The four-year $38.5 million contract signed by Ben Sheets, the Brewers right hander, will be expiring at the end of the season. He will be a free agent for the first time. However, he is not thinking about the contract now.

Two Hundred innings- that is what is in his mind now and that is his goal for the year 2008. He performed similarly for three straight years from 2002-04, including a remarkable 2004 season in which Sheets pitched 237 innings, set a grant record with 264 strikeouts and in the National League, he ranked third with a 2.70 ERA for a team that won only 67 games.

After three years of 34 starts in a straight line and more than 200 innings from 2002-04, Sheets has averaged 21 starts and 134 2/3 innings from 2005-07.

General manager of Brewers, Doug Melvin, has indicated that he will wait until after the season to attend to Sheets’ contract situation.