Sheffield To Mets: More Than A Rumor?

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 12:05 PM EDT

David Lennon thinks so:

The Mets have contacted Gary Sheffield directly to gauge his interest in coming to New York and a person familiar with the situation said today that he could sign with a club as soon as tonight. Sheffield worked out yesterday at a college field in Tampa, as first reported by SI.com, and the Mets are considered to be his first choice, with the Phillies and Reds also showing interest.

"He wants the Mets to know he’s still hungry," the person said, "and he has goals."

Sheffield, 41, is sitting on 499 home runs, which means Citi Field could host a significant historical milestone within the first week of the stadium’s existence. He also wants to reach 3,000 hits, but is much further away from that mark at 2,615. Sheffield also has indicated that he wants to play beyond this season, a motivating factor that should work in the Mets’ favor.

There is an instant Mets connection as well. Sheffield is the nephew of Dwight Gooden, who is expected to be in attendance for the Citi Field opener on April 13.

On the surface, Sheffield appears to be a good fit for the Mets as a right-handed slugger capable of providing power off the bench. If they did sign Sheffield, Marlon Anderson is the most obvious roster casualty. Eating his $1.15-million salary is made more palatable by the fact that Sheffield is only due the major-league minimum of $400,000. The Tigers released him earlier this week despite owing him $14 million for this season.

Whatever you think of the guy, Gary Sheffield > Marlon Anderson in almost every conceivable way.

Update [12:45pm]: More from The Post:

The Mets were closing in on signing Gary Sheffield, likely today, with an eye on giving him significant playing time, according to two people involved in the talks.

"Unless something drastic happens, he is a Met," one of the sources said. "Someone would have to offer him a second year, and I just don't see that happening."

One person who has talked directly to Sheffield said the slugger prefers the Mets over the Phillies because he sees a greater potential for playing time, and wants the heavier workload as a way to showcase for the 2010 season. Sheffield is a free agent at the conclusion of this season.

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Comments

yes, sheffield better than anderson

but what about murphy? is he relegated to the bench if we sign sheffield? would murphy be better off playing everyday in Buffalo like Evans if that’s the case? is sheffield likely to be better than murphy?

dammit, i don’t like this shuffling of the lineup so close to opening day. it’s ruining all my expectations.

by englishgrey on Apr 3, 2009 12:15 PM EDT reply actions

WTF

this is lame. if they wanted to sign a FA to play LF they should’ve signed Burrell or Dunn or Manny. Sheffield is over the hill AND he’s an egomaniac.

by JoshNY on Apr 3, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

We'd be signing him to be a bench bat right?

Not our left fielder.

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

That's some good thinking Gina

Yesterday, all I heard was that ‘Shef’ wanted to play five days out of the week. When I go back and take a look at the current Tiger’s outfield, I understand why ‘Shef’ was the DH. Something really had to be wrong in Tigerland or something is wrong with ‘Shef’ for them to want him to depart and end up eating all of his contract.

Ego, production declining…I don’t know what’s the point of taking this guy. How does it give the Mets an advantage? Psychologically, this might be a problem for Murph due to the fact that he’s been working his a$$ off and he’s slated to start in LF. Is Murph now wondering if he’s going to have to share time? And right before the season begins. Hmmm…I don’t like it.

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm not sure what to think about this...

Sheffield is a huge idiot like Bonds. The “personal” downside has to be measured against the bat impact. I could see him putting up Easley like numbers off the bench. I’d envisaged Evans replacing Marlon in about 60 days in any case, but I’d still rather have Evans than Sheffield… tricky

by deadspy3 on Apr 3, 2009 12:26 PM EDT reply actions

My guess

Is that he’s a bat off the bench and sub in right field and at first base against tough lefties. He could also occasionally play left field.

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

The first base

experiment didn’t work too well for the Yankees.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Those 29 plate appearances?

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah I imagine if he was given time to adjust to the position he wouldnt be that bad

But I would expect(hope) we wouldn’t be giving him that much consistent playing time there.

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

But he was REALLY awful. He’s a huge defensive liability as the positions he’s used to. I mean, $400k, whatever, but I’d still rather have Evans I think. At least Evans hit lefties hard last year.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Huh?

29 plate appearances aren’t meaningful regardless of the results, but Sheffield hit .250/.276/.500 in that span, which is bad but not “REALLY awful”.

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I meant

his glovework there, not his ability to hit

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Nine games

Color me unconvinced.

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

knees

His knees are 41 yo and have played 2500 major league game soaked in cortisone and other mysterious salves and elixirs. Do you really see him getting behind grounders or rushing towards bunts?

The Nye Mets are my favorite squadron.

by hotspur on Apr 3, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

baseballreference says he's 39 going on 40

so 2009 would be his age 40 year. Either the article or the site is wrong. Whatev…

The Nye Mets are my favorite squadron.

by hotspur on Apr 3, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Nine disastrous games

I mean, its 400k, so whatever, but I’m not getting my hopes up about a 40 year old with a history of attitude problems being able to learn a new position. Especially remembering how bad he was when they tried it half a decade ago, even if it was only 9 games, there’s a reason it ended with that experiment.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Remember who he'd be filling in for.

Our first baseman, Mr. Delgado, has feet of stone and hands to match. So Sheffield will have little range at 41 years old—will anyone really notice a difference on those rare occasions when he plays 1B?

And weren’t a lot of people here recently bemoaning the Mets’ lack of a big RH bat on the bench?

by madisonmetsfan on Apr 3, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Couldn't disagree more

Delgado has no range, I’ll give you that, and can’t stretch to save his life. But he does everything else well. He gets decent jumps, solid footwork, decent hands, he’s always in the right place at the right time, and he saved D-Wright numerous errors last year. Wright should melt down a portion of his GG trophies and give them to Delgado.

First base is about more than range, its about footwork, knowing where to be and when, and decent hands. I may be in the minority, but I feel like Delgado gets a bad rep defensively, he’s not nearly as bad as people think he is.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Numbers back you up

Or at least uzr does, he’s not great but he’s not that far below average.

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions

And

I was not one of the people bemoaning the need for a righty bat, I thought Evans and Tatis were fine.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I mean

I get the small sample size, but that’s not the same as making a sample size argument about hitting. There’s a reason he didn’t play the position anymore after those 29 PAs, because he was downright awful. If he’s willing to learn how to shift properly and back up plays, fine, I can live with some shotty footwork and poor instincts. BUT THIS IS GARY SHEFFIELD. Is he really going to dedicate himself to learning a new position for a marginal amount of playing time there? Wouldn’t that just be a waste of his oh so precious time?

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

shenanigans

I hope he somehow gets hurt today and the Mets just decide to walk away.

Ridiculous.

batting helmets. batting titles. obp.

by Durelo on Apr 3, 2009 12:54 PM EDT reply actions

that rhymed...

…unintentional?

by jaronson5 on Apr 3, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I am indifferent to this move

as long as it does not affect Murphy which I doubt it will, the Mets are too high on him to throw him over right now for Sheffield. Evans was going to be sent down anyway when Livan was added to the roster.

by Endys Game on Apr 3, 2009 12:56 PM EDT reply actions

Promises

Reports are that Shef is being promised significant playing time and you know what happens when Gary doesn’t get what he was promised. There is no way that his offensive production can balance out his defensive suckitude and utter ass-hole-ness.

by MickS on Apr 3, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions

in this case

what happens is he gets cut. Shef has no leverage here which is why I think this is at worst harmless.

by Endys Game on Apr 3, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Suckitude

Another great word for my vocabulary!! :-)

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions

i kinda like it

Assuming we only pay him the $400k, it sure beats our other value signings (e.g. Sullivan, Mackowiak, Redding, Cora, …).

Hopefully, if/when he becomes a pain in the ass, they’ll just throw him off the boat.

by jasondg on Apr 3, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

this is omar's replacement for alou

except we are not depending on sheffield’s health at all and he’s a lot cheaper…so basically a sane version of signing alou.

by englishgrey on Apr 3, 2009 1:04 PM EDT reply actions

Sheff vs. LHP

08 – .754
07 – .832
06 – .948
Career – .945

Career UZR/150 in LF – 1.1
Career UZR/150 in RF – -12.9
Career UZR/150 at 1st – -9.1 (57 innings)

RH bat off the bench, Murph and Church will need some days off and Delgado in the pinch. Sounds like Tatis to me, although the upside is higher. As Eric said, he’s better than Marlon if he doesn’t sulk.

by Sokojoe on Apr 3, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

Cooking with Sheff

I love his career numbers, but he seems like a shell of his former self. As a spot starter against lefties, and a bat off the bench I guess he’s an improvement on Marlon so at least it’s a chance to send him packing. But promising him big playing time is a mistake. Watching him last year a few times (obviously small sample size) he looked horrible. I guess our scouts saw something this year though if they’re even talking to him.

Was does his LF UZR look like for the past year or two?

by whynot on Apr 3, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I disagree

Tatis isn’t nearly as old and he’s coming off a good year. Sheff is 40 and coming off a terrible year on both sides of the ball.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Huh, what do you disagree with...

I said “a RH bat off the bench that can play RF/LF/perhaps 1st base, sound like Tatis.” I didn’t say anything about perrformance, just that they both would fill a similar role. Irregardless, while I like Tatis one could argue that while last year was good, Tatis’ .345 BABIP is obviously unsustainable and while he’s coming off a good year, it was his first good year since 2000. That being said, again, I like Tatis. Besides, while Sheff had a bad year last year, he was worth 2.8 wins in 07, bouncing back from a .4 win injury filled 06 and was obviously very good the years prior. Of course there are caveats, there has to be for a player to be available 4 days from opening day, but what’s the risk, he proves to be an asshole or he sucks, he gets cut.

by Sokojoe on Apr 3, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

True

I disagreed with two things:

1. Saying the upside is higher. I guess you could make a case, but its tough to find upside in a player who was just cut from an eight figure salary. Maybe Sheff has more left in the tank than he showed last year, but I’m not getting my hopes up
2. Using his career #s defensively as a reference. He was a defensive mess last year, enough so that if he doesn’t hit, he could be a negative value player.

But like you said, he was worth 2.8 wins in 2007, and that’s more than something. At 400k, the risk is more in where he’ll be in on a +/- 2.8 wins scale

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

And no

I didn’t mean +/- 2.8 wins literally, he won’t get the chance to have that much impact in either direction (hopefully), my point was more that he has at least as much chance to have negative value as positive value. But like you said, if he sucks, he gets cut, which is fine.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Are we sure he gets cut if he sucks?

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

The Omar regime cut Sosa last year

ate a pretty big contract (2+ million.) Dave Williams was also cut with a 1.3mil contract as was Kazuo in his last year of his contract. The guys who sucked and didn’t get cut, Marlon, Castillo, Heilman were guys under contract in future years. So, I’m pretty confident he would cut if he sucked.

by Sokojoe on Apr 3, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

I think he would, I don’t think there’s any kind of special attachment to him, and his shenanigans are so infamous, I can’t this wasn’t one of the first things discussed. But again, I don’t I am, but I really hope in this one case that I’m not overestimating the Mets FO.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I really, really hope so

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually

Looking at PECOTA, that 2.8 win figure is pretty accurate according to them. His 90th percentile projected WARP is 2.9, while his 10th percentile projected WARP is -1.1 (obviously, this was before the Mets signed him, so I imagine it could chance).

Really, the surprise to me is that he has a 58% chance Improve Rate and just a 0.91 Beta. That makes me feel a bit better. I mean, if you view all the Mets other corner OF options as part of the same group (0-3 win players), Sheffield is a half step down from the other candidates, but a full step up from Marlon Anderson. He’s actually decent insurance for Ryan Church and his 1.21 Beta and Fernando Tatis and his ridiculous 1.68 Beta.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Ha, as you were typing this

I was basically writing the same thing but you posted your comment first. I agree with your point before about the defensive ratings, I was more just throwing them up there for reference purposes, didn’t really form an opinion.

by Sokojoe on Apr 3, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha

Fair enough on the defensive ratings.

Okay, my knee-jerk reaction has passed (man I love PECOTA), but if he’s promised any kind of playing time, or as Gina says, the Mets management forms some convoluted sense of loyalty to him, I’ll be very unhappy. But if he’s an insurance policy for the risk, mostly in RF, then its fine. I could see a Sheff/Reed tandem in RF being about as valuable as the average expectation of Church, maybe less upside but maybe less risk too.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

The problem is pecota's new warp

still doesn’t seem to get defense right, or at least it doesn’t agree with uzr and +/-. And obviously with sheffield his outfield defense is a major question mark.

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah that's true

And Sheff’s defense was pretty abysmal last ear. But even if he starts some games, the Mets will have both Reed and Church on the bench for support. Maybe we can just not put our RF out there on the day that Sheff starts and let Beltran cover 2/3 of the outfield, lol.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Hard to judge the defense of a man who played 6 games in the OF.

by Lunkwill Fook on Apr 3, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions

lol, touche

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Major Question Mark

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Apr 4, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Anything more than a bench bat and I am pissed...

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Apr 3, 2009 1:14 PM EDT reply actions

Seconded

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Used correctly he's a great aquisition

But his power is limited vs righties and his defense is suspect. I just hope he doesn’t take ABs away from Church or Murph against righties because that’s a losing formula and days where he replaces Church, Beltran is going to have to cover a lot of ground.

But on the bench. Wow. Exactly what we needed. Power righty bat.

by OlStubbleBeard on Apr 3, 2009 1:17 PM EDT reply actions

1998 Me is Ecstatic!

The 2009 NY Mets: WE GOT K-ROD! OMG, Putz, too! Sign Lowe! Lowe's a Brave. Sign Manny! Tim Redding, WTF? Sign Manny! Sheets or Perez? SHEETS! Perez?? Oh, Sheets is hurt -- good job, Minaya! WTF?! SIGN MANNY!

by ZaBlanc on Apr 3, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Actually...

We do need a little danger in our bench. I’m not pleased with who’s there. This is definitely worth a chance, and if he wants to win the RF job, fine.

by ZaBlanc on Apr 3, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions

You mean the danger that one of our bench players will be a tremendous headache?

by JoshNY on Apr 3, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Nah

I just think you need some kind of fear from the bench. We have no power right now. Give Gary a shot.

by ZaBlanc on Apr 3, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

A fist in my face?

Oh please! Gary “Joe Torre is a racist and I did steroids with Barry Bonds” Sheffield is exactly the baggage the New New York Mets don’t need! What ever happened to all that talk about restoring baseball’s real records? Roger Maris should have his record reinstated in my humble opinion. Has anyone broken it since the McGuire vs Sosa cage match? Screw the 500 homers as meaning anything that number will have to be dumped in the bin with all the other steroid era records both offense and defense for that matter! The ball was also as juiced as the players back then same as they did in the 70’s after only one player hit over 300 in the AL (Carl Yastremski) and 3/4 in the NL. History will record Gary as a damn good hitter, a so so base runner, a mid level fielder and I believe no rings on that finger either? Let him join the Rockies the biggest embarrassment to the National League since the 04 Cardinals allowed the Red Sox to break the curse of the Bambino! Lets not forget the Rockies would not have been in the playoff’s had a certain Mets team not done an historic flop! In fact without the wild card I’m not sure the Sox would have ever won a series to date! And that would suit me just fine!

Jag

by Long Suffering Jet Fan on Apr 3, 2009 1:22 PM EDT reply actions

I like exclamation points!

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Apr 3, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I concur!

by Sokojoe on Apr 3, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I hate them!!

Oh crap! I can’t stop using ’em!

by Eric Simon on Apr 3, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Lunkwill Fook on Apr 3, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions

+

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Is that you?

Paperman!!!

by Endys Game on Apr 3, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

"Has anyone broken it since the McGuire vs Sosa cage match?"

huh? You mean, like besides this guy:

by cjmulrain on Apr 3, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions

well done gif cj

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

haha thanks

I was gonna put just a normal picture of Bonds up, but when I saw this one, well, it spoke for itself

by cjmulrain on Apr 3, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I just don't want to root for him

I don’t care that he might be (or is definitely) an improvement. And it’s not about baggage or team chemistry, I just loathe him more than just about anyone in the game.

by Mount17 on Apr 3, 2009 1:31 PM EDT reply actions

I'll go along with that!

Here here well said!

Jag

by Long Suffering Jet Fan on Apr 3, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions

couldn't agree more

He’s an asshole and he sucks. And he’s old, so he’s only getting suckier.

And the guy is an asshole. I mean, let’s not forget all his assholey qualities.

batting helmets. batting titles. obp.

by Durelo on Apr 3, 2009 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm about to get into my car to head to Buffalo

Gary Sheffield is more than welcome to join me, as long as he understands that he has to stay there for the rest of the year. Do. not. want.

'Oh yes, I know all about that duty-of-a-citizen stuff. It doesn't go. There are exceptions to every rule, and this was one of them. When a man risks his liberty to come and root at a ball-game, you've got to hand it to him. He isn't a crook. He's a fan.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Apr 3, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

for $400k

he can bench for a month, that be trade bait when some other team’s corner OF breaks a leg. But the Nats have a good pool of outfielders stockpiled already. I’m just trying to think positive.

Maybe his work ethic will rub off on the younger players. He does train pretty hard; that’s why he needed all that flaxseed oil.

At the very least, this will provide a controlled experiment for the effect of a “clubhouse poison.”

The Nye Mets are my favorite squadron.

by hotspur on Apr 3, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

if he's putting up good enough numbers to be trade bait

then we might as well keep him.

i’m gonna wait until the press conference to see what omar says…this signing really depends on what type of role sheffield is going to have

by englishgrey on Apr 3, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't mind Sheffield at all

If it’s Sheffield over Marlon, I’ll do that every day of the week.

by Lunkwill Fook on Apr 3, 2009 2:08 PM EDT reply actions

TWSS

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

but

From the significant playing time, it looks it could be Sheffield over Murphy, not only detrimental to the future, but detrimental to the present.

Who's world is it? It's yours.

by BlackOps on Apr 3, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Or Church

But I’m talking specifically about roster spot.

by Lunkwill Fook on Apr 3, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Can we all agree he's good if he replaces Marlon?

There’s no way he’s taking Murphy or Church’s job.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Apr 3, 2009 3:10 PM EDT reply actions

No brainer.

Of course. A couple months ago, I begged the baseball gods and Omar Minaya to DFA Marlon’s ass. This proves that there is an almighty.

Now, if Sheff the prick shows up and hems and haws and doesnt accept a limited role, then DFA his ass too, thereby leaving Nervous Nicky as the next logical choice to join the bench.

I love it when it all works out! And exclamation points!

by TBlz on Apr 3, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

don't do it

he’s miserable. you don’t want him.

by ScoreboardGourmet on Apr 3, 2009 3:13 PM EDT reply actions

per MLB Home Plate on XM via secondhand source

It’s official, Sheffield to Mets.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Apr 3, 2009 3:31 PM EDT reply actions

Yep, Heyman says it's done.

May God have mercy on our souls.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Apr 3, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions

alright

Good, I’m glad you’re getting some corroboration above and beyond the word of a jackass Phillies blogger…

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Apr 3, 2009 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I was about to say this was uncalled for

when I realized it was just a jackass Phillies blogger calling himself out. J/k of course, I’ve read and generally like your stuff – you’re one of the good ones. In fact, I have a very hard time getting riled up over anything I read at The Good Phight, definitely an intelligent crowd over there.

by cjmulrain on Apr 3, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Just saw it come across the MLBn scroll as well.

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

The only problem I have with this right now

is that he apparently has been saying he would sign with the team that offered him the most playing time. So how much more playing time must we have been promising than Philly and the Reds.

by Gina on Apr 3, 2009 3:54 PM EDT reply actions

Well

Moises Alou apparently didn’t even feel like he’d get enough PT in Philly. He’d be competing with Victorino, Ibanez, and Werth there. The only guy he’d be worth matching up with is Ibanez, and he’s a vet. I’m hoping this was just some fast talking by Minaya, and that Sheff just felt like Murphy and Church were less competition than Werth/Ibanez or Bruce/Hariston/Gomes. He is kind of redundant to Gomes at this point in Cincy, the Mets don’t really have a similar guy.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Okay

Omar’s getting grilled right now on SNY, and I like his answers. He’s absolutely refusing to commit to giving him any kind of guaranteed playing time, he’s saying basically the things we’d want him to say without insulting Sheffield.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

And, If he acts like a baby

Whats lost by DFAing him? I would think that him walking into the clubhouse with 400K minimum, non-guarunteed salary would instill a little humility. We arent talking 14MM bravado here. And if the guy plays like he has something left to prove, then we are all the better. Roughly speaking, if Sheff can be worth 0.08 wins, he’ll have earned his salary this year. And if he can contribute just 0.3 wins, then he’ll be worth his and marlon’s salary combined. Worth the bet, IMO.

by TBlz on Apr 3, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

The bright side here

Is that we’ll be loaded with right handed power on the bench, assuming Sheffield isn’t starting most days. Sheff, Tatis, Castro. Lots of pop there, and more in the minors with Evans. Still not much from the left side on the bench, but the starting lineup is so lefty heavy that shouldn’t be a huge problem.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 3, 2009 4:17 PM EDT reply actions

Does anyone have a gif of Marlon Anderson packing his things?

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 4:31 PM EDT reply actions

ouch that's cold

correct and I love it but cold

by Endys Game on Apr 3, 2009 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah...

Personally, I wonder how I would feel being on the team in the new stadium with hopes of challenging for a WS title, then all of a sudden. Gone…

" Tiger Woods. Enough already. Act like you've been there before. "

by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 3, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

well, if I'm Marlon,

to combat that feeling, I look in the mirror and ask myself how a major league franchise could continue to justify paychecks to somone whose only semblance to a big leaguer is the uniform on my back.
Then I would kind of understand that I’m been robbing them blind for more than a year.

by TBlz on Apr 3, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

All this talk about Sheff not fitting in

but if he signed with Philly for 400k and split time in the OF and hit .280 17 78 you’d all be crying bloody murder. Omar doesn’t win either way but I think Sheffield is going to bring fire and attitude to this team. Manuel had him in Florida so they have history. Sheff is going to play hard and not back down from the Phillies. There is a reason Jimmy Rollins was pushing so hard for Sheff and the fact that Sheff WANTED to be a Met over a Philly warrants me giving the man a fair shot.

by Major on Apr 3, 2009 5:02 PM EDT reply actions