Remember earlier this week when I told you about how happy playing in the outfield makes Gary Sheffield? How the grass looks greener, the air smells sweeter, the ball looks bigger, and life just seems better for Gary when he's not relegated to a role as a designated hitter. I hope Gary cherished those memories of chasing down fly balls, because he's not going to get the chance to do it too much in the near future.The Black Lung has pulled the plug on the experiment.
"His shoulder isn't right, and I don't think it's made any better by playing the outfield, because he can barely lob the ball in," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday. "The longer I think about it, it doesn't make sense that the shoulder can get better when you're playing, swinging and having to throw than serving as DH."For his part, while he's not exactly happy about it, Sheffield understands the move and isn't going to complain about it. Though if he continues to lose playing time because of it, that might change. Sheff was out of the lineup yesterday, and will be in it today, but he's only going to play one game this weekend as the Tigers go to Arizona and won't get to use a DH.
Another source of frustration for Gary may come from the fact that Leyland still doesn't really know what he's going to do with Sheffield in the future.
"I kind of have to play that by ear. That's a tough situation for him, because he doesn't want to put me in that situation and I don't want to be in that situation.Which is always what you want to hear from your manager.
"I don't really know what to do, to be honest with you. I'm confused."
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. What's to be confused about? He doesn't like his situation, he's damaged, he plays when he's not right and that hurts the team, he's over paid, and the Tigers are in last place. Time to realize the enevitable, Gary is old and needs a new place to try and do his thing. Gary has done some nice things for the Tigers and others, but his time is running out. Gary should think about getting out before he damages his body even more. He wouldn't need those cortizone shots anymore if he would just call it a day. Gary was a great hitter, feared by all pitchers. We don't know what were getting now days. Thanks Gary.
Posted at 3:52PM on May 15th 2008 by John
2. Gary Sheffield can't throw runners out, so he is a liability in the outfield. He is batting under .200, with fewer home runs in more at bats than Brandon Inge. So he is not very effective as a DH. The logical place for him is the disabled list, until he can recover enough to be an asset to the lineup.
This would allow Guillen and Cabrera to share first base and DH until one of them shows that he is a decent first baseman, while keeping both of their bats in the lineup.
This would save wearing Guillen out in the infield, which was the reason for moving him from shortstop.
Finally this would allow Inge to return to third, and we would no longer have to cringe in fear every time a ball is hit in that direction. On days when Inge has to catch or rest, Raburn or Santiago could cover third.
This improved defense would help the pitching situation, and we might even win a few games without scoring 5 or more runs.
Posted at 6:17PM on May 17th 2008 by Eric