There's something bothering me about the supposed Gary Sheffield deal:

Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams, said it has not been determined when a deal with the Yankees would be completed.

"A deal is done once it's inked, and we're not at that point," Williams told The Associated Press.

New York might wait to finalize Sheffield's deal until after the Dec. 7 deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to former players who became free agents, a baseball official with knowledge of the situation told AP on condition of anonymity.

It was initially reported that Sheffield wanted more money from the Yankees and that he was even considering re-signing with the Braves. If Atlanta doesn't offer arbitration to Sheffield, the team that signs him after Dec. 7 would not lose any amateur draft picks as compensation.

If the deal is a done deal, and everyone knows about it, why wait until December 7th? Atlanta is going to offer arbitration so they can get the draft pick, especially if they know Sheffield is going to sign with the Yankees. So I wonder, is someone in the Sheffield camp pulling a fast one? If the Braves offer arbitration, will Sheffield accept? Sheffield had more win shares last year than Giambi or Manny Ramirez or A-Rod. It's quite possible that a arbitrator could award Sheffield a one-year contract between $15 and $20 million dollars. That might be more appealing to Gary than $11 million a year over three years.

I don't think this contract is as solid as the stories make it out to be.