Sheffield and Dombrowski talk about release
From Lakeland - here you go, Forumites, right from those involved:
When Sheffield arrived at the Tigers' clubhouse on Tuesday morning, he knew something was up. "People were looking at me funny," he said.
Teammates or staff? "Staff," he said.
Because his teammates didn't know yet that Sheffield was about to be released. When asked if he was stunned after it happened, Sheffield said, "I'm not stunned. But you don't really know what to feel or what to call it.
"I was just surprised," the 40-year-old Sheffield said.
Of his two years with the Tigers, Sheffield said "it was up and down. It started with a monster season. In my mind, I thought I'd take this team to a championship - but then a freak accident happened in right field (hurting his right shoulder), and it took me a while to recover from it.
"I gave them what I had when I was hurt. What I can take from it is that I played through anything. I laid it on the line."
Does he feel his career is over?
"No," he said. "It ain't close.
"The reason they gave me for doing this is versatility. They're going with versatility. But when I heard that word, I thought I'm probably the most athletic guy on the team. That's their opinion, though, and I have to respect it.
"When this happens to other people, I feel for them. At the same time, though, I never thought I was bigger than this. I always worked hard to secure my job. I worked hard this spring, too. I feel great.
" I have a focus that I'm going to have a big year. That's where I'm at."
Dombrowski had this to say"
"We think it makes us a better club at this point. It was a situation, when he were looking at our roster, that it would be hard to keep (both) Marcus Thames and Sheffield. We believe Marcus can be a very productive hitter for us.
"We also think it gives us more versatility on how to use the DH. It gives us the opportunity to rest a Magglio Ordonez, rest a Carlos Guillen, rest a Miguel Cabrera.
"We looked at Sheffield as primarily a DH, and we don't look at Marcus the same way. That's the reason."
About the likelihood of eating the bulk of Sheffield's $14 million salary, Dombrowski said, "we were going to pay him one way or another, and we're not replacing him with a real high-salary individual "
The Tigers also optioned outfielder Clete Thomas to Toledo: sent infielder Wil Rhymes and outfielder Timo Perez to minor-league camp for assignment and placed pitcher Jeremy Bonderman on the 15-day disabled list.
