Thankfully, it seems that the Reds may actually only have interest in him as the weak half of a leftfield platoon. Even so, I have ZERO interest in bringing in Sheffield. The temptation for Dusty to abuse and misuse him is far too great. Unfortunately, the Reds have to ensure that the 25 man roster is "Dusty proof."
Personally, I'll have my fingers crossed that Sheffield heads for greener pastures outside of Cincy.
Thanks for the comment, but I'm afraid we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Sheffield hasn't been a dominant player since 2005. Right now, he's a shell of his former self.
In his age 39 season in 2008, Sheffield posted a slash line of .225/.326/.400/.726 in 482 plate appearances. That's not dominant. In fact, it's not even average. To top it all off, Sheffield is a terrible defensive outfielder at this point in his career.
Dickerson would be in the discussion for best defensive leftfielder in all of baseball, while Sheffield would be in the discussion for the worst. Dickerson would give the Reds a massive advantage in run prevention over Sheffield. That kind of advantage would be VERY difficult for Sheffield to offset on the offensive end of things. And, at age 40, he simply wouldn't be able to do it.
If the Reds are going to be successful in 2009, it will be on the backs of their young talent and an improving defense. The more they sacrifice the defense, the more they sacrifice in the win column.
Personally, I want no part of an aging Sheffield. Not only is he on his last legs in terms of production, but he has a habit of being toxic in the clubhouse when he is unhappy. With Sheffield, it might morph into a situation where if he plays too much, then he hurts us with his substandard production. But, if he plays too little, then he hurts us with his attitude. Either way, I don't see him helping us.
The only way it *might* work is if Sheff agreed to a very limited role and Dusty agreed not to fall in love with another unproductive veteran outfielder. Basically, if Sheff was comfortable filling the Jonny Gomes role. Even then, I'll take the younger Gomes every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Gomes still has upside to his game and is good in the clubhouse, whereas Sheff is the opposite.
yea. i wont watch a game if this happens
ReplyDeleteGary Sheffield is still a dominate player and Dikerson would be the lefty off the bench and still start around 50- 60 games this year.
ReplyDeleteSmitty,
ReplyDeleteThankfully, it seems that the Reds may actually only have interest in him as the weak half of a leftfield platoon. Even so, I have ZERO interest in bringing in Sheffield. The temptation for Dusty to abuse and misuse him is far too great. Unfortunately, the Reds have to ensure that the 25 man roster is "Dusty proof."
Personally, I'll have my fingers crossed that Sheffield heads for greener pastures outside of Cincy.
Best,
Lark
Anon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, but I'm afraid we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Sheffield hasn't been a dominant player since 2005. Right now, he's a shell of his former self.
In his age 39 season in 2008, Sheffield posted a slash line of .225/.326/.400/.726 in 482 plate appearances. That's not dominant. In fact, it's not even average. To top it all off, Sheffield is a terrible defensive outfielder at this point in his career.
Dickerson would be in the discussion for best defensive leftfielder in all of baseball, while Sheffield would be in the discussion for the worst. Dickerson would give the Reds a massive advantage in run prevention over Sheffield. That kind of advantage would be VERY difficult for Sheffield to offset on the offensive end of things. And, at age 40, he simply wouldn't be able to do it.
If the Reds are going to be successful in 2009, it will be on the backs of their young talent and an improving defense. The more they sacrifice the defense, the more they sacrifice in the win column.
Personally, I want no part of an aging Sheffield. Not only is he on his last legs in terms of production, but he has a habit of being toxic in the clubhouse when he is unhappy. With Sheffield, it might morph into a situation where if he plays too much, then he hurts us with his substandard production. But, if he plays too little, then he hurts us with his attitude. Either way, I don't see him helping us.
The only way it *might* work is if Sheff agreed to a very limited role and Dusty agreed not to fall in love with another unproductive veteran outfielder. Basically, if Sheff was comfortable filling the Jonny Gomes role. Even then, I'll take the younger Gomes every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Gomes still has upside to his game and is good in the clubhouse, whereas Sheff is the opposite.
Anyway, my $.02.
Best,
Lark