Where Will Ben Sheets Land?

Could the Indians get in on the action? Purely speculative of course, but it might be nice to have ace material behind Cliff Lee since who knows how Lee will do this coming season.

First one to give him 3 years wins! Think the Astros have the best chance behind the brew crew of retaining his services.

"30 healthy Ben Sheets starts warrants 3 years in my opinion. "

I will be shocked if he gets 30 starts in more than one of those three years.

I think everyone is also forgetting about throwing Boston into this mix, I could definitely see them pursuing sheets to fill out a rotation of Beckett, Dice K, Lester, Sheets, Wakefield

I think Houston has a good shot if he leaves Milwaukee. I would not bank on 30 healthy starts though.

if 2-3 years is all the market offers i'd favor the indians and mark shapiro. that is exactly the type of move he would make

Cubs land - Yea, can't see the Cubs getting in on this one either. Don't amagine they will be making a big splash in the FA market this off-season. Probably just go after a left fielder.
I wouldn't mind seeing Sheets in Blue, but I will be glad when he's in the AL.

Some team will be smart and give him his 3 years. He was towards the top of the PAP list after limited innings 3 years in a row so it is really Yosts fault he hit the wall and had elbow problems.

He should have been babied some to get a full year worth of arm strength back instead of pushed an extra inning at every chance.

While he is 'injury prone' he has had 1 major injury in his career so he is a much safer injury prone than say Wood, Prior, Harden, Schmidt, Carpenter types.

Don't see Sheets overly excited (money aside) to jump to the AL.

Just my two cents but...
I think any team willing to take the risk on 3 years of Sheets staying healthy should consider the risk on Oliver Perez finding consistency instead.

Perez can be downright dirty when he is on his game and at 27, he is still capable of getting his arm under control with a little help.

In 3 years, can any of us really predict who is more likely to have been successful between Perez or Sheets?

Health v.s Control. Big dollars v.s medium size dollars.

"Health v.s Control. Big dollars v.s medium size dollars."

Oliver Perez is looking for big dollars. If anything, Sheets would be cheaper because of his health issues. When Sheets pitches, he is head a shoulders above Perez. Perez may have flashes of brilliance, but also games where he gets shelled. I'd rather give money to Sheets, who I know will be dominant when he pitches and might get injured than throw any money at an inconsistent Perez. If you structure your team to compensate for an injured Sheets, like how Boston used to prepare for a July DL stint with Pedro, you're better off. Rather have the ace pitcher for the playoffs than have the erratic #3 all season.

"I see the astros coming in with a 2 year 30 million deal with a vesting option for a 3rd year based on number of innings pitched or games started...anyone agree or disagree?"

Astros don't have the money to sign Sheets. They had a $93 mil payroll last year. Oswalt, Berkman, Tejada, Lee, Matsui and Villarreal combine to make up $66.6 mil. They have to fill out 14 other spots with $27 mil just to keep the payroll the same as last year. They're more likely to sign Randy Wolf.

"Health v.s Control. Big dollars v.s medium size dollars."

Agree with what someone else said...they will probably sign similar contracts, unless the Yanks just decide they want to blow Sheets away.

Sheets, when on, would be just fine in the NL. He pitched in the same division as Pujols, Berkman, Carlos and Derrek Lee, Aramis, Soriano, Tejada etc. When he is on, he is on, it doesn't matter.

I think Mil. would riot if he signed with the Cubs...but it won't happen anyway.

Sheets is a top talent, but he's hurt all the time. He has to be in the AL as he can not hit, isn't interested in it and hurt his forearm trying to hit in August. The Rangers seem a natural fit, though the Yanks if they don't get CC do too.

"He has to be in the AL as he can not hit"

Who cares if he can't hit I could care less if he didn't take a swing all year long as long as he pitches well. Having he can't hit as a reason he will go to the AL is ridiculous.

"What exactly does "he would have been fine for the postseason" mean? He wasn't fine for the postseason and was unable to pitch in the postseason."

It means you give him a DL stint if he needs one during the regular season. Sheets and his agent both said that if he could have gone on the DL in August he would have been healthy for the post season. Instead, he pitched 2 CGs in 6 starts in August just so the Brewers could get to the post season. If the Brewers had been able to put Sheets on the DL for a few weeks, he would have been healthy and ready for the post season.

While I agree using the Pedro method of resting an ace so he can pitch in the post season is smart managing, you have to be sure you'll get there to have it make sense.

It seems some of us are forgetting that aside from CC and Dave Bush the Brewers' starters were pretty horrid down the stretch: Parra 1-4 in 10 starts in August and September with a 7.79 ERA in September; Suppan, though brilliant in August, was 0-3 in 5 September starts with a 8.44 ERA and never made it out of the 6th.

This season was arguably more important about making the playoffs than necessarily succeeding in them. After the 07 collapse and a near identical 08 collapse, they needed to do whatever it took to get to October, which meant pitching Sheets when he was dinged up in August and September. Especially with Yo not being healthy until the very end of September.

Granted, the results weren't fantastic, and who know what a CC and healthy Sheets led Brewers team could do in the playoffs. Remember also they weren't hitting, and Prince had ONE hit in the Phillies series.

Someone noted that Sheets has had only one big time injury throughout his career. While that's true, '08 was the first time he made more than 24 starts since 2004.

My personal feelings are that he's a China Doll and greatly overrated. The Crew would be better off without him, especially as his type A status will net them 2 high draft picks.

Fingers crossed that CC will fore go the big bucks to play in a city where he quickly achieved deity status for roughly 25 mil a season. Even if he doesn't, the Brewers and their fans might need to swallow hard, be glad they've gotten 4 high draft picks.

Then deal Prince while his value is probably at it's peak for a front of the rotation guy and go with whoever that may be, Yo, Bush, and (gulp) Suppan. Plus, if they don't sign CC or Sheets, they should have the cash to go after Derek Lowe, or at least Randy Wolf. Sheets' days in Milwaukee are hopefully over.