Andy MacPhail — President of Baseball Operations — has taken some slack for not signing quite a few names despite the deals already made. Like many out there, I advocated signing Ben Sheets to become part of the starting rotation in light of his obvious risks and red flags.
Most who follow the sport know Sheets has talent and the ability to an ace. Well, I guess we also know why a lot of teams stayed away from giving oft-injured fireballer a long term deal:
From ESPN: Free-agent pitcher Ben Sheets is leaning toward elbow surgery that would probably keep him out for most, if not all, of the 2009 season, according to a major league source familiar with Sheets’ medical prognosis.
The surgery would repair the torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow that kept Sheets from pitching for the Brewers in the NLDS and limited him to just two abbreviated starts over the final 2½ weeks of the regular season. The normal recovery time from the procedure, according to the source, is nine to 10 months.
I can say, I guess we the fans were wrong and I guess there’s a very good reason why fans are not general managers. I could just imagine the anger and derision aired on part of the public about this move if Sheets had been signed.
Today, I am sure a lot of teams just dodged a serious mistake.
