Baseball-injury-report.com

[Michael@HQ]

A few questions:

1. Will there be a discount offered to BBHQ subscribers to www.baseball-injury-report.com? My guess is no, because the regular price has been dropped so far that there's no need for a discount, but maybe I'm seeing a different regular price when I log onto baseball-injury-report.com because I subscribed last year (and for now apparently still receive the subscriber only content).
2. Will BBHQ still feature columns from Dr. HQ (Rick Wilton)? I noticed that hardballtimes.com ran one of Rick's columns yesterday. Last year the same info usually appeared on BBHQ before it was on hardballtimes.com (and even more promptly plus additional content was on www.baseball-injury-report.com).
3. I'm leaning toward renewing my subscription to the b-i-r website because the cost is so low (and frankly because Rick was such a nice guy at First Pitch Arizona) but not buying his book. If anyone bought the injury book and highly recommends it, feel free to post feedback on that.

[RON@HQ]

Quickly... I believe the only discount Rick will be offering this year is for those who buy BOTH the web subscription and his book. Yes, he will be writing Dr. HQ again for us this year. And although I am highly biased, the only reason I decided to back the publication of an injury book is because the concept -- and the result -- is so incredibly valuable.

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[Apple Pie]

I'm giving the book a try this year but don't have it yet. The BIR site was great last year, days or even a week or a little more ahead of other sources. Rick's clearly one of the top experts in this area if not the top expert, so I figure what the heck. I won my league last year so I'm buying all the toys this year...

[Michael@HQ]

Quickly... I believe the only discount Rick will be offering this year is for those who buy BOTH the web subscription and his book. Yes, he will be writing Dr. HQ again for us this year. And although I am highly biased, the only reason I decided to back the publication of an injury book is because the concept -- and the result -- is so incredibly valuable.

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There's $5 off if one buys both the web subscription and the book, but that's apparent right on the website. I think that means no BBHQ discount this year, so I might as well subscribe to the website now rather than wait.

Any other feedback on the book?

[RJM713]

Will Get Back

There's $5 off if one buys both the web subscription and the book, but that's apparent right on the website. I think that means no BBHQ discount this year, so I might as well subscribe to the website now rather than wait.

Any other feedback on the book?

Michael,

I re-upped for the subscription, and ordered the book. I'll give you a review as soon as I get it.

[buckoneil]

What's the difference between the subscription at Wilton's site and the info I'll get here?

[RON@HQ]

Here you get a once weekly column that covers about a dozen players. At his site, you get daily updates, more comprehensive info and full access to his injury database.

[GoldenEagle]

In my opinion, Rick's service is highly valuable and well worth the modest subscription fee. After having it last year, I cannot imagine going without it again. I can miss some days checking other sites for daily news feeds, and Hardball Times type analysis can wait, but Rick's stuff is always "must read same day" for in-season management purposes.

[Kiwijohn]

I received my copy yesterday.

Rick has done an excellent job and I would thoroughly recommend it.

It summarizes injury risks in tiers, from Avoid at all costs to moderate risk. Having that information available in one place will be valauble when drafting. Also Rick talks about the strategy of managing injury risk when drafting.

There is also detailed list of all players who have spent time on the DL in the last 5 seasons , along with a comment about each.

A great value when you add in the regular updates on the website. There is a $5 discount when you order both.

[Apple Pie]

Also got my copy yesterday. Lunch was a little longer than usual...

As kiwijohn said, a nice summary up front on players to "avoid at all costs," "roster with high risk" and so forth. Better yet, at least for the BHQ-teach-them-to-fish-crowd, was the details on each player who'd been on the DL the past five years. Injury, notes on recovery, percent of season spent on DL, all the details.

Further, a couple essays up front on the physiology of steriods, a medical primer, and detailed reviews of key '06 injured studs.

All in all, a worthwhile purchase. No substitute for the web site, but a good book for fishermen... <g>

[NICK@HQ]

It's very handy to be able to quickly look up a player when you are in trade talks. Right there is a capsule of his recent career along with that injury history. Very nice to have.

[TMac]

Wilton's products

How much overlap is there, between his book and his website?

Put another way ... Do I need both?

If you could have only one, which would you opt for?

[RAY@HQ]

Well, I haven't seen the book yet, to be fair. But his website writeups on injuries as they develop are tremendously valuable.

Speaking of which, my subscription lapsed over the weekend... time to go renew!

[TMac]

Does his website deal more (or exclusively) with current injuries?

Does he offer some historical perspective for injured players.

Does he discuss who's a good risk vs. who to avoid?

[Tom_T]

How much overlap is there, between his book and his website?

Put another way ... Do I need both?

If you could have only one, which would you opt for?

It's no different than the Forecaster in terms of what you need. The Forecaster gives you information from last October, but you need to be here on the site to stay current. Rick's book is great for knowing the health history and prognosis for everyone at the time he wrote the book, but obviously players get hurt all the time.

I liked the book because it's easy to forget who was hurt and when, and what was wrong, so it's a good way to flag certain people on your draft list, or to double-check when considering a FA pickup or a trade. But, I also use the Web site for the latest news.

My only complaint about the Web site is that you can't search for a player, nor does it have a team-by-team breakdown (like a Depth Chart for injuries.) What would be great is if the player names on each team's list linked to Rick's notes about them. But, the site is only a year old, so I'm sure there will be additional features in time.

So, buy them both.