Gary Sheffield has finally left the building

Today, the Yankees jettisoned Kevin Whelan, age 28, the former future closer — he of the bizarre face paint — the last prospect standing in the great Gary Sheffield debacle/trade of November 2006.



Turns out, we dealt Sheff to Detroit for a movie ticket and bag of buttered popcorn. Over the next two years, he hit 44 homeruns and 130 RBIs for the Tigers. (They also shelled out his substantial salary, so I guess some frugal Yankee fans out there must pro-rate it as a successful deal.) In return, we unwrapped Anthony Claggett, Humberto Sanchez and Whelan — who never seemed to find a strike zone that wasn’t doing the cha-cha.


OK, you’re right: Anyone can pick a bad trade and cry bloody murder. Truth be told, at the time, I liked the deal. Humberto was one of baseball’s hottest pitching prospects, right up there with Phil Hughes. Hell, he starred in the Futures Game. He looked like a raging bull. He wowed the keepers of jugs guns everywhere. Until his elbow crumbled. I think he pitched two innings in the majors.


Listen, we all know the reality: Whenever you trade a hitter for a pitcher, there is a decent chance you just gave away a sure thing for a nuthing. Cashman knows it. Girardi knows it. Seattle knows it. All the sportswriters who just finished congratulating the Yankees for being so smart... they know it. (They knew it 11 years ago, when we traded Mike Lowell to Florida for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson and Ed Yarnall.)


A month ago, we stood one free agent signing away from a near certainty of repeating as AL East champs. Now, welll, we might be on the verge of being a great team.

Or we might have pulled another Sheffield.