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I've used Rotolab for at least 15 years now. I loved the old version FAR better than the new version. As a longtime user, I've sent many tweak requests to Merv the last couple of years, but he has not implemented them.
My issues:
- I find, like many I believe, the BBHQ projections they include to be on the poor side. I find many players don't have their playing time correctly projected, so I like to tailor them to my own projections. In the old version, it was very easy to do for pitchers, as he had Strikeouts & Walks directly linked to the K/9 & BB/9 ratios, which were directly linked to IP. So if you changed a pitcher's IP, the K/9 rate would remain the same and then automatically update the Strikeout total. For example, if you changed Josh Hader's IP from 60 to 70, his projected K/9 would remain at 13.0, and the Ks would automatically increase from 87 to 101.
But in the new version, the K/9 and BB/9 rates are not connected to the IP, making every tinker of the projections now a 2-step process, which is a pain in the ass and throws everything off. In the new version the K/9 ratio is directly linked to the actual Strikeouts and NOT the IP, so if you change the IP, the strikeout total would not change and the K/9 would go down. Using the same Hader example, if you changed his IP from 60 to 70, his Strikeouts would not automatically change from 87 to 101, because the projected K/9 fluctuates based on the IP. A change from 60 to 70 IP would keep the Ks at 87 and would automatically recalculate the K/9 to 11.19.
This is a major pain in the ass when changing pitching projections, because now you have to do a second projection and dig around for Hader's probable K/9 ratio that would jive with your new projected IP.
I've told him about this error two consecutive years, and he told me he took a shortcut when coding the new version and he would look into it. But after two years he still never changed anything.
- in the old version, the new $ value would update as soon as you entered a new projection for any stat. This made it quite easy to compare players based on your new projection. For example, if you increased a player's HR total by 3, it would jump his projected $$ by $2, let's say. So if by doing that a player's new value then jumped another who you know you would never take over him, you may not bother with that change. But now, you have to constantly go out of the editor screen and into the revalue screen, click a button to get a new $ value, and then jump back to see the new result. Another pain in the ass that's a big downgrade from the old version.
- the teams are not always updated, so you may need to change a player's team every time you open the program. For example, if a player is a free agent, it may still list him as being on his old team. Not a major problem, but when I tinker the projections, I often sort by team and then find the free agent to be listed back despite being changed before. Seems like a minor fix, but he hasn't fixed that either. Or that could be a BBHQ QC issue.
So all that said, I believe his product has not improved over the years, and in fact has gotten worse with the update to the new version. And I know he does this full-time now, so not sure why these bugs still exist.
I realize everyone uses this product, but does anyone use something else similar to Rotolab? I actually asked MJL to look into creating our own product, but it never got off the ground. Maybe Lord Zola would want to discuss?
My issues:
- I find, like many I believe, the BBHQ projections they include to be on the poor side. I find many players don't have their playing time correctly projected, so I like to tailor them to my own projections. In the old version, it was very easy to do for pitchers, as he had Strikeouts & Walks directly linked to the K/9 & BB/9 ratios, which were directly linked to IP. So if you changed a pitcher's IP, the K/9 rate would remain the same and then automatically update the Strikeout total. For example, if you changed Josh Hader's IP from 60 to 70, his projected K/9 would remain at 13.0, and the Ks would automatically increase from 87 to 101.
But in the new version, the K/9 and BB/9 rates are not connected to the IP, making every tinker of the projections now a 2-step process, which is a pain in the ass and throws everything off. In the new version the K/9 ratio is directly linked to the actual Strikeouts and NOT the IP, so if you change the IP, the strikeout total would not change and the K/9 would go down. Using the same Hader example, if you changed his IP from 60 to 70, his Strikeouts would not automatically change from 87 to 101, because the projected K/9 fluctuates based on the IP. A change from 60 to 70 IP would keep the Ks at 87 and would automatically recalculate the K/9 to 11.19.
This is a major pain in the ass when changing pitching projections, because now you have to do a second projection and dig around for Hader's probable K/9 ratio that would jive with your new projected IP.
I've told him about this error two consecutive years, and he told me he took a shortcut when coding the new version and he would look into it. But after two years he still never changed anything.
- in the old version, the new $ value would update as soon as you entered a new projection for any stat. This made it quite easy to compare players based on your new projection. For example, if you increased a player's HR total by 3, it would jump his projected $$ by $2, let's say. So if by doing that a player's new value then jumped another who you know you would never take over him, you may not bother with that change. But now, you have to constantly go out of the editor screen and into the revalue screen, click a button to get a new $ value, and then jump back to see the new result. Another pain in the ass that's a big downgrade from the old version.
- the teams are not always updated, so you may need to change a player's team every time you open the program. For example, if a player is a free agent, it may still list him as being on his old team. Not a major problem, but when I tinker the projections, I often sort by team and then find the free agent to be listed back despite being changed before. Seems like a minor fix, but he hasn't fixed that either. Or that could be a BBHQ QC issue.
So all that said, I believe his product has not improved over the years, and in fact has gotten worse with the update to the new version. And I know he does this full-time now, so not sure why these bugs still exist.
I realize everyone uses this product, but does anyone use something else similar to Rotolab? I actually asked MJL to look into creating our own product, but it never got off the ground. Maybe Lord Zola would want to discuss?
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