Baseball Gauge – Introducing our new version of Wins Above Replacement

In celebration of the new season, Seamheads.com and The Baseball Gauge are proud to announce our new Wins Above Replacement. The updated calculation has two major changes from our previous system. The first upgrade is our Fielding system, which now uses Runs Saved from Michael Humphreys Defensive Regression Analysis. This allows us to compare and […]

The Lighting of the Hot Stove

Perhaps the Hot Stove season does not commence until after the World Series. Or maybe it adds fuel to the fire. Either way there are instructive failures from last year to consider. There were Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth–just two of the biggest disappointments among the 2011 free agent class. Then at the summit is […]

What’s Next For Derek Jeter?

Even before Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter belted his 3,000th career hit, fans and media wondered aloud what would happen to him once he reached the coveted mark.  It’s not that we all expect him to turn into a pumpkin or anything, but the question remains: will the Yankees be willing to keep running […]

Centerfield in Washington Is Ankiel’s Now

When Rick Ankiel laid down the perfect squeeze bunt in the seventh inning yesterday all the thoughts of the Nationals nagging center field question disappeared like Brad Wilkerson going back into the dugout after waving to the crowd upon hitting for the cycle early in the 2005 season.  Nyjer who?  And what was that other […]

2010 Off-Season Will Be Historically Tough For Yankees

Two seasons ago, the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first––and last––time this decade. They went into the off-season with a sense of urgency––a sense that holds none of the connoted nerves for Yankees fans, considering they always have the financial power to get the job done. And they did. The Yankees signed three of […]

Nyjer Needs Some Love

After two whopping suspensions, dumping on Nyjer Morgan at this point should be half the distance to the goal for egregious piling on.  The guy needs some love big time.  So pardon me while I swim against the tide of the conventional wisdom–a concept born and raised here in Washington, DC. I will start at […]

Cristian Guerrero Will Not Be Forgotten Now After Hitting Five Homers in as Many Times at Bat

Since Cristian Guerrero’s time in the Atlantic League was limited it is not surprising people did not remember much about him, but former teammate and current York outfielder Steve Haake was not in total shock when he learned the strapping outfielder had pounded home runs in five consecutive times at the plate in an independent […]

Former MLB Hurler Dick Drago to Appear on “What’s On Second” Podcast

Former Major League hurler Dick Drago will appear on “What’s On Second: The Seamheads.com Radio Hour” on Monday, May 17 at 11:00 PM Eastern (8:00 Pacific).  Drago began his major league career with the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969 after spending four years in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system, where he went 50-41 […]

Remembering “The Bird”

The year was 1976; “Frampton Comes Alive” was gaining in music popularity, a former football player was still patrolling the White House, and yours truly had just received a driver’s license. Baseball season started with my next-door-neighbor, Al–a HUGE Detroit fan–telling me about this eccentric, young kid who had made the Tigers’ pitching staff. “They […]

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Five days in the Florida sun watching baseball without commuting on Metro, conference calls from hell, or stereo political rhetoric.  How can the crowds be so small down here when the grass is so green?

Tigers Starting Rotation and the Court of Public Opinion

Dontrelle Willis posted a win today in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jay’s in the Grapefruit League.   In a way, this scares me slightly.  I was beating the Willis drum when he was signed back in winter of 2007 but it has been well documented since then about his anxiety issues, lack of performance, […]

A Hurler Who Hit Better Than The Rest

A look at Louisville Colonels’ pitcher Guy Hecker’s 1886 season, when he became the first and only pitcher ever to lead a major league in batting. In the winter of 1885, it looked like a good bet that Guy Hecker would not be suiting up in a Louisville Colonel uniform for the 1886 season, a […]