fantasyland I think not!

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:44 am

Originally posted by bjoak:

quote:Originally posted by UFS:

I'm sure the HQ fan base loved it.

It's the non-HQ fan base having all the problems. LOL. The response was to Walla, but saying he wants to hear grovelling before entering seems directed at anyone who would like to see him in the contest. [/QUOTE]If he wants to come fine- give me the choice of seeing Childs, Andy Nolan, Dan Kenyon, or Ron at the table with me. I will take Ron all day long. No offense to Ron intended in that statement because I would prefer Walla Walla or a guy who has never cracked the top 100 in 5 tries ( I believer there are 5 of them out there) instead of Ron.

headhunters · Post by **headhunters** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:47 am

ah chest we missed you. i got j roll in this kimo league with the great one. i hope he is lights out from here.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:48 am

Not to keep giving Ron such a hard time, but to respond to Chesty, I'd argue that it's fairly pretentious to not play in the competition and then show up at the draft to tell everyone how well they drafted.

RON@HQ · Post by **RON@HQ** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:50 am

Ron, I didn’t say you tried to get lesser players. I said you got players you wanted.

If there not up to par it’s not my fault. Than you state that I have to bow to you to even to consider to play in the NFBC? There are 390 players in the NFBC this year. You latch on to me as an excuse to avoid the top players. No I’m not kissing your ass. I’ve already played with the best. And you aren’t it!

That's the worst excuse for an apology for calling me out that I have ever seen in my life. Once again, you try to change the argument to one that you think you have a better chance of winning. Looks to me you've been pushed into a corner and the best you can do is hurl an unsubstantiated toss-out that "you've played with the best and I'm not it." Oooh, I'm hurt.

I expect that I'll receive no more challenges from you to play in the NFBC. Should I decide to play next year, I will make sure to get into your league (since you seem to think I have a certain power to stack leagues) so I can whip your ass into the Puget Sound. Yes, I am singling YOU out because you've had it coming. Wow - I can trash talk too!

Repeat after me: "Ron, mea culpa. You are God."

Ron

[ May 29, 2008, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: RON@HQ ]

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:57 am

Originally posted by RON@HQ:

) so I can whip your ass into the Puget Sound.

Ron Ron some pretty good unsolicited advice for you here- set your goals higher. About 300-350 people do this on an annual basis.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:07 am

If Ron beats Walla, Walla will complain that it is because HQ gave him bad advice on how to build his team and that it is all Ron's fault.

And everyone at fantasybaseball.com will breathe a sigh of relief.

Walla Walla · Post by **Walla Walla** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:12 am

Ron, OK Las Vegas 2009 1300 AL Auction. See you there.

RON@HQ · Post by **RON@HQ** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:12 am

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I do have a simple question for Ron though- who do you think should be held in higher regard in industry circles a guy who constantly does well in the tout wars environment or a guy like Shawn Childs who has dominated the nfbc and won large amounts doing it. Gun to your head saying if you say both you have to have a good long dinner with Walla Walla which he will order soup and say it does not count as a dinner- and want another. This is a complicated question. There are 12 million people who play fantasy baseball. Who would have more exposure for their accomplishments, a consistent winner in a 390-person competition with a stiff entry fee or a consistent winner in a high profile league with national media exposure?

So I think the Tout winner would be "held in higher regard in industry circles" if for no other reason than they have more access to those circles.

While I have never claimed that Tout contains the best players in the industry top-to-bottom, the league does contain a group of people who have the best access to information in the industry, which gives them an edge. And whether you are willing to admit it or not, NFBC's entry fee forces a selection bias into the competition. A consistent NFBC winner is not only a good player, but also can afford to participate, which adds a huge caveat to assessing "the best."

In other words, I think the best fantasy player in the country is probably someone who is unemployed (and thus cannot afford $1250) and has the time to follow baseball 24/7 and win every league he participates in. I know there has to be someone like that out there. And he probably could whip everyone in the NFBC *and* Tout Wars.

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:16 am

Originally posted by RON@HQ:

quote:Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I do have a simple question for Ron though- who do you think should be held in higher regard in industry circles a guy who constantly does well in the tout wars environment or a guy like Shawn Childs who has dominated the nfbc and won large amounts doing it. Gun to your head saying if you say both you have to have a good long dinner with Walla Walla which he will order soup and say it does not count as a dinner- and want another. This is a complicated question. There are 12 million people who play fantasy baseball. Who would have more exposure for their accomplishments, a consistent winner in a 390-person competition with a stiff entry fee or a consistent winner in a high profile league with national media exposure?

So I think the Tout winner would be "held in higher regard in industry circles" if for no other reason than they have more access to those circles.

While I have never claimed that Tout contains the best players in the industry top-to-bottom, the league does contain a group of people who have the best access to information in the industry, which gives them an edge. And whether you are willing to admit it or not, NFBC's entry fee forces a selection bias into the competition. A consistent NFBC winner is not only a good player, but also can afford to participate, which adds a huge caveat to assessing "the best."

In other words, I think the best fantasy player in the country is probably someone who is unemployed (and thus cannot afford $1250) and has the time to follow baseball 24/7 and win every league he participates in. I know there has to be someone like that out there. And he probably could whip everyone in the NFBC *and* Tout Wars. [/QUOTE]Thanks for answering as I read your answer I get the impression that you might have thought I was trying to make a point with the question. I was not I simply wanted your opinion.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:20 am

Straight from Shandler's mouth: Crazy Like a Fox is the best fantasy player in the country.

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:25 am

Originally posted by bjoak:

Straight from Shandler's mouth: Crazy Like a Fox is the best fantasy player in the country. Certainly not the best- but IMO one of the most improved.

RON@HQ · Post by **RON@HQ** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:25 am

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

Thanks for answering as I read your answer I get the impression that you might have thought I was trying to make a point with the question. I was not I simply wanted your opinion. In that case, I don't think this is a question that anyone can answer. These are two different types of leagues, with two different sets of rules, and have participants with wholly different motivators to succeed. Do you like Big Macs or Whoppers? I prefer Whoppers, think Big Macs are horrible, and will go to the ends of the earth to convince you Whoppers are better...

[ May 29, 2008, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: RON@HQ ]

RON@HQ · Post by **RON@HQ** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:28 am

[ May 29, 2008, 01:29 PM: Message edited by: RON@HQ ]

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:31 am

Originally posted by RON@HQ:

quote:Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

Thanks for answering as I read your answer I get the impression that you might have thought I was trying to make a point with the question. I was not I simply wanted your opinion. In that case, I don't think this is a question that anyone can answer. These are two different types of leagues, with two different sets of rules, and have participants with wholly different motivators to succeed. Do you like Big Macs or Whoppers? I prefer Whoppers, think Big Macs are horrible, and will go to the ends of the earth to convince you Whoppers are better... [/QUOTE]A very mean person told me I look like King Kong Bundy who weighs close to 600 pounds so I guess I prefer both Now back to retirement.

Windy City Hustler · Post by **Windy City Hustler** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:34 am

Ron, speaking of Whoppers, can you do anything about the Burger King commercials that have the Big-headed King in them, he freaks me out.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:37 am

Originally posted by RON@HQ:

quote:Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

Thanks for answering as I read your answer I get the impression that you might have thought I was trying to make a point with the question. I was not I simply wanted your opinion. In that case, I don't think this is a question that anyone can answer. These are two different types of leagues, with two different sets of rules, and have participants with wholly different motivators to succeed. Do you like Big Macs or Whoppers? I prefer Whoppers, think Big Macs are horrible, and will go to the ends of the earth to convince you Whoppers are better... [/QUOTE]Big Macs! Especially from Alameda!

Walla Walla · Post by **Walla Walla** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:48 am

Ron, It's the 1300 AL Las Vegas Auction. I'll be there with the top players in the land. Put up or shut up!

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:49 am

Of course the best fast food analogy I ever heard was from a dude I used to know who was explaining why he would cheat on his girlfriend:

"When I go to Burger King, I usually want a whopper. Now, I love the whopper and I am faithful in my love to the whopper. But sometimes I want a chicken sandwich because I also love the chicken sandwich. Eating the chicken sandwich doesn't make me love the whopper any less but sometimes I just have to have one."

[ May 29, 2008, 01:51 PM: Message edited by: bjoak ]

Walla Walla · Post by **Walla Walla** » Thu May 29, 2008 8:17 am

I'll let Ron off the hook. I'm sure he's still checking with the lawyers. It's all about the money anyway. So Ron your the big winner.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Thu May 29, 2008 8:24 am

Originally posted by RON@HQ:

In other words, I think the best fantasy player in the country is probably someone who is unemployed (and thus cannot afford $1250) and has the time to follow baseball 24/7 and win every league he participates in. I know there has to be someone like that out there. And he probably could whip everyone in the NFBC *and* Tout Wars. Doubt it. Having free time does not equate to success by itself.

I can quickly think of 5 nfbc'ers that would eat alive the best yahoo, espn, sportsline, tout war players.

I think you underestimate the time some of us "employed" people put into baseball.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:36 am

Originally posted by Gordon Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by RON@HQ:

In other words, I think the best fantasy player in the country is probably someone who is unemployed (and thus cannot afford $1250) and has the time to follow baseball 24/7 and win every league he participates in. I know there has to be someone like that out there. And he probably could whip everyone in the NFBC *and* Tout Wars. Doubt it. Having free time does not equate to success by itself.

I can quickly think of 5 nfbc'ers that would eat alive the best yahoo, espn, sportsline, tout war players.

I think you underestimate the time some of us "employed" people put into baseball. [/QUOTE]Good points. I'll also add that I'm not sure what the motivation is when you are not playing for money or notoriety. Is the best fantasy player out there and he spends 800 hours prepping during the offseason just so he can beat his buds? If you're going to invest that much of yourself into something, you're going to find $1300 to show up in Vegas (where you assume you'll win your money back).

[ May 29, 2008, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: bjoak ]

viper · Post by **viper** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:37 am

Absolutely the best read since the season began. I almost wish it would continue but it has run its course. I have a few thoughts.

Fantasy baseball has players and it has information providers. It's not that you cannot to both but the drain of time is a lot. I wrote for Lawr for a couple of seasons and found the deadline aspect for a single weekly article was more than I want to commit to. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing but not the time it required. I cannot imagine how much time Ron or Todd Zola or many others spend. While players spend time analyzing their teams, they spend their time providing all the information needed to complete the analysis.

Players may write a bit, like Shawn Childs, but essentially they are players. They spend the late winter exclusively on their teams and some are better than others. Shawn may not be the best player but he is certainly one of them.

I never really expect an industry guy to excel in the NFBC because their time is so splintered. But their information is why the NFBC has flourished. It provides so many players with enough information to compete.

I hope Ron competes next season. If he does it will be in a AL-only or NL-only auction league. At his First Pitch forum, it seems clear Ron prefer auction to snake draft and single universe leagues to mixed leagues.

Once again, thanks for the great read.

[ May 29, 2008, 03:41 PM: Message edited by: viper ]

DiamondKing · Post by **DiamondKing** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:03 am

One big difference.I can not check with my people to find out why I ranked a second baseman somewhere.

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:03 am

We all have jobs. If you should have a job that allows you to think about fantasy baseball all day, that will only help you. I will say that their job is to give away their best info to the world so there's that.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:19 am

Originally posted by bjoak:

We all have jobs. If you should have a job that allows you to think about fantasy baseball all day, that will only help you. I don't agree with that. Working in the industry is more about meeting deadlines and coming up with quality content. Writers, website owners, etc...are more focused on the business end of their jobs. Skews their perception.