Mon Jan 06, 2014 2:21 pm
There is a fundamental difference between using Diamond Dope vs. Joe the Jet ratings. Diamond Dope is merely an advanced method of adding up the numbers off the cards. Whether you count with paper and pencil, a calculator, a ratings book, a spreadsheet, or Diamond Dope you are basically just reading the cards and tallying up the numbers. The interpretation of that data is then made by each manager. Each individual must make decisions about who they should draft and which ballpark to use.
Joe the Jet ratings do more than that (to my understanding). They interpret the data. They tell you who is best in which ballpark and which players will win for you.
It's the difference between just obtaining the data (Diamond Dope) and interpreting the data (Joe the Jet ratings). There is little thinking involved in obtaining the data, a lot of thinking in interpreting the data.
I do not really care how one obtains the data - some methods are faster than others - but everyone eventually gets the same data to work with. It's the next step, the interpretation, that is enhanced by Joe the Jet ratings.
Regarding copying teams - I think to some extent most players "copy" successful strategies. I call that learning. If I see that Ben Ogilvie can hit 50-60 home runs in a lefty park I am likely to use Ogilvie. If I see that Kaat, Zahn, and Sadecki are great values pitching in a lefty park I am likely to try them when I next play in Shea. I do not like to copy an entire team, but across multiple iterations of trying to win in Shea I may eventually end up with a team that looks like Nev's (assuming his team is the best that can be built) if each round of "learning" leads me to better teams.
Disclaimer - I realize that I am currently nowhere near the "Nev level" - but if I play enough I might just get close??