Check out Sheffield

[Guest Edgy DC]

Acting like... Sheffield.

[metirish]

I wish I had a $13 million option to get pissed about...

[smg58]

I'm thinking that the $13M could get the Yankees more in free agency than Sheffield will in a trade. He's pushing 40, missed most of the regular season, and he didn't exactly light up the scoreboard in the playoffs. And that's before you consider any character issues. If people are beating the door down to get him, it's their loss.

[metsmarathon]

what a whiny bitch. and dumb too.

sheff can get a lot more money by taking hte 13M this year, and trying to get the two more years afterwards, than he likely could just by being a free agent this year.

[Frayed Knot]

- Seems to me that is was just a year ago that Gary was bitching about the possibility of his option NOT being picked up.
I'm surprised the Yanx are doing this; I guess they figure it's their best chip to land some pitching.

- I can't see him getting more than $13mil on the open market either, although he could get more than a one-year deal (2 certainly, although 3 is doubtful). He turns 38 next month.

- He's also been morphing towards defensive liability-ville in the last few years. Covers increasingly less ground in the OF and the 1B experiment didn't go well although, in fairness, it was a bit rushed.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

Gary Sheffield seems like a complete jerk. He has been a very easy guy to root against throughout his career. However, I can think of at least one high revenue team that could use a slugging righthanded leftfielder for a short-term financial commitment, so I am not surprised that the Yankees think they can get something for him in a trade. The limited duration of his deal makes him potentially very valuable to a team that thinks next year could be their year.

But, oh boy, what a jerk that guy is.

[seawolf17]

86-Dreamer wrote: Gary Sheffield seems like a complete jerk. He has been a very easy guy to root against throughout his career. However, I can think of at least one high revenue team that could use a slugging righthanded leftfielder for a short-term financial commitment, so I am not surprised that the Yankees think they can get something for him in a trade. The limited duration of his deal makes him potentially very valuable to a team that thinks next year could be their year. But, oh boy, what a jerk that guy is.

Dreamer, if you're insinuating what I think you're insinuating, NO.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

his baseball skills and contract are an exact match for the Mets' current situation. I don't think that Omar should GET SHEFFIELD NOW!!!, but think he should fully consider the possibility. I am glad it is not my decision because my personal disdain for his public persona would prevent me from making an objective assessment.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Nothing wrong with hiring people you respect.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

Edgy DC wrote: Nothing wrong with hiring people you respect.

? - this reply flew right over my head.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Read it in the negative. There's nothing wrong with not hiring people you don't respect.

I have nothing against a team on principle steering clear of guys they consider to be dicks.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

Thanks for clarification. I absolutely agree that ownership is fully entitled to pass on players they do not respect and if the Wilpons rule it out, then fine with me. I guess that Randolph's opinion would mean a lot to them regarding Sheffield based on their time together with the MFYs.

I have no idea what Randolph thinks of Sheffield. But, if he were to go to Omar on his own and say that he thinks he can manage him, and if Omar believes Sheffield will be productive, then I think Omar should explore if they can make a fair trade. Under no circumstance however do I think Omar should push Sheffield on Randolph unless Willie genuinely wanted him.

I guess all I am saying is that I trust Omar and Willie's judgement, and hope they make their decisions based on their own knowledge instead of popular opinion.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Sheffield is being his usual whiny ass self. He and George deserve one another.

I hope the Yankees do pick up his option for $13 M and then get stuck with him because no other team is willing to take on his salary for a plyer that has admitted to dogging it in the past when unhappy. Let the Yankees deal with their own clubhouse cancer.

[metirish]

Sheffield is pissed,what's new,now he says he won't play first base and that any team that he gets traded to would have a tough time with him..what a bollox.

[smg58]

Frayed Knot wrote: - Seems to me that is was just a year ago that Gary was bitching about the possibility of his option NOT being picked up.

I remember that too.

If the Yankees can't get a better offer than Shawn Green, I'd consider returning their calls. But that's as far as I'd go, and I'm in no hurry to even go there.

[metirish]

Yeaah ,he was pissed in Spring Training because his option was not picked up....

[Frayed Knot]

Yanx officially picked up Sheff's option last night and Sheff predictably went off on just about everyone:
Cashman (just a "middle man"), Torre, Abreu (he's not me), and even tacitly implicated Jeter for not sticking up for ARod.
He also claims that Cashman and the other 'middle men' are keeping him away from Steinbrenner whom he feels could straighten the whole thing out if given the chance. No Gary, he doesn't want you either.

I'm enjoying all this as both sides are getting what they deserve.
The Yanx are getting a huge headache and he gets tougher to trade by the minute. And Sheff - who bragged about serving as his own agent when he & George made this deal (over the objections of some NYY front office personnel) - found out about the old adage about a lawyer representing himself having a fool for a client. The ink was barely dry on the deal before he started complaining that he was worth more and that too much money was deferred.

heh, heh

[Guest vtmet]

Maybe instead of getting mad at the Yanks for picking up his option (which is totally within their contractual rights)...he should get mad at his dumbass agent that negotiated his contract and allowed his destiny to be controlled by the Yanks in an option...oh ya, that dumbass agent was Sheff...guess he should fire himself and complain about himself to the media while he's voicing his opinion on getting had by the Yanks...

[nymr83]

they can have jose lima

[Guest silverdsl]

I don't know how I missed this thread earlier - I think Sheffield is a huge asshat and I'll be thrilled when the Yankees get rid of him. Of course I love how productive he can be at the plate, but his constant negativity about not being respected, the Yankees being disloyal, how he's not comfortable, and everything else he's bitched about has made me like him less and less as a person with each outburst. I like when a player is outspoken, but I think they need to a) be in touch with reality make some kind of sense and c) know when to put a cork in it, which Sheffield most certainly doesn't.

Sheffield said that he's A-Rod's only sounding board in the clubhouse and that he'll be all alone without him. That might not be such a bad thing. I can't help but wonder what garbage Sheffield filled A-Rod (other player's) heads with, and if A-Rod's isolation from everyone else had something to do with Sheffield.

[seawolf17]

Is there anyone in baseball history who's been as much of a problem child as Sheffield? Seems like he's played for eighteen teams, and every team he's been on, he's been a headache. But his bat still earns him the big payday. Fascinating.

[Guest patona314]

if the mets did get sheffield, he could exact his revenge on the dreaded yankees at the 07 subway series. boy would the local papers love that.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The likelihood of that doesn't make him worth one more penny though.

[Guest patona314]

Edgy DC wrote: The likelihood of that doesn't make him worth one more penny though.

was just a thought

[Guest Edgy DC]

No doubt.

I'm just pointing out that sometimes thoughts like that get in a GM's head, and perhaps he proceeds with less caution than he ought..

[Guest Hillbilly]

Check out Gary. He's a Tiger.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/11/10/sheffield.tigers/index.html

[metirish]

] BY KEN DAVIDOFF Newsday Staff Writer November 10, 2006, 3:47 PM EST The Yankees have traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for three minor-league pitchers. In return for Sheffield, who missed the bulk of the 2006 season with a left wrist injury, the Yankees received right-hander Humberto Sanchez, regarded as an elite pitching prospect, as well as Class A pitchers Anthony Claggett and Kevin Whelan. SI.com first reported the trade today. Last Sunday, the Yankees picked up their $13 million option on Sheffield for 2007, and Sheffield blasted the Yankees before and after that decision. The Tigers, in an interesting move, agreed to sign Sheffield through 2009, an investment that should placate Sheffield for the time being.

[Frayed Knot]

]The Tigers agreed to sign Sheffield through 2009, an investment that should placate Sheffield for the time being.

That's the interesting part.
It also means that there was some discussion between the parties prior to the deal going down; IOW, while Sheff was bitching about it all.

[Guest Edgy DC]

To be honest, that three-year Yankee tenure of Sheffield's was less rocky than I expected.

On edit: Look for J.D. Drew to take his place.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I like how in davidoff's piece, which is simply re-writing Heyman's, he chose the word "elite" as a euphamism for Heyman's "highly-touted."

I mean, looks like 3 young pitchers is a good haul for a cranky injured old steriod user, but Sanchez ain't that elite.