I presume Dan no longer is in an official capacity with BBTF?

He's still on the masthead, but I'm not sure that's a sign of anything more than inertia.

So are the 2013 ZiPS going to be at FanGraphs?

Yep. From today's chat:

Comment From Jesse
When will the first 2013 ZiPs come out? (sorry if this was asked, I just got to the chat) What teams will you roll out first?

...

Dan Szymborski:
In December, projections will roll out on FG every other day, starting with the Giants and A's (I awarded the first two teams based on a couple trivia questions on Twitter)

Boo! I like the ZiPS being here...

Is it fair to speculate that Jim suspending Dan and stripping him of his moderator duties contributed to Dan's moving of the projections/etc to Fangraphs and no longer being involved in BBTF in an official capacity?

Jim? Was this your intent? Was it worth it?

Dan? Is this what happened?

I don't know why, but I had no idea Dan was a cat guy...

Interesting questions, Ray, and I'm also curious. Not sure that Jim or Dan will be interested in airing any dirty laundry though. :)

Did Dan get suspended for something in the politics threads?

It was my fault, actually... my roto team was constructed almost wholly on ZiPS projections, I finished 9th, and I complained to Jim about it.

I had been winding down my main BTF contribution for some time. Jim and I had some disagreements on site policy and given that I wasn't really part of the site the way I used to be, it seemed a good time to more officially cut the cord as a BTF contributor/admin. We have been friends for nearly 15 years and the little I still did on BTF wasn't worth losing a friendship over. BTF was a big part of my professional life and led to opportunities that surprised me and I still love the place and 95% of the people here. I didn't do any trite farewell post because I'm not actually going anywhere.

Without being a part of BTF, it just makes more sense to do the projections on FanGraphs because the Davids can deal with the numbers more prettily and in a cleaner format than I can. I've already done chats there for a few years. I'm not really a web design type of guy. The majority of my work will continue to be at ESPN - I'm very comfortable there and the editors I work with there have really helped me tighten up my writing from a structural standpoint and have me exploring the possibility of doing stuff (video, TV) that never really entered into my mind.

Here's the whole ZiPS answer:

Comment From Jesse
When will the first 2013 ZiPs come out? (sorry if this was asked, I just got to the chat) What teams will you roll out first?
1:37
Dan Szymborski: Kind of doing a two-stage ZiPS release this year.
1:38
Dan Szymborski: In November, I've got my own little series for ESPN, possibly called "The Road to 90" which will consist of projections for in-organization players and outline each team's offseason challenges to get to 90 wins.
1:38
Dan Szymborski: Kind of a blend of projections and offseason preview.
1:39
Dan Szymborski: In December, projections will roll out on FG every other day, starting with the Giants and A's (I awarded the first two teams based on a couple trivia questions on Twitter)

Fair enough. Thanks for the answer, Dan.

Dan on TV -- can't wait.

Dan on TV -- can't wait.

Heh, not there yet. On a practice video, I sweat more than Nixon. I'm not usually one to have anxiety, but I had some serious anxiety that afternoon.

EDIT:

Nevermind, thanks for the explanation.

Ah well, the end of an era. But as long as we link to them here I can still give Dan crap about projecting Howie Kendrick to a 380 BABIP. :-)

I asked Dan about the ZiPS projections on Facebook just two days ago -- I kid you not. It just doesn't feel like the fall without seeing the projections coming out, weak teams first.

I'll have to visit Fangraphs more often, and am seriously considering an ESPN Insider subscription just to see Dan's stuff. I would look forward to seeing him on TV, but, unfortunately, will not be able to until we return to the US sometime next summer (unless some station in China picks up "The Road to 90"... sorry, I don't have any contacts at CCTV-5).

Perhaps it has been done somewhere - and the move to FG might complicate doing it here - but there ought to be a comprehensive review of how accurate ZIPS has been after each season.

Good luck on TV Dan. Hopefully this will lead to a spot on next year's Dancing with the Stars.

Its funny how people get on TV. We had a series in Canada last year on the Discovery Channel called Canada's Greatest Know It All. Interesting show, despite the off-putting title. The tall guy in the picture (Dan Dicaire) didn't win, but last night I watched a new show called House Hazards on HGTV Canada and see that Dan was one of the hosts. Here was a smart guy, an engineer, who tried out for a reality show and made the cut, and then a year later finds himself hosting his own show. And his female co-host is one of the hottest things I've ever seen. Trust me. Watch the show.

So Dan, there is certainly precedent for unassuming brainiacs named Dan getting their own TV gig.

As Dan said, he and I have been friends for over fifteen years. He was one of the original contributors on the first incarnation of this site, BaseballStuff.com. With the economics of things here, the nature of this site's is that people move on. Some people go on to write for other publications; some people go on to work in front offices. Dan's efforts have progressed to the point that he can paid real money for the excellent work that he does. I am very proud of his past contributions to this site and the look forward to seeing him make a bigger impact on the larger stage.

Dan on TV -- can't wait

This is the most terrifying thing I've read today.

I'll miss ZiPS being here, but am more glad to see than Dan and Jim still get along.

Jim, you needed to prefix [21] with "I'm Jim Furtado, and I endorse this message." :)

EDIT: I suppose I mean preface.

And I agree with Sam about Dan being on TV is a terrifying thought.

I'll miss ZiPS being here, but am more glad to see than Dan and Jim still get along.

Agree.

I will accept Dan on TV as long as his cat co-hosts the show with him.

I'll miss ZiPS being here

I don't see the big deal, especially since Fangraphs is free. Link to Fangraphs whenever Dan posts a team ZiPS article, the proceed to comment on why he's totally wrong on player X.

Maybe doing projections takes the sort of person who prefers cats. One difference between me and Dan, though, is that my cat can play. Though I suppose some of the SABR-crowd would not appreciate his slap-hitting, free-swinging, speed oriented game. He's only 10 pounds, the power just isn't going to be there.

I will accept Dan on TV as long as his cat co-hosts the show with him.

I could totally put together a YouTube series where I answer questions posed to Dan by real ESPN commenters/users, only via a hand-sock puppet named after Dan's cat.

Congratulations, Dan. Hope all continues to go well at ESPN and Fangraphs.

Dan will be providing links to Zips whenever he updates them. With the new set-up it will actually be easier to keep track of Dan's stuff as you will be able to subscribe to both Zips and Dan Szymborski (provided that he tags his stuff correctly).

(And in case anyone was wondering...the site redesign is still in the works. When I realized I couldn't finish things off by the All Star break I decided to hold off on making the switch to the off-season. )

I'll have to visit Fangraphs more often, and am seriously considering an ESPN Insider subscription just to see Dan's stuff. I would look forward to seeing him on TV, but, unfortunately, will not be able to until we return to the US sometime next summer (unless some station in China picks up "The Road to 90"... sorry, I don't have any contacts at CCTV-5).

You can get Insider pretty cheaply - depending on the sales at the time, you should never spend more than like $10 a year and sometimes you can get it for $1. Before I started working with ESPN at the beginning of 2010, I was already in the habit of extending 3 years every time I saw a $1 sale. My Insider subscription is scheduled to run out in 2027.

There are certainly other reasons to get it besides my work, even though I like my work.

And I agree with Sam about Dan being on TV is a terrifying thought.

That was my reaction too. I tend to look stoned or drunk, even when I'm not.

When it was suggested I do a practice video in the morning, I literally sweat profusely all day long, which was kind of embarrassing. I had to pretty much admit I had anxiety, lest the people involved thought I needed to go to the hospital or something.

Though I suppose some of the SABR-crowd would not appreciate his slap-hitting, free-swinging, speed oriented game. He's only 10 pounds, the power just isn't going to be there.

My cat is gigantic and against my other cats, undefeated in 14 years. He's an MMA superstar and knows ground-and-pound inside and out.

When it was suggested I do a practice video in the morning, I literally sweat profusely all day long, which was kind of embarrassing. I had to pretty much admit I had anxiety, lest the people involved thought I needed to go to the hospital or something.

I'll totally sit in as "Dan Szymborski" and read your cues, if you like.

As someone whose non-BTF identity makes me a Dan & who has cats (& who has even been on national TV, albeit as a news show guest, & albeit some 10 years ago ... hard to believe it's been the DC snipers case was that long ago), randomly glancing through this thread has left me somewhat apprehensive.

AROM/28 - not a big deal, but I'd see the info sooner + I like the "flatness" of how they were presented here (though not the changing formats)

I've never done anything of "significance", but there was a time in my life where I'd occasionally be on camera for stuff (training films, local commercials, TV extra) and I absolutely hated seeing myself on camera. Never anxious doing the work, but seeing the results always made me feel sick. (Heck, you can extend that to teaching reviews, basketball footage, home movies...)

Cats >> dogs.

Never anxious doing the work, but seeing the results always made me feel sick.

To be fair, seeing the results made other people feel sick too, so you weren't alone. Just visually disgusting to look upon.

This sock-puppet theater idea is really sticking with me today!

One thing I did did provoke that reaction, a training video for Cap One - me in drag, playing a housewife. Mind you, I had a full beard at the time... I don't know what the hell they were thinking.