As a public service, in an effort to clear up all the commotion and confusion that arose when the story broke that the Tigers had placed Gary Sheffield on waivers, allow me to set the record straight:
        All baseball teams place all of their players, from the biggest stars down to the lowliest bench warmers, on waivers all the time.  It is routine. It is standard operating procedure.
        A game within the game.
        The reason you rarely hear or read about it is because the process is supposed to be confidential.
        And, more importantly, because it is no big deal.
        Back in the 1960s and early ‘70s, the Tigers used to ask waivers on Al Kaline every year.
        I guess sportswriters were smarter or had more sense back then.
        So why do teams do it?
        For one thing, it is the only way a team can trade a player after the July 31 trade deadline. They need waivers in order to make a deal.
        For another, it is the best way for a team to find out which teams might be interested in a particular player they are thinking about trading.
        Asking waivers on Sheffield didn’t mean the Tigers were trying to dump  the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer, as some of the more misleading stories implied.
        The Tigers were merely seeking waivers in order to clear the way in case some power-starved contender makes them an offer next month that they can’t refuse.
        But if some team had claimed Sheffield off the waiver wire, that team would have immediately inherited the $18 million or so remaining on his contract.
        And the Tigers -- not being dummies -- would, in all likelihood, have gladly let him go.
        Granted, they would have received nothing in return. But they would have saved $18 million which could be spent elsewhere next season on some other players.
        On the other hand, when the Tigers ask waivers on Miguel Cabrera -- as I’m sure they have, or will -- it most certainly will not be with the intention of letting him go.
        If some team claims him, the Tigers will simply withdraw their request for waivers. Besides, every other team would realize placing a claim would be a waste of time.
        Finally, trust me: The appearance of Gary Sheffield’s name on the waiver wire had nothing whatsoever to do with the slumping slugger’s little tiff with manager Jim Leyland over the definition of the word “platoon.”
        That was merely the reason the non-story made the news.