Sheff stirs up changes for Tigers with request to play left

DETROIT -- The moves were swift, unexpected and every bit as dramatic as Detroit manager Jim Leyland had intimated over the weekend.

Well, intimated is probably a bit informal. A frustrated Leyland had practically shouted from the top of Minnesota's Metrodome there would be significant changes for his scuffling team.

A fed-up Gary Sheffield is willing to put his health at risk by returning to the field. (US Presswire)

Indications, though, were that it would be a reshuffling of the lineup.

Not a significant re-striping of the Tigers.

But whatever malaise is clouding this club is refusing to release its grip, so Leyland and general manager Dave Dombrowski yanked another ripcord on Monday, handing a left fielder's glove to former designated hitter Gary Sheffield and designating veteran outfielder Jacque Jones for assignment.

The moves were decisive and, yes, a bit desperate.

Sheffield is 39, has been bothered by a sore right shoulder following offseason surgery, and started only 12 games in the outfield in 2007. But he's also hitting .183 this season with two home runs and five RBI.

He signed off on DH'ing two winters ago when the Tigers rescued him from New York.

But, now?

"I think that's a position for guys who can't do nothing else," said Sheffield, who not only played left field for the first time this season Monday in a 6-3 loss to Boston, but also was dropped from third to sixth in the lineup for the first time all year. "You have to accept it in your mind. I never realized how mental it is.

"I was noticing fans in the stands, popcorn vendors ... I was noticing things I never noticed."

This is a huge week for the Tigers, too huge for them to be noticing the popcorn vendors. True, each week gets bigger the longer their sub-.500 sluggishness lasts, but when the season started, financially speaking, there were three superpowers in the American League -- the Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees all have payrolls north of $130 million.

This week, they're playing host to a superpowers summit in Comerica Park, with the Red Sox visiting Monday through Thursday and the Yankees due in Friday.