sleepers, deep sleepers, hot prospects, value players, and the most risky
player at each position. They also arrange the players by rating at the
position.
Draft Tools: Serious weakness
This guide is seriously lacking in some tools. For one thing there are
no dollar values projected for any players. That is something that a very
experienced player can handle but it may be a serious disadvantage on
draft day since it eliminates one rating tool that many owners use. The
other thing that I dislike is the lack of integrated draft lists. They
give you an overall top 50 but that is it and 50 is too shallow for mixed
league rankings. There is no overall AL or NL list, just lists by position.
Overall:
This is a great starting point for making a draft plan, but is not a tool
worth carrying into the draft. It is too hard to look things up and lacks
a lot of the reference value found in other guides. It is improved from
the 2003 edition because of the quality of the articles. There is also
some insightful information but it’s difficult to use. I think that
this guide would be best for players that are experts in their own right
– the fantasy players that come to the draft with a plan that is
wholly their own.
Give this guide one ball out of four but be aware –
it is not a guide I would want to rely on when draft day comes around.
Our Rating System is based on a four ball system
as follows:
One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special.
Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above
average, and worth reading/owning.
Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended.
Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out
together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk -
straight to the local book store to get a copy.
|
|
|
Have you always wanted to be a sportswriter? We did too! We
can always use writers, editors, fact checkers, photographers, graphic designers,
and web gurus to help us make the site even better. Come chase your dreams with
us. Click here for more information
Would you like to Exchange Links? Our links page can be found
here: Links
|
