Damaged Goods

It's official: Ben Sheets is damaged goods...WHAT?! I know hard to believe right? It turns out that Sheets had surgery to repair his elbow and has yet to sign with a team, although the Rangers are closing in. In eight seasons with the Brew Crew, the ace has been put on the disabled list six times. Since Sheets has yet to sign with a team, the Brewers will be stuck paying his medical bill. The Rangers will most likely sign in in the upcoming weeks. It could be worse for the Brewers, they could be paying his salary for missing most, if not all of next season. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, his rehabilitation could take more than nine months to heal. So Brewers fans, Milwaukee may be stuck with the med bill but optimistically the Brewers are done hoping Sheets will be the same person that struck out 16 batters against the Braves or the one that pitched so well last year that he was named the ace in the All-Star game. That false hope that the Brewers can get to the World Series with a healthy Ben Sheets. Sheets like Mark Prior both were two of the most talented pitchers and it is disappointing that injury problems took away from the world seeing just what those two healthy could do. But, when someone has arm injuries as a pitcher more than likely they fail to make a full comeback without something happening along the way. His free agency could not have happened at a more opportune time. Like Brett Favre jetting to New York, it is time for the Brewers to look at life without Sheets and once again start building for the future, this time a rotation. They aren't the Brewers of old, they have the talent in the big leagues to make the playoffs and even make a deep run. But they need one more piece to the puzzle. Sheets just isn't the right fit anymore.

Photo: Courtesy of JSOnline.com