Posted by Steve
Well, looks like Ben got his money after all. Ten million for one year. Good for him. I like it for the A’s also, mainly because of my belief that there’s no such thing as a horrible contract if it’s a one-year deal. If Sheets regains his form, he’ll easily be worth 10 mil. If he doesn’t, well he’ll come off the books next season.
I don’t need to recite my many odes to Ben Sheets once again. It became apparent that Sheets was not going to come back to Milwaukee, so I was prepared for him to go somewhere else. At that point, I was just hoping he wouldn’t go to the Cubs, who were rumored to have interest. I actually expected the Mets to sign him, so when he signed with Oakland today I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve always liked the A’s, but more importantly, I’m glad he’s out of the NL.
The biggest dilemma for me now is who to root for in the AL West. I had adopted the Mariners since Jack Z took over in Seattle last year, and I absolutely love what he’s done there. I guess as long as the Angels don’t win yet again, I’ll be happy.
It’s too bad the A’s are the only AL West team the Brewers don’t play this year, but it might not be all bad. I don’t have enough faith in a lot of Brewer fans not to boo Sheets in his Miller Park return, and such a scene might be enough to turn me against the Brewers altogether. Sheets seemingly grew tired of the moaning of some shortsighted fans who felt he didn’t earn his last contract (when in reality he outperformed it). In his presser today, he seemed to make reference to that fact.
[Sitting out] renewed me. I realize I love the game. You want to be somewhere where people want you.
Even today, I’ve been hearing reactions along the lines of, ‘What are the A’s thinking?’ or ‘Sheets wouldn’t have helped the Brewers,’ and all I can do is shake my head. Defending Ben Sheets has become my pastime, but I have honestly grown tired of it. I wonder if people will ever realize how good he was.
