TIGERS RELEASE SHEFFIELD - Mets to sign him

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

How many "good" contract extensions has he made?

Granderson's was a mega bargain.

Guillen's was good.

Bonderman's was fairly priced coming off a year in which he had 200K's.

[Fool]

Not Roberston's, not Inge's, not Willis'.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

This move isn't to make room for Anderson. He was going to make the team regardless.

I think now what they do is keep Jeff Larish.

New Lineup

CF- Granderson
2B- Polanco
RF- Ordonez
1B- Cabrera
LF- Guillen
DH- Thames
C- Laird
3B- Inge
SS- Everett

Bench- Anderson, Santiago, Larish, Treanor

[Glenn]

Looks like they came to the realization that they had too many DHs.

[MoTown]

Maybe this move was made to make room for Dusty Ryan.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

All GM's make bad moves, guys. It's part of the business.

Brian Cashman has handed out plenty of awful contracts in New York (Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Kevin Brown, Kyle Farnsworth, Jorge Posada's recent extension), yet he's regarded as one of the better GM's in the game.

Look at the Angels for instance, they paid Gary Matthews Jr. 5 yrs/$50 million two years ago and he's now their 5th outfielder.

Theo Epstein overpaid Julio Lugo & J.D. Drew and gave a terrible extension to Mike Lowell.

Ned Colletti signed Jason Schmidt, Hiroki Kuroda, Andruw Jones and traded for Juan Pierre's awful contract.


It happens.

[MoTown]

All interesting points, Wil. But you should realize that most people at WTF don't like to look at the positive things that GMs, coaches and players do. Why do you think the NHL forum is so empty?

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

Jon Paul Morosi...

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Tigers released designated hitter Gary Sheffield this morning, a startling development since the team had already guaranteed him $14 million this season. It's the second-highest amount owed to a released player in club history, behind Damion Easley's $14.3 million in 2003.

“You’re going to pay him, one way or the other,” said club president/general manager Dave Dombrowski.

The decision is surprising from a historical perspective, because Sheffield’s next home run will be the 500th of his career.

“It’s one of those things where you move on, you know?” Sheffield said, remaining remarkably composed as he discussed the move. “I was surprised. I thought I was getting ready for the season. I never thought that I wasn’t going to be playing with the Detroit Tigers this year. It’s probably a blessing.”

Dombrowski confirmed that the decision means outfielder Marcus Thames will make the team. Thames will likely get a percentage of at-bats as the DH. “Marcus is a good player, a threat,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a streaky hitter at times. When he’s hot, he’s real hot. I think he’ll be a big plus for us.”

Manager Jim Leyland can also use Magglio Ordoñez, Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera at DH, which would allow him to have better defensive teams on certain days.

Sheffield signed a two-year, $28-million contract extension with the Tigers after being acquired in a trade with the New York Yankees after the 2006 season. He was one of the team's top hitters for the first half of that initial season in Detroit, but he has struggled to produce since sustaining a shoulder injury in July 2007.

Dombrowski lamented that injury this morning, saying, “We never really had a good chance to get the full feel of his abilities because of the injuries.”

Sheffield, who hit .178 (8-for-45) this spring, said Leyland told him that he wanted more versatility on the 25-man roster. Sheffield said he still “feels great” physically and would like to play this season. When asked if this is the end of his career, he replied, “It ain’t close.”

Once he clears waivers, Sheffield will be able to sign with another team. He said he’d give preference to the Tampa Bay Rays, who play close to his home.

[Fool]

This place was a giant love fest that year the Tigers went to the World Series. Let's not pretend like we just like to bag on people. DD has been shit the last two years making terrible moves all over the place, trading away the small amount of good arm talent for terribly over-priced hitters none of whom can play the field and half of whom can't hit the ball without breaking their shoulders anymore.

[Glenn]

The extensions that he gave that he didn't need to give are my biggest problem with him.