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Are the A's losing their gamble on Ben Sheets?
By Morris Phillips May 2, 2010 |
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TORONTO-You really don’t have to look any further than the numbers on Ben Sheets’ contract to know his inclusion on the A’s roster is a gamble. One year, $10 million. How does a player, who missed the entire 2009 season because of injuries, step in with the spendthrift A’s as the second-highest paid player, and be counted upon to be a No. 1 or 2 starter? Thinking along with A’s GM Billy Beane, the former Brewers ace’s numbers were too good to ignore, or pass on. Instead of a 31-year old pitcher who is two years removed from a Cy Young-type half season, you’ve got to figure the A’s, with the way they unearth gems, could have had a half-dozen younger guys with some pretty interesting potential. Given the way the A’s and Beane do business, they could have gone either way, but gambled on Sheets. The hard-throwing right hander gave the Athletics a welcome departure from a 2009 of rookie pitching auditions. His addition also gave the A’s the possibility of contending for a division title on the strength of superior starting pitching supplemented by a high quality relief corps. Now, with a month and six starts under his belt, Sheets is struggling mightily. His last two starts, on the just concluded disaster of a road trip, were awful. On Sunday, Sheets allowed 10 hits, nine runs and three homers. If you discount the poor outings to rustiness or the period of time needed to regain pitching rhythm after a year away, then his other numbers will raise red flags. Sheets hasn’t regained his strikeout pitch, with only 16 K’s in 30 plus innings this season. Meanwhile, he’s walked 16 batters in those innings, including at least three batters in each of his last four starts. Could Sheets be the new Barry Zito? If that’s the case, Sheets is going to need a longer contract in order to get things straightened out. The A’s unfortunately don’t have that luxury. With this deal, he needs to get healthy, gain his rhythm, and familiarize himself with a new league and new hitters, not to mention a revolving door of battery mates, immediately. That’s tough. In terms of character and accountability, Sheets checks out. He’s been a positive locker room presence, relates well to his teammates, and when things went south on Sunday, he was there to answer reporter’s questions. “I felt great, I felt healthy. I keep leaning on that crutch,” Sheets said. As the beneficiaries of his implosion, the Blue Jays had space for compliments. But Toronto manager Cito Gaston seemed to offer that and then some when asked to compare his pitcher, Shaun Marcum, to Sheets, a pair of guys who missed the entire 2009 season due to injury. “Of course, the guy across the way there, he’s got a good arm,” Gaston said of Sheets. “I think there a lot of guys like that on their ballclub. He just got some balls up today, and we hit ‘em.” “He still throws well. I hear good things about him, you know, he’s a gamer and a pretty good guy, so hey, anytime we don’t see him, we wish him the best.” Sheets still throws hard--in the low 90’s--but hasn’t regained his high-quality curveball. According to the guys who don’t have a life, and keep track of such things, Sheets threw his curve every third pitch in 2008, when he started the All-Star game and started the season 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA. That frequency of throwing curveballs was thought to be the highest of any major league starter that year. If Sheets’ curveball is that important and persistent to his success, it makes sense that it would take time to regain that feel. Once again, the A’s can’t wait, they’ve only got Sheets for one year. And at 13-13, the first place A’s are at the crossroads. Think some smart GM, someone who thinks they’re more astute than Beane, isn’t watching this scenario closely thinking Sheets could 2011 could be the year he regains his form? If that’s the case, it will be another case of the gambling A’s bum luck. |
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