Ben Sheets To Have Elbow Surgery

well this is what weve been saying from milwaukee all offseason...

Dodgers 1 year, 1 million

0wN3d!!1

I guess this derails dodger fan plans to sign EVERY other Free Agent if they don't get Manny...

"The Rangers and Sheets agreed to a two-year deal last week, but physical threw a wrench into it."

Wait, what? Really?

If they're sure that TJ surgery can fix the problem once and for all, I think the Rangers should go ahead and sign him to a back-loaded, incentive laden 3 year deal. He'd miss all of 2009 and half of 2010, but he'd be able to help out in the fall of 2010 when Texas should be much better. It's pretty risky, but he's not that old. He seems okay with the idea of pitching in Texas - how many guys fit that profile?

Man, I've been a fan of Sheets because of his stuff for a while, but it all boils down to this:

You just can't rely on Ben Sheets.

THIS is why he is still out there. So many times we have read that teams had concerns over his medical reports.

Its a shame, the guy has all the talent in the world.

Scott Proctor underwent surgery in October to repair a partially torn flexor tendon, but the reliever is expected to be healthy by the start of spring training.

he should have the surgery and then be the "hired gun" for mid season. He'll get his money then.

Oh and those that come on here and say that "what a waste of talent" and stupid comments like that what would you rather have him do, be Pettite or Clemens and be on HGH to rehab all these injuries? I for one respect that he never went that route.

Yes its very sad but hopefully he can turn it around. Its not like he's 40, he's 30. He can still be very productive.

I still remember his performance in the 2000 Olympics. He's an amazing pitcher who's not done yet.

you need tommy john when you have a torn flexor thats what tommy john is

Attrition. Another one bites the dust.

Based on success rates, in just 50 or so more of these stories, we'll see a good pitcher emerge.

Chances he still throws more innings than Burnett this year even if he has the surgery? Id say as high as 50%.

"Daniels can now claim "i tried" yet leave one of the worst pitching staffs in history intact."

But at least he has an excess of catchers.

"Oh and those that come on here and say that "what a waste of talent" and stupid comments like that what would you rather have him do, be Pettite or Clemens and be on HGH to rehab all these injuries? I for one respect that he never went that route. "

I dont think anyone is blaming HIM. I think everyone feels bad that a guy with so much talent and so much potential keeps getting hurt.

"Did Sheets just find out recently that he needed this surgery? If not, why didn't he accept the arb from the Brewers?"

If he accepted arb, and news of a surgery came out, the Brewers would have legitimate reason to release him in ST.

Chances he still throws more innings than Burnett this year even if he has the surgery? Id say as high as 50%.

Posted by: metsknicksrutgers | February 05, 2009 at 01:27 PM

Would you like to put money on that? Because according to ESPN the surgery will sideline him the entire season. Ill take my chances that Burnett goes 1 inning.

kinsler5, you're still an idiot. Good to see nothing has changed.

Sheets is injured, and no one knew until the physical. Read the article.

yankeegirl,

ya i guess i just wasn't fond of the "tone" of your "friend's" post. haha friend.

Yanksfan,

I wonder if how everyone perceives him (ridiculously injury prone) made him not be as up front with people about it. The moment anyone said the "S" word (surgery), people would have been even further away from him than they are now which is a shame because when he's healthy he's an ace.

Done. Thats it, done.

The farm system for the Rangers is packed with arms. I think J.D is trying to build a team for the future while trying to spend as little as possible and win now. I for one am glad that he has been tentative, look how well that paid off for them. The Rangers could have singed him early for big bucks and come to find out he is injured...no thanks

I swear to god Kinsler5 is the biggest beatdown of a poster on here.

Yesterday he whines that the Rangers havn't signed Sheets yet, today he learns they agreed to sign him a week ago but the physical revealed worse health than expected and called it off and he blames the rangers for that.

You didn't know it was a possibility when you demanded they sign him? His injury has been talked about all offseason ya fool.

What pitcher did you want them to sign instead of hoping sheets would be able to pitch? 200 mil to cc? 100 to AJ? 90 to Lowe?

Anyway........ this sucks. I really wanted sheets. Its still possible a trade could be made, but it would have already been done if one you would approve of had been offered.

Yanksfan,

mistakes happen. GM's are human whether we like it or not. One of the best (Gillick) screwed up on Freddy Garcia's when we traded for him and gave up a good prospect (Gio Gonzalez)and last year's 17 game winner Gavin Floyd. DAMN YOU KENNY WILLIAMS!!

I'm sure we could point to some questionable calls that all GM's make.

Oh and that's much easier to take Gillick's mistake since he helped bring us a title. Winning cures all ills.

This is the best thing for his financial future. He gets the year off in a terrible economic market and if he can show next offseason he's healthy and strong, he can probably sign a nice 3 year deal without the Type A attached to his name.

when did sheets and the rangers agree to a two year deal? i check this website daily and do not remember seeing that!?!?

perez seems like a better signing now. If this got out before the mets signed him boris would have had a choke hold on them.

Anyone know whats up with the comments page?

tomahawk,

i'd expect the pages were getting too long and possibly causing issues. Its now broken up into 25 per page. just click on next and it'll get you there.

the problem that is the concern is the shoulder. No ones saying the "L" word here because no one wants to adversely involve themselves in ruining his career. GMs who have those concerns are just staying quiet and moving onto other options.

I didn't know the comments were being broken down. Thanks.

Dont forget Doogie Howser ;)

oh and trapper was always the drunk of the bunch (not that hawkeye wasn't too). Everyone knew that whenever they needed the BEST doctor, it was Hawkeye although i suspect that more than 50% of the perusers to this site have no idea what we're talking about!

wow I called this about 45 min before this post went up haha. I am a genius!

That's my bad. I was remembering some purely speculative blog a few weeks ago that spoke of possible TJ surgery, but you're right - after looking around a bit just now it seems that the ligament isn't torn. I guess that's the one piece of good news here. Man, I feel sorry for Sheets - that is the most god-awful timing for him.

So now Texas can sign Jason Jennings and use him as a test case to see what a player coming off torn flexor tendon surgery looks like.

The Brewers are going to end up getting 3 months of Sabathia and a second round draft pick in return for LaPorta, Sabathia and Sheets all leaving their organization. Not good.

"So now Texas can sign Jason Jennings and use him as a test case to see what a player coming off torn flexor tendon surgery looks like."

I don't know too many players that had that injury. Pettitte tore his during his first at bat as an Astro back in '04. He tried to pitch through it a bit and was mediocre. He finally had the surgery, then pitched the best year of his career in '05.

Glavine tore his flexor tendon this past season. He tried to pitch through it and was horrible. I believe he ended up having the surgery, but I don't remember when. We'll find out soon how he recovers.

Mike Hampton tore his at the beginning of '07, but he's not really a good person to use as a comparison for anything.

Otherwise, I can't think of any other examples.

No i don't agree. To fire that GM is too strong. It depends also on the GM's track record. If the Phils had fired Gillick two years ago when they traded for the "damaged goods" that was Freddy Garcia (many phils fans were calling for Gillick's head) then I would think that I'd have a different screen name today.
_________________________

OK, maybe I'm not making it clear. Any GM who "theoriticaly" may have signed Sheets w/o doing a THOROUGH MEDICAL EXAM should be fired. I don't mean just any player. I mean specifically Sheets. If Cashman signed Sheets and then just before spring training found out he needed surgery and didn't know there was something wrong then someone (GM, medical staff, whoever) should be fired. It's a different situation, w/ respect to Yankee trades/signings, when we signed/traded/drafted guys like Leiber, Sanchez, Brackman or Melcanon because we knew the situation already. But if the common fan was able to theorize that maybe Sheets was hurt then I'm sure any decent GM w/ a brain would've gone thru extra measures to check out his arm/elbow/shoulder, and if not then that's a problem. Maybe w/ less injury prone players you take a risk and of course if a guy gets hurt in April or May then it's different than not even getting to spring trainings, as is the case of Sheets.

And the Brewers miss out on yet another possible 1st round draft pick.

Yawn. This is sort of obvious. We all knew there was something seriously wrong. Atleast now these stupid Met fans will shut up their whining about how they NEED to have Sheets and Omar is such an idiot.

And how dumb was it for him to decline arbitration? Maybe he thought it would heal over the winter and it just hasn't. Talk about a risky move on his agents part? He would've made at least $12 mil, assuming the Brewers didn't non-tender him the contract afterwards.

Posted by: YanksFanSince78 | February 05, 2009 at 01:59 PM
====================================

Can they non-tender a guy after agreeing to offer arbitration and the player accepts arbitration?

I agree in hindsight it was a risky move. Even more so that a second consecutive season with the same solid numbers he had in '08 would certainly have boosted his value and the confidence other teams might have in his health.

I don't think he knew he was hurt. Had he known there was a chance he was injured, he likely would have accepted the arbitration offer. Might was well get paid while rehabbing...right?

Well I'm ready to eat humble pie. I wanted Sheets very badly over Ollie. I figured teams were reluctant to sign him because of his injury past and the economic situation isn't the best environment to take risk. I didn't know he was still actually hurt. Oh well, I certainly didn't mind getting Ollie back either so whatever. Let's see if we can a little left over money left and sign another lefty releiver or OF bat.

Still surprised he wasn't already signed. The injuries aside, he could be just as dominant as Johan or CC

Now I'm glad we did sign Garland...
Ok Josh Byrnes, I owe u one.

He'd be lucky to throw another pitch

Testing free agency was a dumb move for this guy. I'm sure the Brewers would have signed him to an extension before he got hurt for 4 years 12 million per year. But he got greedy wanting Zito dollars.

Arbitration agreements for players w/ less than six years experience are binding on both side. However, arbitration cases between FA eligible players are not. So if Sheets had accepted arbitration and it went before a "judge" and settled that team could still opt to non-tender the player and just pay the pro-rated amount, as long as it's done before opening day. My guess is that it's never done for fear of backlash from the union or agents?

That was the excuse that Varitek used recently as to why he didn't accept arbitration. He claimed he was afraid Boston wouldn't guarantee him a spot on the roster afterwards.

you need tommy john when you have a torn flexor thats what tommy john is

Posted by: derman1984 | February 05, 2009 at 01:19 PM

Shouldn't your handle be "Dr.Derman1984"?

LMFAO

i would say a fringe palyoff team in need of a strater to maybe put them over the top. They could try him and see if he can help before going to the trade market. If this were the case last year he would have replaced harden on the trade market (just came back from injury about a month before traded) or he would be the Freddy Garcia (but much better) trying to prove he is healthy while contending.

i am a true Brew Crue fan. and Ben Sheets has been my fav Brewer for some time. and i really wanted him back on the team for at least another year, injury-prone or not, full season or not, big money or not. he simply has been a joy to watch work and rout for over the years. a great player and a great genuine person and ballplayer. period. yet, Ben apparently eventually metamorphisized himself into "Da Big Brewer Ben", eventually getting pissed off that the Brewers didn't want to negotiate a long-term contract extention before the beginning of last season, then deciding to blow off talks about a multi-year deal with the Brewers during the season right after gettin' the NL starting nod in the All-Star Game, firmly stating that he wanted "to test free agency", then finally, quickly declining arbitration with The Crew after the season which would have surely brought him a very decent pay-raise and at least another year to prove to all of MLB that he could actually last a full season and perhaps finally post 20+ wins for which he has always 'ben' most capable. even after the Brewer/Milwaukee rejection(s), i still would have really liked to see him back for at least a year. however, i guess Ben ultimately, sadly, failed in his decision to "test".... it is quite obvious that the Brewers were willing to give him another shot at being able to actually complete an entire season and had no idea he would not actually be able. Brewer fan (and management) frustration with him has now been realized and hopefully understood outside of Brew Town-- we have patiently dealt with this for the last four years, we have lived through and with Ben's prolonged pain. perhaps it is best for all that it has now come to this.... i truly feel sorry for Ben, but it was Ben that ultimately made this lonely sorry bed for himself... and now he must sleep on it throughout this long upcoming season, now just hoping for another chance to someday pass "the test"....

why did he wait so long?...he shoulda had this done in late october