Is that what this is really all about??
Lando 
Posted on 08/05/2005 4:51:09 PM PDT by Lando Lincoln
Gary Sheffield knows who leads the New York Yankees, and it apparently isn't Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez.
"Jeter is our captain. He's not the leader. He's the captain." -Gary Sheffield
Sheffield all but appointed himself the Yankees' most valuable player in an interview with New York magazine, accusing reporters of distorting the truth and ruining team chemistry.
"I know who the leader is on the team," Sheffield told the magazine. "I ain't going to say who it is, but I know who it is. I know who the team feeds off. I know who the opposing team comes in knowing they have to defend to stop the Yankees.
"I know this. The people don't know. Why? The media don't want them to know. They want to promote two players in a positive light, and everyone else is garbage."
Sheffield said Friday in Toronto that Jeter is not the leader.
"Jeter is our captain. He's not the leader. He's the captain," Sheffield said.
Sheffield, however, said the magazine writer made up things to "juice the story." He said he had an assistant with him to make sure the interview stayed positive.
"It's typical. That's the life of being me," Sheffield. "It's tough for me to do interviews when people have pens that have motives. It was supposed to be a positive interview."
"New York magazine stands 100 percent behind Stephen Rodrick's story. Mr. Sheffield's statements are on audio tape," said Serena Torrey, spokesperson for the magazine.
Sheffield called and talked to Jeter about the article after hearing about it from his assistant. He said he couldn't get a hold of Rodriguez.
He also said he doesn't have to boast about himself.
"I don't have to speak about me. My numbers speak for me," Sheffield said.
Jeter said he has a good relationship with Sheffield and that the article doesn't change anything.
"From what I understand he never mentioned my name," Jeter said. "My name was brought into it, but it never came out of his mouth."
Rodriguez said this was bound to happen.
"Every family has issues. When you think about what happens in other clubhouses this is quite trivial," Rodriguez said. "I love Gary and in the course of eight months if family are not going to say things that they regret or think from the hip it's not real."
Manager Joe Torre said he would talk to Sheffield.
"Shef has never been shy about voicing his opinion on anything," Torre said. "I've had some casual conversations with a couple of players about it and nobody seemed out of joint about it."
Torre said he's used to distractions.
Sheffield was batting .302 this season entering Friday night's game against Toronto, a percentage point behind Jeter and well behind Rodriguez's team-leading .316.
Rodriguez also leads in home runs (30) and RBI (85). Sheffield's 21 homers and 81 RBIs are tied for second in both categories.
Sheffield said in the article that the heavy scrutiny that goes with playing in New York inhibits friendships in the locker room.
"This is the first team I've been on where no one sits at their locker," he said. "It's where you build your chemistry, just talking about life. I'm used to having six chairs around me, but here if there are six chairs, then there's going to be 20 reporters."
Even if the clubhouse were less hectic, Sheffield said he wouldn't grow too close to any teammates.
"I don't trust that many people," he told the magazine. "Just my mother and my wife and a couple of friends. When I trust people, it doesn't end well."
Sheffield, however, said Friday that he trusts Jeter and Rodriguez more than any two players in baseball.
"Not just on this team but in all of baseball," Sheffield said.
Sheffield was never known for his congeniality during tumultuous stops in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. He blamed the media for his reputation.
"It happens because you're white and I'm black," Sheffield told the magazine. "My interpretation of things is different. You don't see it the way I see it. You write how you understand it, how you would articulate it, not how I, as a black man, would articulate it."
Is that what this is really all about??
Lando
Lando
We're talking baseball here...how different can their perspectives be?
ping
On the other hand, I think I know where Sheffield's perspective is coming from...it's the same perspective that, sadly, a lot of minorities share, in that EVERYTHING is viewed in terms of race.
like the Yankees don't have enough shiite to deal with this year (no pitching staff)
now they've got a sulking prima donna
maybe if he talked to Matsui (NOT a 'white man') he might learn something about playing as hard as he could, doing anything for the team, being grateful for just being there and - finally - keeping his G-D mouth SHUT!!!
He had an "assistant" there to make sure the interview stayed "positive"?? Sounds like the dude needs to find another job!!
What a M-F IDIOT!!!
Sheffield being Sheffield....hmmmm...I like Manny being Manny better. I think the problem with the Yankees is they have too many sour-pusses.
I think he's just pouty because the Yanks were almost swept by my Cleveland Indians.
Go Tribe!
AVG Á. Rodríguez .316 HR Á. Rodríguez 30 RBI Á. Rodríguez 85 R D. Jeter 79
I agree. Yankees suck.
Sheffield will never hit over 500 HRs. His numbers only look better because he is playing in a hitters era. The average league ERA now is at least 1 entire run per game HIGHER than it was during Jackson's playing days. You can look it up. Probably (AT LEAST) 20 teams this year will score more runs than the 1978 World Series Champion Yankees did.
Defensively no one was worse than the late-middle career Jackson. I'll give you that.
I recommend you pick up Bill James' "Historical Baseball Abstract", printed about 20 years ago for an excellent discussion of the mathematical science of baseball, and myriad hilarious anecdotes.
In 1930 the ENTIRE NL hit for a .303 average because the ball was juiced; does that mean that all of those players were better than todays?. Of course not. The only way to compare players across eras (in my humble opinion) is to compare them to their contemporaries. Ex.: How many years was Jackson in the top 5 AL HR hitters? How does Sheffield compare in that regard? Do the same with batting avg., slugging pct., on-base, etc., and you'll figure out which one is a better overall player mighty quickly.
For example, we know without a scintilla of a doubt that Lefty Grove was the greatest pitcher of all time. How? a. He played his entire career as a lefty in the two worst parks for lefties in the AL (Shibe & Fenway), yet he has the highest lifetime winning pct. of any 300-game winner. b. (And more significantly), he won the league ERA title something like 8 times in those same bandbox parks - about 3 more than the next closest fella - whose name was Walter Johnson.
Incidentally, Bill James has been an advisor for the Red Sox for a number of years, and they...well...any questions?
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