SHL: “Indians Win It! Indians Win It! Oh My God, The Indians Win It!” (Plus SHL MVP & Cy Young Thoughts)

Since there hasn’t been a World Series Champion in Cleveland since 1948, it’s Harry Doyle (played by Bob Uecker) of Major League that captures the tone of Joe Posnanski’s roster of historical Indians who took down the first ever Seamheads Historical League title four games to one over the Bill James-built roster of Boston Red […]

SHL — Pennant Fever… Catch It! A Primer for the Stretch Run in the SHL

With 12 games left in the season, there are still 19 teams with a mathematical chance at continuing their season into the playoffs of the Seamheads Historical League.  Barring an ’07 Rockies-type run, the number of teams alive is a more realistic 15 but even that is optimistic for a few.  Here’s how the teams sit heading […]

SHL National Originals: Red-Hot Cubs Climb Within One of Division Lead

The Chicago Cubs (49-39) might have some of the worst offensive numbers in the SHL but it hasn’t stopped them from staying in contention in the National Originals division.  Thanks to a mediocre July from the Braves and Phillies, the All-Time Cubs have climbed into a tie for second with the Braves and trail the […]

SHL National Originals: Cubs, Giants and Braves Within Striking Distance of Phalterin’ Phils

The Phillies (40-27) picked a bad time to slump.  Just when it looked like they were going to run away with the division, Philadelphia dropped nine of their last 12 games while the rest of the teams in the division gained ground.  The Giants went 6-6, the Braves went 7-5 and the Cubs went 9-3 […]

SHL National Originals: Injury Bug Bites Phils As Race Tightens

All season long, the Phillies (34-18) have been the pace setters in the National Originals Division.  Nipping hard at their heels is the rest of the division led by the Giants who have kept the Phils in their sights all year.  On May 29 and May 30, Philadelphia lost the services of Jimmy Rollins (.325/.358/.526) and […]

SHL National Originals: Originals Teams Bucking Offensive Trend of Rest of League

What happens when the best hitters in baseball history face off against the best pitchers?  If the early returns from the SHL are to be believed, the offense will edge out the pitching except in the case of the National Originals Division.

SHL National Association: Pirates Lefty Hurlers “Pitching In” to Keep Pittsburgh On Top of Division

Pirates’ (19-7) GM Curt Schilling should be proud of his team’s early start… especially the pitching.  Ahead of the Dodgers by two games, the Pirates’ pitching staff owns the best ERA in the SHL at 2.54 and have allowed just five home runs in 26 games.  No one on the team is blowing away their opponents […]

SHL National Originals: Phillies Keep Phinding Ways To Win

With more than 90% of the season remaining, the season is a long way from over.  However, if April is any indication, the Philadelphia Phillies are going to be a force to be reckoned with. 

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 7 of 7 – Expansion Three Division

In what is the most unique of all divisions, two Expansion teams of the 70s join the four Expansion teams of the 90s that were paired off to form a four team division of the latest entries into Major League Baseball.

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 6 of 7 – Expansion Two Division

In our Sunday doubleheader of Division previews, the latest entries into Major League Baseball are introduced in their SHL form starting with the expansion teams of 1969.

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 5 of 7 – Expansion One Division

More than halfway through the previews, we turn our attention to the Expansion teams of the ’60s and ’70s.  To keep the playing field level, the divisions are balanced based on when they joined Major League Baseball. Today, the first of the three divisions are previewed.  Check back tomorrow for the final two previews.

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 4 of 7 – American Midwest Division

Yesterday, we introduced the most stacked division and today we introduce another loaded division with the introduction of the American Midwest.  Like yesterday’s four teams, these four made their debut in 1901 in the American League.

Seamheads Historical League Part 3 — American Atlantic Division

Another day, another division preview at Seamheads.  Today’s SHL preview recaps the strongest division in the league with the American Atlantic division.

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 2 of 7 – National Association Division

Welcome back to the preview of the Seamheads Historical League.  Today, we break down the National Association Division consisting of the four National League teams that initially found their roots in the defunct American Association.  As a reminder about the lineups and rotations below, those are just projections and not the actual lineups that will […]

Seamheads Historical League Preview – Part 1 of 7 – National Originals Division

If you’ve been hanging around Seamheads.com for the Seamheads Historical League (SHL for short), we appreciate your patience.  If you happened back on this kicking and screaming as we dragged you back, we look forward to keeping you around for an exciting “simulated” experience for all of the Seamheads out there to enjoy. It took […]

SHL Update — What is taking so long?

Since I’ve been writing for Seamheads, the “Seamheads Historical League” is the most exciting project I’ve been involved in.  From the moment Mike got excited about it when I brought it up,  I knew the idea would take off.

Another Seamheads Historic League Update — The SHL MIA

All the rosters are in and almost all of the stats are edited and ready to be uploaded to the OOTP simulation.  Now, that doesn’t mean the SHL will start tomorrow but barring any major SNAFU the SHL should be starting sooner rather than later.  (No firm date yet because we’d rather under-promise and over-deliver).  […]

The Trouble With “Tribbles” Part One — The MVP Award Arguments

If you are a fan of the “old” Star Trek: The Original Series television show, you’ve seen or heard of the episode “The Trouble With Tribbles”.  The episode featured a cute, pink furry creature known as a Tribble that posed a pest because it rapidly reproduced out of control.  Without getting too much into it — mainly […]

The Seamheads Historic League – A Quick Update

Each day brings us closer to now what I’m comfortable calling one of the most ambitious offseason projects involving a baseball simulation.  Why do I call it ambitious?

You Thought the ’08 MLB Season Was Fun? Wait Until ’09

Wow!  What a year!  Jon Lester threw a no-no.  ManRam slammed #500 then pulled a “no-no” that sent him to Hollywood.  Junior Griffey became an elitist with his 600th blast then headed to Chicago where he made it back to the postseason but fell short in his quest for a first World Series appearance.  Josh Hamilton […]

The Greatest World Series Games Ever Pitched

After Cole Hamels tore his way through the Tampa Bay Rays lineup in Game 1, my thoughts turned to where it stacked up against the other 208 Game 1 starts in Major League history.  Thanks to Baseball-Reference‘s Play Index and using Game Score as the criteria, I thought it would be fun this week to […]

Seamheads Sneak Peek — Coming in November

For some us, baseball is a year round obsession.  Even though the Major League Baseball season ends, we find ways to fill the off-season with talk of the “Hot Stove League” and the occasional Winter League tidbit as we patiently wait for pitchers and catchers to report. Here at Seamheads, we don’t want the season […]

It’s Time to Leave Lidge Alone

With all of the behind the scenes work — see next Saturday’s post for details of something fun and exciting coming to Seamheads — and other writing I have done for the postseason, I have run out of time to do the research that I usually like to do for my Seamheads article.  But I […]

2-0, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0! Baseball’s Best-of Five’s Continue to Lack Drama

For nearly half an inning, it looked like the Angels were going to make it interesting and even up their series 1-1 with the Red Sox late Friday night (well, Saturday morning).  Then K-Rod killed the Rally Monkey when he served up a two-run homer to Kirk GibsonJ.D. Drew and the rest was history.  For […]

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Six

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty sixth week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

Another Performancing Enhancing Rant

Thanks to the tons of statistics and information and books and stories of the game, even though I never really saw Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig or Ty Cobb or Walter Johnson play, I feel like I have. 

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Five

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty fifth week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

A “Sporting” Look At The Beginnings of Yankee Stadium

The end of a legacy is near.  After Sunday, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park will have less company in the discussion of the truly historic stadiums of baseball when Yankee Stadium closes its doors in truly manufactured style — complete with a pre-game announcement of Mariano Rivera the anointed ninth inning pitcher of […]

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Four

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty fourth week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

More On Reinventing the Quality Start and How It Looks Historically

On Friday, on MVN Outsider (on a different site), I wrote an article called “Revisiting and reinventing the ‘Quality Start’”.  In the article, I took a different approach to the definition of a Quality Start and established new criteria.  Since then, after some other discussions, I have revised the criteria, making it a bit easier […]

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Three

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty third week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

Webb’s Elusive 20th Win

By the time you read this, my weekly entry to the Seamheads readers might be a moot point.  Brandon Webb takes the hill against the Arizona Diamondbacks with two failed attempts to pick up his 20th win.  Stuck at 19, if Webb fails to pick up his 20th win, he will join 23 other pitchers […]

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty Two

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty second week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

The Best (Players) of the Worst (Teams)

The Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres are all suffering through brutal seasons. The Nationals (50-85) and Mariners (50-83) still need 13 wins before the close of the ’08 season to avoid 100 losses and the Padres are not far behind at 51-82. None of the league’s worst teams this season have winning […]

Diamond Rundown – Edition Twenty One

Facts, figures and other tidbits from the twenty first week of the ’08 major league baseball season.

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