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Sheffield transforms Braves
By Peter Gammons
Special to ESPN.com
Jan. 15
The Braves are now a totally different team. Period. Gary Sheffield is that good a hitter. That great a hitter.
A team that was outscored by every National League squad but three -- a team that for four years has essentially lived with the notion that what few pitches Chipper Jones sees he must hit -- has added one of the game's premier hitters. His bat is so quick, he can and does hit the best of the hard-throwers, something difficult to quantify in this era of regular-season numbers run up against the National Sinker/Slider Society.
|  | | Gary Sheffield joins Chipper Jones to form a formidable 1-2 punch in the middle of the Braves' lineup. |
The last time he had an on-base percentage under .400 was 1994, when he was hurt, and he's hit 113 homers the last three years.
"There is no better 1-2 mid-order punch than Chipper and Sheffield," said one GM. "If Rafael Furcal is healthy, there may not be a better top four in the National League." Furcal's on-base percentage was .394 as a rookie in 2000, when he was healthy. Chipper's OPS the last three years is 1.024, Sheffield 1.000. Andruw Jones and Javy Lopez are now better players.
But the Dodgers felt they could not continue with Sheffield demanding either a lifetime contract or a trade, a demand that hardened when he won custody of his 15-year-old daughter. Offense is going to be a problem for the Dodgers, despite Brian Jordan's numbers, fire, character and power.
But they believe:
Sheffield would have been a distraction; This now becomes Shawn Green's team; That with Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, Hideo Nomo, Eric Gagne, Odalis Perez, Omar Daal and Kazahisu Ishii, they could have seven starters. That allows them to dangle Daal to Boston for Ugueth Urbina, a deal Dodger people think can eventually be made when and if the Red Sox find another closer.
The Mets tried to get in without dealing Armando Benitez, but felt the Dodgers didn't want to follow Mike Piazza with Sheffield. New York has backed off Bubba Trammell, and hopes to soon sign Pedro Astacio and may deal Glendon Rusch and Jay Payton to Milwaukee for Jeromy Burnitz.
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Good Move