There has been a lot of buzz around the mets in recent weeks, after boosthing their bullpen with two premier closers they've become a sort of sexy pick for the World Series, with Sports Illustrated even picking them to win it all, and with the new addition of Gary Sheffield, it seems expectations will rise even higher, although not rightly so.
The Mets outfield as it stands is arguably one of the weakest points on their roster. Indeed, outside of the Carlos Beltran, one of the most well rounded players of his generation, the corner outfield positions, traditionally reserved for players who can hit are filled with marginal guys right now. Featuring a combination of Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis and Nick Evans, you can't expect to get much in the power department from any of these guys. So in Sheffield the hope is he can fill in that hole, bringing some power to a relatively unproven group of guys, but can he still really bring it? Last year in a deep lineup Sheffleld hit a pretty awful .225/.326/.400 with only 19 home runs, those are not numbers that a DH should be posting.
In addition Sheffield at the tender age of 39 is a pretty lousy fielder at this point, having lost a step or two and his once cannon of an arm is hardly that anymore. Indeed, one has to wonder, will Sheffield at this point even be an asset to this team, or will he be a dead weight like he was to the Detroit last year?
Stranger things have indeed happened, after all this is Gary Sheffield we're talking about here, with 499 home runs and counting Sheff has been one of the game's most feared hitters with quick writsts and a powerful swing that can make any pitcher sweat. Who knows, perhaps in the weaker NL he can have a successful season, but I worry that it will be too difficult to get him appropriate playing time to make him happy and more importantly effective. We'll see what happens, but consider me skeptical.
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