Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 29, 2004
Sheffling the Defense

A number of people have pointed out that Gary Sheffield has offered to play third base for the Yankees (Dom Cento had suggested the idea here):


The Yankees' newest outfielder offered his infield services to GM Brian Cashman, even though he hasn't played third in 11 years. Cashman wouldn't rule out the possibility - "you never know with this team," he said - but added that, at this point, it's not a realistic scenario.

Still, Cashman marveled at Sheffield's willingness to help his team.

"This is a man I don't know very well at all," Cashman said. "But this showed me something. Let's put it this way: (The offer) will go a long way."


Sheffield has a reputation as a bit of a selfish player. I especially remember his time in Milwaukee, where it seemed to me he was not playing up to his potential because he didn't want to play there. This seems like a pretty selfless move, but it could also be low risk. Gary may realize that there's little chance of the Yankees making this switch, so he'll come out looking like the good guy. Still, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say, "Bravo."

It also just goes to show how hard it is to find a good thirdbaseman. Compared to shortstops for example, how many really great third basemen are out there? Rolen, Chavez, maybe Glaus and who? Blalock is still young. Koskie's pretty good, but doesn't get a lot of publicity. After those, however, there's not much. It will be interesting to see how creative (or uncreative) the Yankees get in solving the problem.

My solution to use Pudge
may not be viable much longer.


Posted by David Pinto at 09:43 AM | Defense | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I know Sheffield has that "selfish" reputation but as a Yankee fan who has lived the last 6 years in 2 different NL cities (SF and Chi) I've had the opportunity to see Sheff in person many many times. I have always been a fan of the way he plays the game because 1) I've never witnessed him dogging it between innings, pitches, whatever. And 2) I've never seen ANY hitter who never gives away an at bat the way he NEVER gves away an at bat. Less Importantly, 3) That wierd timing mechanism of his is just so mechanically improbable that I can't help marveling at it.

I'm pretty happy that Gary S. is a Yankee and I am optimistic that his time in NY will be productive and ultimately fruitful. I'm sure there will be a few bumps in the road, but I expect him to be a passionate hard working Yankee.

Posted by: Steve at January 29, 2004 10:53 AM

Even trying to find a good fielding thirdbaseman is difficult, especially this late in the offseason.

Posted by: sabernar at January 29, 2004 11:11 AM

Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but do you think there is any chance that Cashman's comments might have been uttered with the thought that it might be useful if a certain other Yankee showed similar commitment to the team?

Posted by: Mork at January 29, 2004 07:22 PM

Bill Mueller seemed pretty good last year

Posted by: Pete at January 30, 2004 12:21 AM

Before I'd embrace sending Jeter to 3B, I'd like to know exactly what is wrong with him at SS. I'm aware he has no range but I'd like a better mechanical understanding of why. Is it a question of positioning or of some physical shortcoming?

Posted by: Steve at January 30, 2004 11:13 AM

I'm not a Yankee fan, but I have posted this a few places and will do so here as well. The Yankees--and all the people who write about them--are overlooking an obvious, reasonable one-year patch: Keith Ginter. He is 28, hit 352/427 last year, supposedly plays reasonable defense, and is closed off from playing time in Milwaukee at both his positions by Wes Helms, Junior Spivey, Craig Counsell, and then, down the line, Corey Hart and Rickey Weeks. He could likely be acquired for very little.

It won't happen--I doubt Steinbrenner has heard of Ginter--but with the names being tossed out and the Yankees' signing a guy like Tyler Houston, I am surprised no one has mentioned Ginter.

Thre other idea I heard about the NYY 3b situation that I liked was Bruce Markusen's idea of trading for Jason Kendall and putting him at 3b. Torre, having moved from catcher to 3b himself, would get behind this, I think, and Kendall, while not a great player, is a good player, and is a competitive, serious, athletic guy who wants to play for a good team. Pittsburgh would likely give him up for almost nothing if New York picked up his salary.

Posted by: srar at January 31, 2004 10:19 AM