Sheets watch (closed in deference to new thread)

[rluzinski]

There certainly is no hard evidence. There's just been some clues. The fact that he was crying after the last game gave me the impression that, for whatever reason, he thought he had just seen his last game as a fellow Brewer. Public comments by Melvin and Sheets seem to support that, for whatever reason, they are not serious considering each other, at least at this time.

[RockCoCougars]

My guess is that something nasty went down between Sheets and the club last year. If I had to guess, I would say it probably had something to do with a misdiagnosis of his injury.

[bklynbrewcrew]

I think Sheets wanted to come back but the Brewers never made a real effort to make him feel wanted. I remember Sheets saying last season that "you cant invite yourself back". That tells me that he was open to returning but that the Brewers didnt want him for some reason. If this is true Melvin and Attanasio need to make amends for making Ben feel unwanted and make him a reasonable offer.

[RyDogg66]

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Sheets felt compelled - both for his own benefit and because of the pressure by the fans in years past who have given him plenty of grief - to "toughen up" and pitch hurt through August and the first part of September. He did that until he just couldnt do it anymore and he still got grief from the fans and it has hurt his chances in the FA market. I'd be ticked too.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

I haven't seen this anywhere else, but last night on the news, they said that Sheets was close to signing a 2 year deal with the Mets. I think it was channel 4.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

My father was listening to Bill "Big Unit" Michaels (ugh) one night last week and apparently Michaels said that the Brewers don't feel that Sheets doesn't keep himself in very good shape and that is one of the main reasons they are not making overtures to bring him back. He hinted that one of Sheets' injuries this year was the result of rock climbing or some such thing. Take it for what it's worth.

 

Meanwhile, Rosenthal thinks the Yankees should pursue Sheets and speculates that Sheets + Cruz would cost around $10M

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9112648/Don't-be-foolish,-the-Yankees-aren't-done-yet?MSNHPHMA

[ttsather]

Meanwhile, Rosenthal thinks the Yankees should pursue Sheets and speculates that Sheets + Cruz would cost around $10Mhttp://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9112648/Don

This doesn't surprise me at all - a low cost move on two different fronts (pick compensation and salary).

 

Sheets does outrank Cruz on the Elias Rankings (though, not by very much), for those worried about missing out on that 4th round pick.

[JohnBriggs12]

Marques,

 

Either your dad or Michels may be confusing Sheets' 2007 finger injury. I seem to recall it being mentioned that it was a more typical injury for rock climbers than it is for pitchers. Never was it suggested that Sheets actually was rock climbing. Though one has to wonder if the Brewers know more about Sheets' conditioning habits than other teams.

[sheetswannabe]

I thought the rock climbing thing was his Latissimus Dorsi injury, not the finger injury.

[bbrauch2000]

I thought you could only sign 3 type A free agents?

[rluzinski]

Yes, it most likely that The Big Unit was just speculating about things and got his facts completely messed up. The finger injury Sheets had is usually a result of rock climbing. Maybe The Big Unit thought Sheets was rock climbing between inning?. I think it's safe to ignore anything he says.

 

And there are plenty of baseball players that don't stay in great physical shape. If you want to discount their value as a result, that's reasonable. To suggest a guy like that shouldn't be considered at any cost, confuses me. I really hope that isn't how Melvin is approaching this. At $9 mil, Sheets is only being paid to make about 16 starts.

[RU Rah Rah]

Am I the only one who's struggling to picture Sheets rock climbing?

[1992casey]

I thought you could only sign 3 type A free agents?

 

I believe the limit is a percentage of free agents on the market, meaning it could vary from year to year.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, for some reason the whole "Can the Yankees sign another Type A or not?" question hasn't really been definitively answered.

[Oldcity]

It was answered in a different thread... Of course I don't remember which. I believe Sam posted the official rule which indicated the Yankees would be able to sign at least one more Type A this year.

[Gobias Industries]

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Sheets felt compelled - both for his own benefit and because of the pressure by the fans in years past who have given him plenty of grief - to "toughen up" and pitch hurt through August and the first part of September. He did that until he just couldnt do it anymore and he still got grief from the fans and it has hurt his chances in the FA market. I'd be ticked too.

I personally think Sheets was treated poorly by the casual fan for years now, but then again, what player outside of Hardy, Braun, and Sabathia wasn't at some point? If someone can't appreciate him outdueling Peavy in September (injured, mind you) you have to question if they are actually a Brewer fan. Who cares what they think? That was probably my favorite performance of his.

 

But if Sheets thinks that Milwaukee fans were hard on him and this wouldn't happen in a different location so he feels kind of betrayed, well, then I think he's living in a fantasy world. I'd kind of have to question if that guy is in the right profession.

[rluzinski]

But he gets the benefit of the doubt with a new team. A fresh start. If Sheets signed with the Brewers for $8 mil, he'd still get blasted by the media and fans even if he put up 3.2 ERA over 120 IP. More wasted money! Soft! Can't be counted on! It became personal a long time ago.

 

Look at CC. Some Cleveland fans were starting to suggest that CC was a choker and wouldn't be worth whatever he ended up getting in free agency. What did Brewer fans think after a few months?

[Gobias Industries]

Look at CC. Some Cleveland fans were starting to suggest that CC was a choker and wouldn't be worth whatever he ended up getting in free agency. What did Brewer fans think after a few months?

I guess I can buy that. CC will most likely be remembered very fondly by Brewer fans, but no one could have ever predicted how good he was for us. But still, there was at least one guy in the IGT that CC pitched during the playoffs (and I'm sure more at local taverns, etc) that claimed he was a choker after he got lit up. He choked with the Indians in the playoffs and now he did it with us was pretty much the argument. He may be the biggest blowhard on this board, but its still gonna happen where ever Sheets goes. Some places (Mets) more than others (Rangers). If we offered 2/18 right now, would he really not be able to put up with it for 2 more seasons?

[Invader3K]

I also wonder how much of the complaining some players really here. I mean, Sheets doesn't strike me as the type perusing message boards like this, or listening to sports talk radio all the time. Yeah, he might have heard some booing once in a while at Miller Park, but what pitcher doesn't have to deal with booing from their own fans at certain points in their careers? It comes with making the big bucks.

[rluzinski]

I'm not sure if he's reading messageboards but it's not like the local media wasn't carrying the torch for the fans. Every other question the media asked him during any point of last year had something to with his health. Past health, current health, future health. Even when he was healthy and pitching great, he was still being asked about it. I think he was just sick of being defined by it. Of course, if he continues to get injured somewhere else, the same thing will happen but at least he gets a clean sheet of paper this way. That might be worth a couple of million to him.

 

Can't you just see it now? Sheets will sign a 2/$18 mil deal somewhere and put up a 3.5 ERA over 300 innings over that contract. That will prompt a few stubborn Brewer fans to pat themselves on the back for being right about Sheets not making his team better. It's practically inevitable.

[joepepsi]

He could pitch brilliantly in the next 8 world series', but miss his 9th to injuries and you can bet the phrase "oft injured Ben Sheets" will be all over the media and Brewer fans' lips that 9th year.

[DocLuna7]

I am not sure how much the injury talk "got" to Sheets, but doesn't he have to realize that Milwaukee's media market is peanuts in comparison with New York, LA, or pretty much anywhere else in the Big Leagues? Not saying that it wouldn't annoy me to hear about the injuries every day, but if he were playing anywhere else besides Milwaukee it would be much, much worse for him in terms of pressure in my opinion.

[endaround]

No it would be much less. Carl Pavano just got ignored as a Yankee.

[areacodes]

It was answered in a different thread... Of course I don't remember which. I believe Sam posted the official rule which indicated the Yankees would be able to sign at least one more Type A this year.

Earlier in this thread in post #451, Sam did post rules from the CBA and his interpretation of those rules.

 

Is there anyway we could add that post to the designated threads list or at least create a new thread and have it pinned to the top for the rest of the off-season? I'm pretty sure that question comes up in every thread about a type A free agent.

[rluzinski]

I have to agree with End. Most Brewer fans still seem to think that if you pay a starting pitcher $10 mil a year, he better get 32 starts and have an ERA under 4. Sheets signing a 2/18 deal with the Mets would probably look like a fairly minor deal for many Mets fans.

What they'll care about is just production. If Sheets gets lit up his first 5 starts, they'll probably lay into him more than he might be in other markets. But if he pitches well before geting hurt in August, I wouldn't expect the same reaction from Mets fans that Milwauke fans would give him. He won't even be their ace!