Ben Sheets to A's - 1 year, $10 million plus incentives

[yoshii8]

It'll be weird seeing him pitch for another team. I'm thankful for what he did for the Brewers, when healthy he was a bull on the mound and always gave his best effort. He will always be one of my favorite Brewers. With that said, I wouldn't have given him $10 million, that is quite a lot to risk on a pitcher that just missed the whole previous season.

 

I'll be rooting for him and hoping that he ends up being our CC at the deadline this year.

[SeriesFinale]

I'll be very interested to see how he performs in the American League.

 

And yeah, this isn't quite the level of seeing Mollie in a Blue Jays uniform, and obviously not the same situation, but it's up there for me. I'll always be a big Big Ben fan (until, of course, he winds up with a hated NL Central rival).

[DHonks]

my question is...why doesn't MLB award the Brewers compensation this draft? They offered arbitration last year, he turned it down. He used a loophole of sorts to help the Brewers lose their rights over his contract.

[CheezWizHed]

my question is...why doesn't MLB award the Brewers compensation this draft? They offered arbitration last year, he turned it down. He used a loophole of sorts to help the Brewers lose their rights over his contract.

You answered it yourself... a loophole.

[crewcrazy]

This is sad news for me, but it was also expected given everything we've heard over the past year. I am happy that he's going to a team that I have no real grudge against, and it should be a good move for Ben (and a good move for the A's). With that big ballpark, he won't have to worry as much about his flyball tendencies, and considering they play Texas in-division it will give him a chance to be closer to home more often throughout the year.

 

I know a lot of people had negative feelings about Ben by the end of the 2008 season, but I'll always remember him as one of the best pitchers to ever wear a Brewers uniform.

[adamb100]

He absolutely was one of the best. Not many pitchers strike 18 out anymore.

[Baldkin]

If there's one pitcher who didn't ever belong on a National League team swinging a bat, it's Ben Sheets.

 

Good Luck in Oakland, Sheeter!

[Gobias Industries]

I hope that a full year off will help Sheets stay away from the nagging injuries he has been so prone to. He was one of my favorites on the Brewers, and is a guy I'll continue to follow.

 

But I don't like this for the A's. There is a very significant chance that it could be money completely wasted.

[brains and braun]

Was one of my favorite Brewers as well. Never understood all of the negativity directed towards him in Milwaukee. Sure he was an imperfect ace, but there was nobody I wanted to see pitch more as a Brewer. It reminded of Teddy when he was such a stud. Just a delight to watch pitch. And with Sheeter on the mound, I could almost always count on being home by ten. (with a seven o' clock start that is)

Best of luck to Benny.

[Hofbraunhaus]

I am definitely happy for Sheets and wish him nothing but the best. I am even more happy that he isn't in the NL so we won't have to worry about him. It'll be interesting to follow his season and see if he is able to stay healthy.

[sheethead]

The negativity was because he was paid as, and the organization held him up as, an ace. He didn't quite live up to billing, and disappeared when the club needed him most. Sure he is a great pitcher when he is on, but its not hard to understand the love/hate relationship he had with some fans.

[statman0007]

To say that Sheets "disappeared" when the club needed him most seems unfair as Sheets attempted to pitch with a torn biceps tendon for us during the run for the playoffs. I'm not saying he's not injury prone, but fans act as if it is a personality fault of Sheets'.

[SeriesFinale]

disappeared when the club needed him most.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200809060.shtml

 

Anyway (it's an old argument that makes no sense to rehash now), no #15?

 

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100126/capt.6d4f5ab821a945f99777a9104e7eab85.athletics_sheets_baseball_oas102.jpg

 

 

[sheethead]

I didn't mean to imply that it was his fault, regardless of whether part of it was or not. It just happened, and that affects people's perception and opinion (especially when he is making $9MM to be there and pitch). Injuries are unfortunate, but it doesn't take away from the fact that they actually happen.

[sheethead]

disappeared when the club needed him most.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200809060.shtml

 

Anyway (it's an old argument that makes no sense to rehash now)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200809270.shtml

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707050.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707140.shtml

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200709140.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200709180.shtml

 

I'm confused, does it make sense to rehash or not? I could at least double that total. Like I said, love/hate. Love when he's pitching, hate when he's not (the opposite of my affection for Suppan... hate/love).

 

#15 will be worn by Ryan Sweeny for a couple years after Sheets is gone in Oakland.

[homer]

Sheets was still hurt in Sept 2007.

[SeriesFinale]

disappeared when the club needed him most.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200809060.shtml

 

Anyway (it's an old argument that makes no sense to rehash now)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200809270.shtml

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707050.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707140.shtml

 

http://www.baseball-refer...s/MIL/MIL200707050.shtml href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707050.shtml" target=_blank>http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200709140.shtml

http://www.baseball-refer...s/MIL/MIL200707140.shtml href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707140.shtml" target=_blank>http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200709180.shtml

 

I'm confused, does it make sense to rehash or not? I could at least double that total. Like I said, love/hate. Love when he's pitching, hate when he's not (the opposite of my affection for Suppan... hate/love).

 

#15 will be worn by Ryan Sweeny for a couple years after Sheets is gone in Oakland.

Some of those are 404, and some of those just jibe with what people were trying to say earlier--he was clearly injured. Having an injury doesn't necessarily mean someone "disappears," as if he just didn't want to be there or simply wasn't "clutch."

 

I will grant that "fragile" is a fair tag to place on him given the last few years.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

He didn't quite live up to billing, and disappeared when the club needed him most.

I'm just so glad he's not a Brewer anymore so the exposure to this kind of stuff is reduced.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm delighted, both that Benny hasn't gone to one of the hated top 5, and that it puts to rest all the "we should sign Sheets" talk here at BF.net.

Well, the Brewers should have signed Sheets. Obviously, something went down behind the scenes where at least one of the parties hated the other at the end. Hopefully now he's signed somewhere the truth comes out.

 

Ask yourself, who would you rather have for the coming season? Doug Davis and LaTroy Hawkins, or Sheets?

[Invader3K]

Sheets was bitter toward the club for not re-signing him before '08 started, and they probably wouldn't have been able to justify paying him $10 million+ this season anyway. Sometimes players just leave clubs. Ben was a Brewer for a long time...I'm not going to get too teary eyed that he's somewhere else now. It's a reality of pro sports that players move on for various reasons.

[Ennder]

Ask yourself, who would you rather have for the coming season? Doug Davis and LaTroy Hawkins, or Sheets?

 

Probably Sheets if we don't make the playoffs, Davis and Hawkins if we do. I see no reason to think Sheets will be able to throw even 150 IP this year so his value is really just trying to get a team into the playoffs and shouldn't be counted on to actually be active the last couple months. Then again we gave too much money to Hawkins so gonna be hard to include him in something like this and have the Brewers still come out ahead.

[Gobias Industries]

Anyway (it's an old argument that makes no sense to rehash now), no #15?

 

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100126/capt.6d4f5ab821a945f99777a9104e7eab85.athletics_sheets_baseball_oas102.jpg

 

Guy on the left has a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt.

/Hollywood Casting Directors

[Oldcity]

Sad day. My favorite Brewer ever. He will probably be forever underappreciated by the vast majority of Brewer fans. He was tremendous. At least he went to a team I like.

[BrewCrewForever]

Sad day. My favorite Brewer ever. He will probably be forever underappreciated by the vast majority of Brewer fans. He was tremendous. At least he went to a team I like.

Yeah, I always liked Ben. Sure I got frustrated with the injuries, but they happened. When he pitched he was as good as anyone. Lot of great memories of him. I too am glad he went to a team I kind of like. Very relieved he didn't go the the Cubs or Cards. That would have been a nightmare.

[GAME05]

being a great clubhouse guy (from all accounts) must help, too.

 

i don't think this is too bad of a signing, at all. if he gets injured you're only on the hook for a one-year contract. on the off chance he has a healthy season he either gets you to the playoffs or they flip him like they did Holiday.

 

i like the idea of signing high-risk/high-reward players because of the talent you can get in a late-season trade if they stay healthy. i remember Kansas City tried this once with people like Reggie Sanders, except their mistake was signing them to multi-year deals.