Is Sheffield Scared of Being Traded?
When Gary Sheffield played for Milwaukee, he purposely tanked ground balls so they would trade him. He admitted this! Eventually, he got his wish.

A few weeks back, Sheffield went on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog show and basically said that he is only playing baseball because he is on the Yankees, and that if he is traded, the new team will not get his fullest effort. So the last few days, I have put one and one together, and am starting to think that in these few days leading up to the July 31 trading deadline, Sheff is giving it less than his best.

I could be wrong, but Sheffield opened this line of cross examination himself years ago when he admitted to not bending down all the way for all those grounders in Milwaukee. I've been watching Yankee games, and seen Sheffield swing at more first pitches the last five or six games than ever before. Not only that, but he's waving at pitches, like throwing his bat out to tap a low-and-outside pitch and popping it up uselessly to center field, and not hustling even more than his usual non-hustling style of running.

In five games since July 20, he's for 3-for-25 with four strikeouts, after going 20-for-53 (.377) the first 15 games in July with seven homers, 20 RBI and just three Ks. This is hardly proof that Sheffield has been intentionally screwing up at the plate, but I'm just saying the idea of it - no doubt aided by the fact that he has gone on the record admitting to selfishly not trying - has popped into my head more than a few times in the last week.

To be a "professional" and have the kind of reputation that even makes someone THINK that sort of thing is inexcusable. Let's see how Sheffield plays once the trading deadline passes and he's still a Yankee.

It won't prove anything, but it sure will make me ask more questions.