It was bad enough when Gary Sheffield was thrown out at second base in the eighth inning of today's 4-1 loss to Kansas City.  Trying to stretch a single into a double, any chance the Tigers had at a rally burned out when Sheff was gunned down by Mark Teahen.  Unfortunately, it appears getting thrown out wasn't the only indignity Sheffield suffered on the play.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Sheffield tore the tendon in his left ring finger while making that head-first slide into second base.  According to Sheffield, his finger caught on the bag, causing the injury.

“Now it won’t straighten out,” he said.

Sheffield wore a splint on the finger after the game. He said he had “no feeling” in the finger immediately after the injury.

“I think I hit it on the base, but I’m not sure,” he said. “I didn’t notice it until I got in the dugout, looked at it, and it looked deformed.”

Sheffield thinks he might be able to play tomorrow, but Jim Leyland is assuming he'll be out of the lineup. 

(Hat tip to Mike McClary, who passed this along via IM)