Sheffield Signs With Mets

"The New York Mets announced Friday afternoon that they have officially signed OF Gary Sheffield. The veteran will provide a quality bat off the bench and some insurance for Ryan Church in right field (Sportsline)."

Good move for Sheffield. Now he can get his 500th HR, and had a chance to make a playoff run. My worry (if I was a Mets fan) would be that Sheffield will flip out if he is not getting the playing time that he thinks he deserves. You would hope being cut would humble him, but I doubt it. He will give them some extra power on the bench, but I am just not sure if he is worth the headache at this point.

Job Offers For Sheffield

"The Cincinnati Reds have an interest in free agent Gary Sheffield, but only if he'll accept a limited role. The Philadelphia Phillies are among the teams who have expressed an interest in Sheffield (Sportsline)."

Sheffield does not strike me as a humble guy who will sit back and take a limited role, but for his sake I hope he takes one of these jobs. At this point Sheffield has to look at it, as at least he is getting job offers. He is so close to 500 HRs, and we all know that mark can be very important to making a case for the Hall of Fame. You would think he would want to avoid what happened to McGriff (being so close and just ran out of time). Still, right now I think Sheffield is going to ride out his pride for awhile, and hope that some team opens up a spot for him. Also, if I was the Phillies I would stay away from this guy. If he gets angry he can turn a clubhouse upside down, and there is no reason for a defending championship team to take that kind of risk if they expect him to play a limited role. Reds on the other hand have nothing to lose.

Tigers Cut Sheffield

"Gary Sheffield's milestone 500th career home run will have to come with a different team. The Tigers released the longtime slugger on Tuesday, a surprising roster move and a potential end to what may ultimately be a Hall of Fame career. Sheffield said he was told by manager Jim Leyland and president/general manager Dave Dombrowski that the team wanted to go with a more versatile lineup. The Tigers did not envision Sheffield playing any position other than designated hitter (MLB.com)."

At first I was kind of surprised when I read this, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Leyland and Sheffield have not got along since Leyland made Sheffield a DH. The Tigers will now be eating a lot of salary has they have to pay $14 million to Sheff this year. To be honest going into this year I thought the man with the scariest swing I have ever seen would have a shot at a comeback season, but this could be the end for him. Not a lot of teams are going to want to pickup this guy. He has a bad attitude, declining skills, and has been somewhat involved in steroid scandals. Too bad for a guy so close to 500 HRs.

Tigers Indians Brawl

As far as baseball fights go this one was actually good. I actually think I gained some respect for Carmona for standing up to Sheffield. The guy didn't back down at all, and that is saying something since Sheffield is one scary dude.

-BMack

Tigers Put Sheffield On Waivers

Sheffield is having a terrible year, and now is pissed off because the Tigers don't play him everyday. When I say everyday I don't mean that he is playing like twice a week. He has played in 36 of 43 games since coming off the DL, and I think the Tigers have had enough (sound familiar?). The only reason this is interesting at all is because of all the injuries that have been happening in the AL playoff race. Still, I don't see any team putting a claim in for him, unless the Tigers are willing to pay a big part of the 14 million he is due next year.

-BMack