IT is the 2009 Mets. So, of course, the story never gets better. Only more humiliating. Only more dispiriting. Only more bizarre.
Gary Sheffield went from on his best behavior to, well, being Gary Sheffield. That means the five-month honeymoon is over replaced by Sheffield’s familiar demands for more money combined with less professionalism. So even one of the Mets’ few feel-good stories this year — Sheffield proving to be a mature, useful player — has now exploded on them.
The Mets rejected his bizarre request for a contract extension. So Sheffield, according to sources, initially became verbally abusive, then demanded he be released or traded to the Marlins, then threatened to return home to Florida, and finally just pulled himself from the starting lineup. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and then ignored reporters’ interview attempts after the game.
But at this point Sheffield’s past tells us what happened as well as anything he might have said. Sheffield is making $14 million in the final year of a contract he signed with the Tigers. The Mets are paying just $400,000 of it. For much of this season, he proved to be a bargain. With Sheffield, however, even the bargains are a version of dealing with the devil.
An actual mature, clear-thinking player would be grateful to the Mets for picking him up off the baseball scrap heap and giving enough opportunities, at age 40, to prove he still can be a contributor. But if there is an understanding of what Manny being Manny means, we also have learned what Sheff being Sheff means. Even a Sheffield pal called him “selfish” and unable to restrain a greedy inclination.
His 500-homer career is muddied by steroid allegations and disruptive behavior. It is no accident the Mets are Sheffield’s eighth organization. There are just no happy marriages with this temperamental player. He never looks in the mirror. At a time when teams are avoiding older players, Sheffield wants an extension, though he is a detriment in the field, injury prone and has extended this ugly history. He is the villain yet again.
But that does not exonerate the Mets. As Plaxico Burress can attest, if you carry a loaded handgun, terrible things can happen. And Sheffield is the human equivalent of a loaded handgun, and the Mets decided to do business with him. They also decided to keep him deep into a lost season.
According to SI.com, the Giants claimed Sheffield on waivers. The Mets simply should have let him go for a minor prospect or just to save some money. They were not bringing him back anyway.
Instead, they kept the loaded handgun around. And yesterday it went off. Again, keeping with the Mets’ pathetic season, Tim Redding actually announced Sheffield had been released (which was not true). Why was the media talking to Redding? Because earlier in the day, the Mets had announced the release of Livan Hernandez.
Why now on Hernandez?
“We wanted to go in a different direction,” Manuel said.
Redding will start in Hernandez’s place. When asked later how going from Hernandez (5.47 ERA) to Redding (6.53 ERA) is going in a different direction, Manuel just laughed and then faked hitting me with a bat.
Hernandez had $550,000 still available in makeable innings incentives and the Mets are on the hook for all of Redding’s contract. The Mets figured they might as well save a few bucks at a time when they just can’t save face.
Even after a 3-2 loss, the Mets missed an opportunity to spin the Sheffield saga more positively. But general manager Omar Minaya and top lieutenant John Ricco refused to meet the press and ignored phone calls. They were said to want to wait until a resolution in the matter, but, of course, their reticence simply guarantees this story extends for at least 24 more hours. Maybe this is just another sign that Omar is being restrained from public comment.
Maybe it is just another sign that in 2009 nothing will go right for the Mets.