SHEFFIELD NEWS

05/05/2008 8:48 PM ET
Sheffield getting another shot in outfield
Slugger's request to play field granted as one of Tigers' moves
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Gary Sheffield would get bored enough at designated hitter that he'd be looking at the fans and the popcorn vendors in the stands. By getting to focus on the outfield again, he's hoping that his season looks a lot better by the time it's over.

The last time Gary Sheffield played in the field, he ended up with a torn labrum that bothered him the rest of the season. Now, he's going back there to try to turn around his season. Aside from Jacque Jones' departure, it's the most "drastic" of the many changes Tigers manager Jim Leyland made to his lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.

After Sheffield talked with Tigers coaches and president/general manager Dave Dombrowski about wanting to play the outfield again, the Tigers are giving him his shot. The hope is that by getting him into the game defensively, he'll get a jolt going offensively. With Sheffield batting just .185 so far this season and limited to two home runs, the Tigers are willing to try it.

"Your job as a manager is to get the best out of your players," Leyland said. "Is this going to turn him around and get him to start hitting? I don't know. I'm not that smart. But it's something we're going to try and see if it pays any dividends."

Sheffield was in Monday's starting lineup in left field, essentially replacing Jones. He moved from the third spot in the order to sixth, trading spots with Carlos Guillen.

Sheffield's difficulty with the DH role is nothing new. Soon after joining the Tigers, he talked about the challenge of getting used to sitting for those half-innings when the Tigers are in the field and only getting up to bat. He talked about how he would have to pass the idle time on an exercise bike in the workout room or swinging a bat on the dugout steps. He never grew to like it, never even accepted himself as a full-time DH -- but he dealt with it.

Even with his shoulder problems, dealing with DH this year wasn't any eaiser.

"Once I started DHing and saw what it was all about, it's not me," Sheffield said. "It doesn't fit my personality. Not to say that this is the reason I'm struggling; it has nothing to do it. But the fact is that it just doesn't fit my personality. I'm a guy who likes to be in the middle of the action, when you're hitting and you've got to sit down and hit and sit down, that's just not me."

And if he wasn't in the middle of the action, he would have a hard time focusing on it between at-bats.

"I think that's a position for guys who can't do anything else," Sheffield said, "and you have to accept it in your mind first to do it. DHing, I never thought was so mental. Because now, I'm noticing faces in the stands. I'm noticing the popcorn vendors. I'm noticing things I never noticed before. And then you have to go up there with total concentration, and I just can't concentrate the way I want to concentrate."

Sheffield brought it up with outfield coach Andy Van Slyke and then with Leyland, but he insists he didn't do it as a demand.

"All I did to Van Slyke was I just told him how I felt about DHing," he said. "My thing wasn't, 'I've got to play left field or this is it for me,' or whatever. I just felt like I'm a better baseball player than I am a DH. When you have more tools to give, and you don't give but one, you don't feel like a complete baseball player. I just feel like I've got more to give."

It remains to be seen how much he can give in the outfield. Neither Leyland nor Sheffield expressed any idea how many days a week he can play in the outfield, in part because of the shoulder and how it will hold up. If his shoulder is healthy, he thinks he has a better arm than most left fielders in baseball. If it isn't healthy, then he has bigger concerns than the outfield.

"If it does, then it's time to go home. It doesn't matter to me. If it breaks down, then it means it's time to go. That's just the way it goes. I'm 39 years old, so I see no problem with it.

The Tigers have other outfielders to worry about as well. Magglio Ordonez served as the DH on Monday to make room for Matt Joyce's Major League debut in right, but that isn't expected to be a full-time move for him. It remains to be seen how Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn work into the outfield mix.

The other factor, of course, is how much of a difference it actually makes with Sheffield's hitting. As Sheffield said of his move down the lineup, "I can't be pulling off the ball like I've been doing, no matter where I hit."

Essentially, the lineup changes are a work in progress, and Leyland himself has no idea how the new mix is going to work. But he had to try something.

"At some point, you change player personnel, like we have," Leyland said. "At some point, if guys don't step it up, you change more player personnel. And at some point, the GM decides maybe it's the manager."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I feel like shooting him

Quote :

"At some point,
you change player personnel, like we have," Leyland said. "At some
point, if guys don't step it up, you change more player personnel. And at some point, the GM decides maybe it's the manager."

Strong true words! I was wondering if Leland was worried about his job... I hope he changes his pitching coach SOON!

ugh ME TOO!

"The Tigers have other outfielders to worry about as well. Magglio Ordonez served as the DH on Monday to make room for Matt Joyce's Major League debut in right, but that isn't expected to be a full-time move for him."

thank GOD it won't be permanent.

05/11/2008 12:17 PM ET
New destinations helping out Sheffield
Veteran's numbers have improved since moving to left field, DH
By Scott McNeish / MLB.com

DETROIT -- The Gary Sheffield experiment appears to be working.

Sheffield hoped moving from designated hitter to left field would help his concentration level, thus improving his hitting. Tigers manager Jim Leyland made the change, plus he moved Sheffield down from third in the order to sixth, on Monday, and the results have been good so far.

Since the switch, Sheffield has reached base safely in three of five games and batted .333 with two doubles and three RBIs.

Sheffield had his first three-hit game this season against the Red Sox on Wednesday. In addition, he had key run-scoring hits in each of his past three games, enabling him to pass Al Kaline on the all-time RBI list, and he now sits in a tie for 33rd place with Rogers Hornsby and Harmon Killebrew.

Sheffield, who has battled shoulder problems all season, said he feels healthy -- both physically and mentally. He likes playing in the field, because it allows him to stay in the game.

"I feel more like a baseball player, being in the game, getting a sweat going," Sheffield said. "I feel better when I'm in tune with the game."

Leyland likes what he has seen from Sheffield.

"He's done fine," Leyland said. "He's swinging the bat a lot better, gotten some nice RBIs. I don't think he's out of the woods yet, but he looks a lot better. Is that because he's in left field? I don't know. But he looks better."

Leyland gave Sheffield a day off on Sunday against the Yankees to rest his shoulder. With low temperatures and rain in the forecast, head athletic trainer Kevin Rand and Leyland agreed it would be a good day to give Sheffield a break.

At age 39, Sheffield is hitting .208 with two home runs, eight RBIs and a team-high 22 walks. He is 18 home runs shy of 500 for his illustrious career.

Scott McNeish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

05/14/2008 7:54 PM ET
Sore shoulder sends Sheffield out of left
Slugger to return to DH; Leyland to platoon starters in the field
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

KANSAS CITY -- Gary Sheffield's days as a regular outfielder appear to be over for the Tigers.

After just over a week in left field, Sheffield was out of the lineup on Wednesday for a day off. When he returns on Thursday, however, he'll be back at designated hitter, which will be his primary spot again when the Tigers return home next week.

Manager Jim Leyland made the decision and talked with Sheffield about it prior to Wednesday's game. Leyland saw signs that Sheffield is still being bothered by his right shoulder, a sign Sheffield confirmed. Leyland believes that playing the field and hitting isn't going to help the healing process.

"With the physical considerations and trying to get the bat going, the longer I think about, it doesn't make sense [to play Sheffield out there]," Leyland said.

Sheffield entered Wednesday batting 5-for-18 with two doubles, three RBIs, six walks and five strikeouts since the Tigers committed to putting him in the outfield at the start of last week's homestand. Three of those five hits, however, came last Wednesday against the Red Sox. He has gone 2-for-10 since, but both hits have been doubles.

Beyond the health consideration is the matter of how Sheffield's arm plays in the field. He hasn't had to try to throw home on a bang-bang play at the plate, but it was becoming apparent to Leyland that the shoulder wasn't allowing him to unleash throws at his old strength.

Sheffield was diplomatic about the move back to DH, but that's understandable. It was his talk with Leyland, first-base coach Andy Van Slyke and others that prompted the Tigers to move him in the first place. He said he needed to feel like a full player again.

"I just do what I'm told," Sheffield said.

Asked how much the shoulder was affecting him, Sheffield said, "It's always going to bother me. It's just to what degree I'm hurting the team when I'm out there."

Sheffield's move to left put him in the spot that struggling Jacque Jones held before being designated for assignment last Monday. Jones is expected to be released on Thursday. The Tigers called up outfielder Matt Joyce from Triple-A Toledo to take Jones' place; he has spent two games at DH and four in the outfield.

Joyce now becomes a bigger part of Detroit's mix in left along with Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn. Leyland said he'll play Sheffield in left this weekend at Arizona, where the Tigers won't have the DH.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sheffield done in left -- for now
Lynn Henning The Detroit News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Gary Sheffield's move to left field has ended, at least temporarily.

The problem is his aching right shoulder, which has made it all but impossible to make throws from the outfield.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland held Sheffield out of Wednesday's lineup against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Leyland said Sheffield likely will be back at designated hitter for Thursday's series finale.

The plan, tentatively, is to play him in one game this weekend when the Tigers play at Arizona. Because the Diamondbacks are a National League team, presenting no designated hitter option, Leyland has no choice but to return Sheffield to the outfield for his lone scheduled start.

"I can't go on like this, worrying about him making throws," Leyland said, referring to Sheffield's crisis, which is a product of last November's surgery to repair a torn labrum.

"It's a very awkward situation."

Sheffield performed strictly as a designated hitter during the first month of the regular season. His batting woes (.202 batting average in 2008, with two home runs, and eight RBIs in 29 games) have been tied to Sheffield's recovery and to the breaking up of scar tissue in his shoulder.

Doctors and trainers, however, have been satisfied with Sheffield's progress. Sheffield has talked about restrictions in his swing, but he has said pain has not been an issue.

After the Tigers last week released Jacque Jones, who had been playing regularly in left field, Leyland opted to move Sheffield to left field. For Sheffield, it was a return to regular duty as an outfielder, where he had played during the bulk of his 20 big-league seasons.

Throwing in the outfield created such discomfort Tuesday night for Sheffield that he at least twice did not take warm-up throws ahead of the Royals' turn at bat.

Sheffield has always been reluctant to talk about pain or hindrances, and he was typically tight-lipped Tuesday.

He conceded before Wednesday's game that his swing is often restricted.

After a good at-bat during one game, when he feels as if his old, free-swinging ways are back on track, "The next day I can't take that same swing."

The problem, he said, "is getting to certain pitches I'd like."

If you ask me, Sheffield has been "out in left field" all year...

I agree.....He should hang up the cletes and call it a career. We can't afford to keep him on the roster and have him injured every other week. If nothing else....stick Brandon in Left so we have some consistancy. It's no wonder we suck and are in dead last in the division...there's absolutely NO consistancy!

You got that right

Same here. No consistency. Everytime i check the lineup, it looks different.

gary.sheffield@DL-forever.com: enjoy the life after baseball. this makes no sense this way. not for you, not for the team.

I think we put Clete in Left, Los DHing, Inge at 3rd, And someone new at SS!

bobrob2004 wrote:

If you ask me, Sheffield has been "out in left field" all year...

Best post all day!!