I was so excited a few seasons ago when Sheffield went to the Tigers. Why? He is one of those players I have always loved to watch, but always felt bad inside about rooting for because of pinstripes across his body. As soon as he made the trip to Detroit, I was ready to watch some baseball games and ready watch Sheffield's characteristic swing. Well we are heading into the days where we might not be able to root for him again as the two of the three teams that want him are “enemies”. The Reds, the Braves and the Phillies have all been linked to Sheff. For the Reds it is by Bakers comments, and for the Phils, many feel that they dropped Genkins as soon as they saw Sheff on the market. There have been whispers that he also wants to play for the Rays.
Where does he go? Well, I am pretty sure we can knock off the Rays because the role that Sheff would be filling is already being done with Burrel. For Sheff I think it will come down to playing time, which is going to be a problem with these three teams because they are all National League teams. There lies the main problem with the Phillies, because their OF is already crowded with fan favorites. Another problem he would bring to the Phillies is that he offsets the power balance again. There is something to be said about hitting a lot of homers, but you can't rely on them. The Braves then seem like an ideal match. They have a weaker OF and they don't have much power in their lineup, he would actually be really wanted there. The Reds would like him not just for his power, but his veteran leadership for Bruce and Votto. Both Bruce and Votto can hit, but a consistent bat like Sheff's and his leader skills could be really nice for that club. For me, I'm just praying that he doesn't land on the Phillies or the Reds because I still want to be able to root for him.
