My Turn to Gloat

There really isn't a topic that I have written about more than Gary Sheffield.

To recap, I think Sheffield is a total crazy person. For some reason, playing for the playoffs and meeting the expectations of his team aren't enough to motivate him anymore. He has to be talked about extensively in the media, then have all fans get on his back and doubt him before he goes on a tear. Then the next day people say "oh, maybe Gary's back?" And then he sucks again.

Is there a better example of how right I am than the past few days?

Gets put on waivers, his name on the front page of ESPN, throws a fit through the BOSTON GLOBE (??????) about not playing the outfield, and then hits 2 home runs. So far tonight? O-1 with a Walk, so I guess the jury is still out as to if he can keep it up.

Regardless, I was right wasn't I? I love this feeling, I want to do naughty things to this moment

Okay, back to business Look Gary keeps feeding us lines like "I can still play" and "I wanna be the leader of this team" and "I want to stay in Detroit." But the fact is, this dude is totally and completely done. He may have flashes of his former glory, but he cannot maintain it over an entire season.

Gary makes 14 million dollars next year. He also isn't an idiot.

It would be every Tiger's dream, along with Dave Dombroski and Mike Illitch, for Gary to call it a career at the end of the year. But, I actually believe that Gary thinks that he can still play next year. He might also be crazy enough to think he is the leading candidate to play Left field next year. So, lets rule out retirement

The other option is play him the rest of the year and next. Assuming I am right and that he cannot maintain a good average and power numbers over a year, he will likely have similarly bad numbers next year. That just wont get the Tigers to the playoffs. And face it, Magglio's contract is almost up, same with Polonco, Guillen is getting up there in age. Next year may be the last of the championship window. So lets rule that out.

There is always trade, but is any team going to want Gary's ugly contract and terrible numbers? Lets be serious, this option really isn't an option.

The last option is release. As disgusting as paying Sheffield 14 million dollars to do absolutely nothing sounds, it may be the best option. The Tigers have other options, namely Mike Hessman and Marcus Thames. But, Mr. Illitch isn't going to be excited about wasting 14 mil, and Dombrowski isn't going to be excited to admit he screwed up.

The Tigers are in a bad situation as a result to granting a bad contract (other examples include Brandon Inge, Nate Robertson, and Dontrelle Willis's contracts). The best option seems to be release. Give him to the end of the year and maybe even spring training to try and prove himself to be an everyday player, otherwise, you gotta cut ties.

Maybe Superman isn't wearing Dave Dombrowski pajamas after all.