Mets put shocked Sheffield on DL
Photo credit: Getty/Jim McIsaac | NEW YORK - JULY 12: Gary Sheffield #10 of the New York Mets celebrates after scoring a run against the Cincinnati Reds on July 12, 2009 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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HOUSTON - Gary Sheffield said before last night's game that he felt ready to play and expected to return to the Mets' lineup.
So of course the Mets put him on the disabled list instead.
In another injury-related circus that carried the smell of buffoonery, the Mets put a shocked Sheffield on the DL with a strained right hamstring to make room for pitcher Jon Niese, who was called up to start against the Astros.
Sheffield had been out of action since leaving a game in Atlanta on July 17 with what the team called a cramp. The Mets had resisted putting one of their few power sources on the DL and made the move only at the exact moment Sheffield said he was ready to play again. He will be eligible to return next Sunday.
Sheffield, who was preparing for batting practice and had to be called off the field, looked bemused after a four-minute closed-door meeting with manager Jerry Manuel and assistant general manager John Ricco. GM Omar Minaya was on the phone during the meeting, Sheffield said.
"Y'all talk to them about it,'' Sheffield told reporters as he walked back out to the field.
Sheffield later engaged in an animated discussion with Manuel in leftfield. Sheffield was seen waving his arms; Manuel, who was carrying a bat, apparently let Sheffield blow off enough steam that the often outspoken slugger was as timid as a kitten when he came back in.
"Everybody came to an agreement," Sheffield said. "This is the best move, being on the more cautious side."
Asked if he agrees with that, Sheffield smiled and said: "Yeah, yeah, I do. They're the authority and you have to do everything . . . I have to look at it that way."
Earlier, Sheffield was getting ready to play even though he hadn't been told anything. No lineup was posted as the Mets' brain trust tried to decide what to do to make room for Niese.
"I don't know," Sheffield said about 21/2 hours before the game. "I thought I was [playing]. I'm not?"
He went through his pregame workout and was surprised to learn his name wasn't on the lineup card that was posted two hours before game time.
"They put a lineup up?" he said. Still, Sheffield went out to the field to take batting practice.
He was listed as an extra player on the lineup card, but the Mets still had to put someone on the disabled list or cut a player, which led to tense moments for some in the clubhouse.
David Wright pulled a prank on Jeremy Reed, telling him Manuel wanted to see him. Wright called Reed off just before the outfielder got to Manuel's door.
The Mets could have designated any number of players for assignment; they have 13 pitchers, including Tim Redding, who seemed assured of getting released a week ago. Cory Sullivan, another candidate for deletion, instead started in leftfield.
Meanwhile, Sheffield got another week to rest his hamstring - even though he feels fine.
"I don't feel it," he said. "I don't feel it when I run, I don't feel it when I do anything. [But] nobody knows when it comes to a hamstring."
