Does the Sheet Fit?

One thing that I have learned over the 9 months of being married is that there are certain chores that the husband hates doing and certain chores that the wife hates doing. It truly has to be a team effort in order to make it work. Every time that put on clean sheets on our bed my wife has a difficult time trying to put them on. She’s convinced sometimes that they don’t fit. After a little maneuvering of the sheets she see’s that the bed and the sheets are a perfect fit. She just has to adjust the parts of the corners to make it work.

On Tuesday, Ben Sheets will be auditioning for approx 8 to 10 clubs. A few teams that are expected to be in attendance are the Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets, Brewers, and Diamondbacks. I would not be surprised to see the Mariners jump into consideration and I’m a little shocked that the Angels won’t at least be among the teams to watch him throw on Tuesday. Outside of the Blue Jays all the teams have a hole in their rotation where Sheets could potentially fit in.

How does Sheets fit in the already crowded Rangers rotation? Sheets has a career 3.72 ERA. In 2008 he had 13 wins and earned a spot on the NL All-Star Team. He has proven to be an ace in his career, and at 31 years old he is entering into his prime years.

The questions that surround Sheets are not how he performs. The questions are all centered around his health and that he is injury prone. Sheets had a deal in place with the Rangers in 2009 but failed his physical and had to have surgery that cost him the entire 2009 season. The Rangers remain interested and have kept the door open for a 2010 signing. Sheets has ties with pitching coach Mike Maddux when he pitched for him while with the Brewers. Sheets is also from Louisiana and Texas would not be far from his home.

The question remains does Sheets fit with the Rangers?

Let’s take a look at the candidates for the 2010 Ranger Rotation:
-Rich Harden (lock for the rotation)
-Scott Feldman (lock for the rotation)
-Colby Lewis
-Tommy Hunter
-Derek Holland
-Brandon McCarthy
-Matt Harrison
*Other candidates include Nippert, Feliz, Wilson. Although they appear to be set in place in the bullpen.

Without Sheets the Rangers have 5 guys competing for 3 spots. It can be argued that Colby Lewis may be close to being a lock for the rotation when he signed a 2 year $5million deal. If the Rangers were to add Sheets then that would leave 1 open spot in the rotation with 4 worthy candidates to fill it. The Rangers could always trade one of these candidates to fill their need for an extra catcher. It’s clear that the Rangers have depth and that’s not a bad thing. It’s very rare that a team will end a season with the same rotation that it started with. If the Rangers were to add both Sheets and Harden then it would be safe to assume that they will need that depth at some point during the season. Adding Sheets could also give the Rangers more time to develop Holland and give Harrison more time to rehab from his injury last year. Both could be excellent options in the bullpen or could go down to Triple A and get more work as a starter. Derek Holland showed signs of breaking out last season but he also struggled. The most likely candidate to fill the rotation would have to be Tommy Hunter. Also, if Colby Lewis were to struggle then the Rangers would have the depth to fill his shoes.

It’s hard to argue against the Rangers signing Sheets. A top of the rotation with Harden, Sheets and Feldman looks awfully enticing. The Rangers already have the best lineup in the AL West and if the Rangers were to add Sheets then that may be enough to separate them from the pack.

We should find out soon if the sheet fits. Economics may be the biggest factor lying in the way of the Rangers reeling him in….

ARE YOU KIDDING ME OF THE WEEK????
It’s clear this week that it has to be the situation surrounding the New York Mets and Carlos Beltran. It’s mind boggling to think that the Mets would be going public against one of their star players. If reports are true then the Mets knew about the surgery and someone on the team had to authorize it with the doctor’s office or it would not occur. It leads one to wonder how much longer will the Mets stick with Omar as their GM.