Now available for download.
(Right click -- save target as -- ect.)
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We were not planning on doing another edition after how poorly the last one turned out, but SeanDubb's fanpost and additional comments pushed us towards it. I'm proud of the staff for cranking out enough quality and original content to fill 80 pages in less than a month's time. To answer some questions:
Who is this guide for?
Rays fans or baseball fans who want to know more about the team collectively than they can find elsewhere. Warning: if you're not a Rays fan, a sabermetrically inclined baseball fan, or someone who generally hates the content on this site, odds are you will not like most of the stuff inside. As a measure to provide some entertainment for as many as possible, we've enlisted a number of guest writers, each with a particular set of skills and information to share.
Why should I read this guide?
Um.
LOL teh guide suckz!
Thanks, but that's neither creative or constructive. Some examples of what I would consider worthwhile criticism:
"I think you put too much value on the various defensive metrics."
"I disagree with your take on Kazmir because it's possible he's all ready passed his prime."
Ect., simply saying "You guys suck, I hate you, and your [sic] wrong about everything, just admit it." Is dumb.
Plus, even I hate us.
Ugh. Graphs/Stats.
Welcome to DRaysBay, we provide means of intelligent baseball discussion through words and images such as PitchF/x charts, Win Expectancy Graphs, and your general data graphs. Some people take to graphics better than words and some data is easier to present in a graph than a table. Deal with it.
As for the stats, we've included the stats guide in the back. If you have further questions about any of the charts or graphs there's always asking. Nobody is going to think less of you for asking what "X-Break" means or why we use tRA instead of ERA. People will think less of you if you continue to use ERA in place of tRA or FIP even after having the advantages of defensive independent stats explained.
Is there fantasy baseball talk?
Yes, we made that request a priority.
Are there projections?
Yes, the ones compiled through the community are included.
Why weren't names assigned to each player write-up? Why are you hiding?
We aren't. The staff doesn't agree on everything, but we're willing to stand by the others' opinions thanks to a history of showing logic and competency. Odds are, not everything projected is going to be correct. You know this, we know this, if you don't know this then you should know this. Saying a 19-year-old in A-ball could be a number three starter is risky. That's nothing new. We don't claim to see the future, we simply use measures with historic predictive values to make our best guess and assumptions.