Monday, March 05, 2007

THT 2007 Season Preview: I'm published!

I'm delighted to announce that the Hardball Times' 2007 Season Preview book is now for sale! This is a new publication containing novel 3-year projections for all major league ballplayers, as well as "Team in a Box" write-ups by bloggers for each major league team.

I was lucky enough to be asked to write the Reds' preview. It was fun to be a part of the process, and I'm proud of the product. Topics covered in my 3-page preview include (but are not limited to) my takes on Wayne Krivsky and Jerry Narron, picks for overrated and underrated Reds players, and some general predictions for the Reds' 2007 season. ...my section is a bit longer than some of the others', but as you folks know, I have a tendency to get carried away (and what you'll see is AFTER they cut it down!). My comments on the Reds are accompanied by David Gassko and Chris Constancio's projections for all Reds' players--these seem pretty much in-line with my expectations, at least among current major leaguers (Reds' minor leaguers seem a bit underrated to me).

You can buy it as a PDF download for a mere $9, or as a "real" (physical) book for $15.95 through the Hardball Times' website. I don't get a split of the earnings or anything, but I'd really encourage you to check it out if it sounds interesting to you. I've skimmed it and found it to be a nice resource moving forward into the new season--this will be particularly true for those of you with upcoming fantasy league drafts. :)

13 comments:

  1. Hey, congratulations! I had no idea - I don't remember you mentioning this at all. Self-promote!

    Plus, I'd imagine you're prohibited from publishing what you wrote, but perhaps you could revisit it after the season to compare what you expected with the actuality of what happened.

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  2. Our little J is all growns up. Congrats man, they couldn't have picked a better person to do the preview. I just ordered my copy and I'm looking forward to giving it a thorough read through.

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  3. Very awesome stuff J!

    Congrats!

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  4. Glad to hear it, J. Your blog is the best of the Reds blogs....

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  5. That kicks ass man!

    I'm going to have to DL it now. :)

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  6. Self-promote!

    Heh, no, I didn't mention it -- I guess I was just waiting to see if they accepted my preview and actually got the book published. :)

    They did have to cut out some of the stats and such I provided to back up my claims, but I think it still holds up pretty well. There were also a few typos that seemed to be the result of their editing, which is a shame. But that's all ultimately my fault, 'cause I knew when I sent it over that it was too long.

    Anyway, it was fun. I hope they invite me back next year. -j

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  7. Oh, and thanks for the congrats everybody! It is only a 3-page recap/preview, and probably doesn't contain major suprises or vast new insights for frequent readers of this here blog. But it was fun to do, and it was a great way to give back a bit to hardball times--definitely one of the best baseball sites on the web.

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  8. LOL @ Ken. That was pretty funny.

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  9. I was surprised they used my real name, though I'm not upset about it, as I've already revealed that now and then on this blog. :) But I expected to be listed as JinAZ.

    It's probably for the best. I'm expecting to move away from AZ sometime this year, so I may need to change my handle...probably will just go by my first name to avoid future confusion. :) -j

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  10. Also, I wanted to ask if anyone had any feedback on the preview itself. I don't think it'd be fair to the THT staff to reprint what I wrote here on the blog (at least not now...maybe it'd be ok closer to the end of the season), but I'm happy to have a discussion on it. Agreements? Disagreements? -j

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  11. Congratulations! You're big time now!

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  12. JinAZ:
    I like your preview...and I generally agree with your assessment. (I won't say what it is so more people buy the book)


    Mike

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