http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/...eets-great-under-the-radar-acquisition-080212Ken Rosenthal - Braves' gamble on Sheets paying off said:On Thursday, the MLB Network asked me to prepare a segment on the best under-the-radar acquisitions this season.
Wren called me and explained that he preferred to talk rather than respond by email.
Id be typing for an hour, he said.
Yes, the story is that good.
In fact, Sheets became a Brave in part because of his son Seaver, 10, who as you might have guessed is named after Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.
Sheets, 34, was the coach of Seavers travel-ball team. The family resides in Monroe, La. And on the final weekend of June, the team had a tournament in Atlanta.
If youre thinking, Hmmm, home-court advantage for the Braves, youre on the right track.
Sheets, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2010, already had auditioned for the Braves and other teams at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
But seeing as how he was headed to Atlanta anyway, he chose to throw a five-inning simulated game at Georgia Tech, not far from the Braves home park, Turner Field.
Victor Menocal, an associate of Sheets agent, Casey Close, had been a standout shortstop and volunteer coach at Tech, and helped arrange for the workout, which took place June 28.
Scouts from the Royals, Phillies, Rangers and Cardinals watched Sheets face college hitters; the Yankees and Angels had seen him throw earlier in Louisiana.
The Braves were hosting the Diamondbacks that night Wren, Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno and director of professional scouting John Coppolella slipped out of Turner Field during batting practice to head over to Georgia Tech.
Sheets threw 80 pitches. In 100-degree heat.
His fastball sat at 90 mph, reached 92. He spun his trademark breaking ball, showed an improved changeup.
I wasnt thinking I was looking at some broken-down guy trying to make a comeback, Wren said. Im sitting there watching, saying, Thats Ben Sheets.
Ben Sheets, who won the gold-medal game for the US in the 2000 Olympics, started the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium and was one of the best pitchers in the National League for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Braves contingent was intrigued. And, as luck would have it, Sheets was planning to attend the Braves game that night with his sons team. He had bought tickets, through group sales, in the left-field stands.
Wren, upon returning from the workout, went straight to his manager, Fredi Gonzalez, and pitching coach, Roger McDowell. He told them that the Braves were going to try to sign Sheets, and asked McDowell when the team could plug him into the rotation.
McDowell picked July 15, the Sunday after the All-Star break. Sheets first would make two starts for the Braves Double-A affiliate in Pearl, Miss., about a 1 1/2-hour drive from his home.
The Braves determined that Sheets would throw five innings and 75 pitches in his first start, six innings and 90 pitches in his second. Wren said that Sheets already had built up his arm, throwing 22 100-pitch bullpen sessions.
Now it was time to chat.
Wren invited Sheets, Close and Menocal to visit him and his assistants in the GMs private box during the sixth inning. Close had told Wren, Its important for Ben to know you have a plan. The Braves had a plan, all right. Wren showed Close a daily schedule that the team had outlined for Sheets over the next three weeks.
Thats perfect, Close said. Give it to Ben.
Sheets checked it over, looked at Close and said, I told you Im ready to go 75 pitches right away!
But seriously, Sheets was impressed.
It wasnt how aggressive it was, Sheets said of the Braves plan. It was how they showed their desire to get me in their rotation.
Even if it took me longer than two starts, they wanted me in that rotation. (Wren) was letting me know, We want you to get there. Were signing you to get there.
The meeting ended, and Sheets and his agents returned to their seats in left field for the final two innings. Wren called down to the Braves clubhouse and asked an attendant to bring out two dozen Braves caps for the kids on Sheets team.
A few minutes later, Wren peered through his binoculars, saw the kids wearing the caps and noticed Sheets looking toward his box, flashing a thumbs-up.
We were laughing, Sheets said. Me and Casey said, Lets give him a thumbs-up. Im sure hes looking at us. That was a pretty nice gesture. It made the kids so excited.
Did it persuade Sheets to sign with the Braves?
It definitely didnt hurt, Ill tell you that, Sheets said, laughing.
Two days later, Sheets reached agreement with the Braves on a minor league contract. He would earn a pro-rated portion of $2.25 million, or just more than $1 million from the time he joined the major league club. The deal also included a potential $1.4 million in appearance and roster bonuses. Sheets already has reached half of them, and can max out if he makes 12 starts and stays on the roster 60 days.
The Braves offer wasnt necessarily the best offer, Sheets said, but the situation was perfect. He preferred to be in the NL. The Braves Mississippi affiliate was close to his home. Turner Field, in Sheets view, was a pretty good pitchers park. He also liked pitching in the humidity of the Southeast.
Wren, in turn, thought Sheets a great fit.
The thing that grabs you when youre around Ben Sheets is how passionate he is about the game, Wren said. Hes very much a baseball guy. The total package is off the charts.
Sheets even made a powerful impression during his brief time at Double-A Mississippi the teams pitching coach, Mike Alvarez, told Wren that he changed our club and dugout in three days, talking baseball, giving pointers to his younger teammates.
On July 6, Sheets stood along the dugout rail with the clubs pitchers, predicting the pitches that Mississippis Sean Gilmartin would throw as the left-hander worked into the late innings of a nine-inning start.
The younger pitchers, dumbfounded, asked Sheets how he did it. Sheets replied, Weve played this team three days in a row. Translation: Pay attention. Watch the hitters. Learn from their reactions.
Of course, Sheets wasnt in Mississippi long.
On July 15, right on schedule, he returned to the majors and threw six shutout innings against the Mets. He since has made three other starts, and is 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA, averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.
His fastball, averaging 93.3 mph according to fangraphs.com, isnt what it once was Sheets averaged 97.4 in 2008, before he underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, and 96 mph in 2010, before he had his Tommy John.
Still, Sheets is encouraged.
My breaking ball is probably as good as its been since 2005-06, Sheets said. The perception is that Ive always had a good breaking ball. But its been average the past three years.
I dont know if the 2 mph Im dreaming of will ever come back. I feel like if it did, it would push me over the top and I would become a very good pitcher again.
Actually, he is a very good pitcher right now.
A very good pitcher for the team he watched from the stands just more than a month ago, as the coach of his sons travel-ball team.
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MLB - Official 2012 Season Thread: Bringing in Bobby V to Change Our Culture |OT2|
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http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/...eets-great-under-the-radar-acquisition-080212Ken Rosenthal - Braves' gamble on Sheets paying off said:
matthewwhatever
Member
That story is crazy...I remember playing in Little League, and I was always terrified of being hit by a pitch. That's why I stopped playing, in fact; too many guys who threw hard but had no idea where it was going. It must take an insane level of courage and/or lack of self-preservation instinct to dig in against pro pitchers.
Mr. Enigma
Member
Yes, or the Phillies could just stick Lee and his entire remaining salary with the Dodgers for nothing. However if the Dodgers are on Lee's limited no-trade list, he can block moves like that too.
you should start a kickstarter for $40 to get MLB.TV.
edit: oh and btw, this deal probably still works http://mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp?view=refer
Dominican Power
Member
LULZ @ that fan.
HarryDemeanor
Member
We claimed Lee? I'm not so sure about this.
You should feel ecstatic if somehow the Dodgers got him. highly doubtful though.
Where the hell was McCutchen to back that up?
Xplatformer
Member
I doubt the Phils are just going to let him go for nothing...so I think either....
Phil's pull him back so it was like nothing happened.
The Dodgers offer to eat a LOT of his contract and send Z. Lee to them
If the Dodgers get him without giving up anything, or without the Phil's paying some of his contract....would be dumb for either franchise.
Xplatformer
Member
As long as these moves delegate that secret Padre agent Harang to the bench I'm more than happy to bring in ANY starting pitcher.
I HATE Harang on the Dodgers.
Kershaw
Lee
Bills
Capuano
Lilly
OR
Kershaw
Bills
Capuano
Lilly
Blanton
I'm good with either of those lineups. (obviously the first lineup being better for the playoffs...but with the Dodgers poor hitting it won't matter).
I HATE Harang on the Dodgers.
Kershaw
Lee
Bills
Capuano
Lilly
OR
Kershaw
Bills
Capuano
Lilly
Blanton
I'm good with either of those lineups. (obviously the first lineup being better for the playoffs...but with the Dodgers poor hitting it won't matter).
vas_a_morir
Banned
Awful, I got RRoD'd, after all these years.
Dominican Power
Member
Excellent!
I think we may need to think about bringing up Tabata soon and sending Marte back to the minors. He's definitely going to shape up to be a great player, but he needs to work on his plate discipline, and I'd rather him not get that practice in the MLB when we're trying to make the playoffs.
Dominican Power
Member
No hits for The Pirates.
I just want to share Joe Mauer's singing voice with you all in case you've never had the joy of seeing this commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hkp_KNT_e0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hkp_KNT_e0
Just picked a bad pitch to steal on. It happens. Latos sucks at holding on runners so it was a good idea.
He's been pretty garbage at base stealing lately in general. There's no reason someone as fast as him should get caught so much. Although, teams are looking for him more since his early season success.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Seaver Sheets? Why would you do that to a kid?
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Both Justin and BJ both hit their 100th career home runs tonight.
BJ joins the list of players with 100 homers and 200 stolen bases and the only ones to do it before the age of 28 were Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Eric Davis, Cesar Cedeno, Lloyd Moseby and Hanley Ramirez.
BJ joins the list of players with 100 homers and 200 stolen bases and the only ones to do it before the age of 28 were Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Eric Davis, Cesar Cedeno, Lloyd Moseby and Hanley Ramirez.
endresults
Member
One more ambush-style first pitch HR and we can lay a big fat NO DECISION on him.
vas_a_morir
Banned
The question is, will the Reds get another run off Wandy? Dude is pitching great tonight. And, it's not his fault that one run got in.
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