UPDATE: I want to thank the many people who voted in this poll. As of today (05/30/09) I'm declaring the winners.Every expert has their own particular style and quirks. I read as many of them as I can on a regular basis as I'm sure you do. But which expert clicks with you the best. Which expert are you most likely to emulate or at least heavily value their opinion. I would love to hear why you chose as you did. Let's start a real discussion in the comments section.
Grey over at Razzball
ReplyDeleteI love Grey too, Chet. But why is he your favorite?
ReplyDeleteGrey and Rudy from Razzball. They know their stuff and give their readers tons of feedback.
ReplyDeleteI'd say he is my favorite because him and Rudy do great research and because he gives so much of his knowledge to his readers. He answers everyone's questions and more often than not he is right on.
ReplyDeleteGrey & Rudy is cool, so is you Jon!
ReplyDeleteThat's an extremely tough vote. They're all smart as hell but each has their own unique characteristic. Razzball guys are funny as hell, Melnick talks to anyone, and Schwartz is very personable, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree Jason. I think humor and personality play a huge part in whether you choose to read a writer on a regular basis. Other writers might be genius but can't convey their points in an interesting enough way to become a favorite.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for Grey and Rudy, hard to beat those guys. They seemingly work round the clock answering dumb questions from guys like BigFatHippo. Wait, that's me, I never ask dumb questions.
ReplyDeleteGrey at Razzball as well. Probably the only column i'd consider reading even if i didn't play fantasy baseball. Good fantasy advice and the site has a collaborative and informed comments section which Grey takes his time to be a key part of.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has that 1st guy that they read or listened too that got them up to speed on how to play Fantasy at a higher level. For me it was Cory Schwartz,the way he communicates his opinions and analysis made sense to me. But i still read and respect all of the other guys out there as well.
ReplyDeleteBefore I discovered the internet I used to hunt down all old Patton and Benson annuals. I don't even know if they still come out. I used to look forward to the day the Official Book was released but when Glen Waggoner was replaced by Benson it got very boring very fast.
ReplyDeleteAs I said my first year of Tout, it's always an honor to get my ass kicked by people like Ron Shandler, Jason Grey and Lawr Michaels (among others, all of whom are very talented and good people). But this list is incomplete without Jason Collette, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Cory
...and Jeff Erickson outta be on here too, for that matter!
ReplyDeleteYes, the list is way too limited, especially when "Other" is the leader! But for my fantasy baseball needs Cory (not to mention Siano) is the man!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know the list is too short. The poll software I'm using limits you to ten choices. The originally was to include at least all of this year's touts. But I hoping the lack of a few names would spur the comments.
ReplyDeleteCory Schwartz is the fantasy baseball leader in infotainment. I'm part of the hordes of fans that is waiting for the 411 book to be published.
ReplyDeleteLenny Melnick...not Larry or maybe we call him Chipper
ReplyDeleteSorry about that Lenny. Fixed. Hopefully it hasn't cost you many votes.
ReplyDeleteI voted Schwartz. The 411 is my alltime favorite outlet for fantasy info.
ReplyDeleteA close second to the Razzball guys. Their humor makes it easy and fun to go looking for your daily dose of information.
Lenny Melnick for mine - he has a great history in fantasy baseball, he is up to date and he is accessible to all fantasy players from the novice to the elite. Unlike some of the guys who think they know it all, Lenny is never satisfied until he DOES know it all. Corey is good, and I agree with the above posters who mention the guys at Razzball. They are knowledgeable and always give a fantastic, fun read.
ReplyDeletethere is no one funnier on a daily basis than Lenny Melnick and that is what separates him from the rest-they all know their stuff!
ReplyDeleteLenny is the best out of these guys in my humble opinion BUT all are worth listening to or reading...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dicaprio's comments all these guys know there baseball. The guys at www.FantasyPros911.com put together the most informative and entertaining podcasts on the internet. They give great information and you never know what they will do next. Fantasy Baseball is suppose to be fun. I am a big fan of all these guys, Cory is like the Yoda of Fantasy Baseball. He takes questions no notes and bangs out answers.
ReplyDeleteI'll also add that Lenny Melnick is the most ACCESSIBLE and Interactive Expert...
ReplyDeleteIve been able to talk to him on the phone, via email, and on his live shows... Some of these other guys dont make them self as available as Lenny does....
Lenny is a born comedian as well check this link at the 25 min mark..
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lenny-Melnick/2009/05/08/Fantasy-Baseball-With-Lenny-Melnick
Shandler gives you a unique approach to fantasy approach with his hordes of stat research. Schwartz is excellent and he does a fine job of keeping the info only relevant with mixed leagues, which suits his primary audience at Mlb.com. Lenny gives you the most up to date info of fantasy relevance, but he spends HOURS reading and tracking box scores, line-up changes, and making sure he reads 3 or 4 newspapers per team a day. If you want to miss a week of fantasy baseball for any reason, just keep track of Lenny's daily podcasts. Lenny's best attribute is his experience, but he has a tendency to fall in love with certain qualities in players, which is a bad attribute, but if you can weed this out your fine. Mathew Berry is funny and his buddy Nate Ravitz, including his hot sisters, are funny and their info is tried and tested. Berry's columns are very funny and also includes some pop culture references. Berry told me over and over again to stay away from J.D. Drew...good year or not he is bad news. Berry is also good with evaluating injury time, but I doubt he realizes his own accuracy. He sure loves the spotlight, but would you blame him. He turned his fantasy baseball fanaticism to a big fortune. I read zola and listened to him online...one of the best. Erickson has the best roto site bar none with Rotowire. BaseballHQ is the next best. That would be a great poll....What website do you visit for comprehensive news and advice. Eric Mack doesn't do much, but spews out information that we all already know. His website or maybe it is him, do a good job with prospect hunting, but anybody can do it and his articles unveal my hidden gems, which means he is probably doing his job and I hat him in spite of it. I don't subscribe to the other sites, but I know Lawr Michaels from interviews and he is kind of a clone of Lenny, so I'm sure he can give you some well-rounded advice.
ReplyDeleteRedrum, you are very right about Lenny being funny. He sometimes loses focus in the middle of his podcasts and you never know what he's going to sing or joke about. Some of the best humor is when he talks to the audience, but he is really talking to himself and that my friends can make for some funny radio. Cory is Yoda-like. He has the most applicable info in his head and to me is one of the best because he has the best of all talents. He has experience mixed in with a great stats background. He is the brains of MLB.com. Siano has definitely picked his brain enough to become a much better fantasy press participant. Siano would choose a fantasy team of Yankees rather draft a winning fantasy franchise. Just ask him.
ReplyDeleteLenny, Cincotta and his partner Paul actually are in the Guiness book of World record for doing a 24 hour podcast for charity. They say it was for charity, but I think they just like to do oddball stuff. You got to give them credit for showing a ton of passion.
ReplyDeleteMelnick no. 1
ReplyDeleteSchwartz No. 2
Shandler No. 3...but I think if you asked the Cory or Lenny, they would probably vote Shandler, but they will never admit to it.
Wow, Scott, I guess you read them all just like me. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is really close, my vote goes to Lenny Melnick because of how knowledgeable and accessible he is.
ReplyDeleteTo give props to others though, I enjoy listening (and reading) at baseballhq and I look forward to Shandlers rants in his weekly "Master Notes" at the conclusion of their podcasts, and Todd Zola is extremely knowledgeable as evidenced by the success he's had in many competitive leagues.
I like most of them, but I voted for Cory. Edged over Lenny.
ReplyDeleteI lean toward with the themed articles and theory; Daily Notes, Out of the Box, Under the Knife, a lot of the theory stuff the guys from the old archive.Fantasybaseballgenerals.com did... etc. as my favorite reading for fantasy.
What about all the baseball writers who are friendly with the fantasy details in their articles, BP guys (Sheehan,Will Carrol), MLB.com beat writers, etc.
Zack - Philly.
I'm DEFINITELY going with Joe DiMaio from Fantasy Players Edge. This dude seriously knows his stuff. www.fantasyplayersedge.com
ReplyDeleteHave to give another tip of the hat to grey and rudy @ razzball. Since everyone can be an expert, you might as well go for the out of the box pick.
ReplyDeleteI've got a great idea! Why don't we create a fantasy expert fantasy league. You have categories for positive articles, correct predictions, baseball content, expert league participation, adoration, ego, and minutia. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea, but it sounds like a ton of work. Are you going to help put it together?
ReplyDeleteamong things i like about melnick, is that he doesn't try to be objective. like the one reader here remarked, you need to listen to melnick critically. still, his ability to make consistently reasonable and sound assessments is his strength. he's also down-to-earth and accessible. i'm still pretty green in FBB and have only this year been introduced to razzball.com. -- terrific collection of great minds complemented by ascerbic wit. i think jason grey's analyses are outstanding: thorough and comprehensive. i'm glad to have gotten an explanation about what limited the choices on this ballot, and would like to add kudos to mike podhorzer at fantasypros911. his leaders and laggards column is brilliant and his preseason rankings, on which i relied a lot this season, have proven very reliable.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI know it's been said already, but I'm voting for Grey Albright and Rudy Gamble of Razzball.com. They might not give the best advice, but it's good solid advice and they do it in a way that's fun and not too serious. They also have a killer forums page where you can get advice on your team.
ReplyDeleteThey also ALWAYS answer questions about your fantasy baseball team, something that can't be said for any other fantasy site I've seen. If you read Razzball for long enough, you feel like you're a member of the club...they really make you feel welcome.
I also dig Melnick, Jason Grey, Shandler & Berry for solid info. I have to admit I haven't spent much time with the others, but this has motivated me to do just that.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important for fantasy owners to compare and contrast all of the advice they get from their favorite sites to those from some others. Following the advice of just one site without comparing to the others can really handicap you in drafts and in any situation where you need to make an evaluation.
ReplyDeleteLenny is da man. I don't think there's a fantasy guy who works harder or shows the passion for the game than he does. He's entertaining and provides good information. As Jon Williams says, it's good to listen to many sources, but I find Lenny is astute at finding situations where players may find opportunity for more playing time or bigger roles with their teams. This information is invaluable in my deep leagues or in Only leagues.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for Grey here. Vote Grey!
ReplyDeleteGrey @ Razzball 100%... there is no second place.
ReplyDeleteWay to be timely, anonymous! ;)
ReplyDelete