"It's time to put all the women and children to bed"

Some of you may remember an article that appeared in the October 11, 2004 issue of Sports Illustrated. The article was titled, "Swinging Away," and it was an inside look at Gary Sheffield. In the article, Tom Verducci recalls that, in Gary's first season with the Yankees in 2004, he was hitting only .265, with three home runs in 44 games. Gary felt as if the Yankees didn't want him on their team. So he went to Joe Torre's office, and talked it over. When he emerged, he called his uncle, Dwight Gooden, and exclaimed, "They ain't seen me hit yet, but I'm about to get started. It's time to put all the women and children to bed."

This is possibly one of the best quotes that will appear here on TABC. Right up there with, "it makes my head explode," or, "You say 'bullpen by committee' and that sounds like everybody, and it's not everybody," or, "walks just clog the bases for guys that can actually run." However, what really sets this line apart from the others is what happened after. That night, Sheffield smacked four hits and drove in six runs. The following night, he had another three hits. In the rest of the season, he drove in 102 runs in 110 games, and hit 33 home runs.

All this, believe it or not, fits into the current conflagration with Gary Sheffield here in Detroit. Gary Sheffield, I have always said, can hit on command. For the most part, he hits what he wants, when he wants. In Detroit, he has been swinging for the fences, every time up. He's eight homers away from 500, and he desperately wants to get there. He's hitting .220, and he strikes out 25% of the time he steps up to the plate. I was at the game on Monday night, and every time Sheffield stepped up he was booed, tremendously. he was booed when he flied out, when he struck out looking, and hell, he was even booed when he drew a walk. He was then placed on waivers. The next game -- Tuesday -- Sheffield hit two home runs.

I've always wondered why the Tigers signed Sheffield. He's 39 years old. And now it looks as if they won't be able to move him, even on waivers, ($30 million contract?) And is it any wonder? Sheffield went public with comments that he's unhappy with the role he's playing on this team. When he signed in Detroit, he did so with the explicit understanding that he would be doing a lot of DH-ing. He was put in left when the Tigers released Jacque Jones. He couldn't play left, because he couldn't throw the ball. He now complains that he is part of a platoon. As Jim Leyland so eloquently put it, "anybody who has a brain knows that's not a platoon." Unfortunately, this looks really bad for Gary. I can understand where he is coming from -- he wants more playing time, and although he didn't say it, he probably believes he would play better if he was a regular starter. Unfortunately, you can't start a guy everyday who can't field and hits .220.

At some point, Gary is going to have to accept his role as a part time DH. He simply can't produce at the level he used to, because he's gotten old. It can't be easy for a guy who was a star to realize that he is now a low-level support player, but that's what he needs to do. And after that, he should hit his 500th home run, take a bow, and calmly exit the venue.

Swinging Away (Sports Illustrated) - October 11th, 2004
"It makes my head explode" - June 12th, 2007
Kerry Wood and Dusty Baker - May 1st, 2005