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'The enth degree'
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Teddy Greenstein
March 26, 2007
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The fantasy sports community can be divided in two.
There are those (of us) who are content to pick up a preview magazine on the eve of their draft, hijack the rankings and pray that they pan out. Then there are the purists who wouldn't dare trust some stranger to put a value on their players.
Those in the second group should check out enth.com, which bills itself as a "next-generation" search engine. Whereas Google links to pages with information, enth creates new content after a search request.
So how does that apply to rotisserie baseball? Say you're trying to decide whether to draft Sammy Sosa. Type in "Sammy Sosa OPS year," and you'll notice a trend. Sosa's combined on-base and slugging percentage—which some regard as the best measure of a hitter—has tumbled every year since 2001.
There's also a feature that could be helpful in the later rounds. Say you need a second baseman, and you're light on stolen bases. Depending on your league's position eligibility requirements, you could search this: "Who had the most stolen bases in 2006 with at least 20 games played at 2B."
Hey, the Cubs' Ryan Theriot might be worth a play.
Enth.com launched in January as a database tool for businesses seeking easy access to sales figures. But the owners quickly realized the software could be applied to sports, where fans might seek it out for fantasy or wagering tips.
That's where Greg Smith came in. A 1993 graduate of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and part-owner of the Schaumburg Flyers, Smith is an entrepreneur in Baltimore who heads the company's business development.
Smith said of the company's recent partnership with Morton Grove-based STATS Inc.: "We've, in essence, taken the bible and given people a way to read it."
Next up for enth: Breaking out its data by month and opponent. So you can get confirmation that Jim Thome is a slow starter.
tgreenstein@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
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