I do think we should have signed Sheets over the off-season, but it was a tough decision for DM & Mark A given Sheets injury history. I always felt none of the injuries were arm/structural in nature so it was probably worth a shot, but I'm not privy to his medical records so who knows. For the Brewers to keep this run going, they need productive below-market players like our youngsters and can take selective shots around it. They also need to sign value and Ben was a value before the season. Their choice on Ben not to sign last offseason basically sealed his fate - he pitches well, he's unaffordable or he pitches poorly/gets hurt. Either way he was gone. The 20/20 hindsight does us no good. If we signed him and he got hurt, this thread would be calling for DM's head. At this point we have to ask, do we really want 20% of the next 5 years payroll tied up with Ben? The hope of a hometown discount is pretty slim and it's a big risk. Yo could possibly fill Sheets' spot and be a number one. The rest of our staff is doing well now, but is still a big question mark heading into 2009. With a shortage of arms at AA/AAA, we'll likely have to trade some lineup or prospect depth for a starter. I just hope Ben can give us some nice memories down the stretch and get us to that elusive playoff berth!!!