Gary Sheffield is making headlines again, this time for some of his words in a HBO Real Sports interview. Once again, we are going back to Sheffield's book (Inside Power) for some background on the controversial lines:
There seems to be several big topics: Bonds (and steroids in general), Joe Torre (and his management of black players), and Derek Jeter. We'll leave the Bonds stuff for later, but let's get to the fun stuff... on Joe Torre, which gets almost soap opera like in its treatment in Shef's book:
First off, Sheffield did not call Joe Torre racist. Let's get that out of the way. From today's Daily News:
When asked whether his former manager is a racist he says, "No."
Straight forward. But he did say this prior to that:
"I'd see a lot of white players get called in the office and treated like a man. That's the difference." Sheffield was singled out during a June 2005 team meeting in which Torre lambasted the players for their "embarassing" play against the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is covered in his book. We'll get to that in a second, but let's back it up a bit:
Sheffield said yesterday he had felt disrespected from the time he arrived in New York, claiming early in his Yankee stay that Torre had said his team should have instead acquired Vladimir Guerrero.
"When you're hearing that from your manager when you are out there busting your butt for him, that's disrespectful. But no one came to my defense to say it was disrespectful."
This is not a new complaint. From Sheffield's book:
"Manager Joe Torre said very little to me. He was an enigma."
Later on, Sheffield starts getting irate with Torre's obsession with Vladimir Guerrero:
What wasn't fair, though, was the way Torre talked to the press. He kept lamenting how his heart was set on getting Vladimir Guerrero.
Then comes this ridiculously funny exchange (sorry, but it's hard to take it seriously, considering the way it's written):
Shef: "I'm tired of hearing you talk about how much you love Guerrero. That disrespects me." (Why can't you love me like that?!)
Torre: "I know you're struggling, Gary, and I know that weighs on you." (Who talks like that? "It weighs on you"? I couldn't help but notice your pain. It runs deep. Share it with me!)
Shef: "I've struggled before, Joe, and I'll struggle again. It's not the struggling that bothers me. It's that you haven't said a word to me about anything. It feels like you when you look at me, you'd rather be looking at Guerrero." (There goes Shef again with the jealousy. Damnit, Joe, why can't you just love the one you're with?!)
Torre: "I only made those comments about Vladimir because he's seven years younger than you." (Damn. That's f*cked up, Joe. It's cool to be into the younger men, but damn... you don't say to someone's face like that.)
Shef: "That doesn't make any difference." (Shef no doubt said this holding back a tear. Pride!)
Torre: "Ialso know that getting used to the American League pitching can take a while." (Damn, Joe laying on the excuses. If this was me, I would be going Sprewell on his ass by now)
Shef: "That doesn't make any difference, either. Look, when I go out on the field, that's my house. And field. Any league. That's where I live. That's where I'm comfortable. And in my house, I can dominate any time I decide to." (If lighting a spark was the goal... done)
Torre: "That's an arrogant statement, Gary." (Would you rather he lack confidence, like Mr. 3B?)
Shef: "Watch me back it up." (Booyah).
Without our favorite exchange in the book. And yes, Sheffield went 4-5 with 6 ribbies that night.
Sheffield on Derek Jeter:
In the Real Sports interview, he is quoted as saying about Jeter that he wasn't treated the same as the other black players because he "ain't all the way black". This was Sheffield basically explain that he, Tony Womack and Kenny Lofton (and perhaps steroid test failing Matt Lawton) were handled differently from Jeter. Like he said: "Derek Jeter used to come to me and basically used to tell you what (Torre) is all about, he's that... But like I tell Derek Jeter, 'That's you. It's one thing that they treat you a certain way - you don't feel what other people feel'. "
In his book, Sheffield is nothing but complimentary of Jeter:
"Derek's amazing. He's always in a good mood. His temperament is even and he makes everyone comfortable. That is a great gift. Being biracial, he relates to all his teammates, no matter what their background. You gotta love the guy."
I wonder if Jeter can relate to Asians, too. I could see him chilling with Hideki Matsui, talking about their porn collections. Of course, Sheffield also noticed that most players on the Yankees were very image conscious:
We'd be eating steaks...Each of us would have something to say about the Yankee organization. The players would be highly critical of the corporate vibe that defines Steinbrenner, Inc.
Yet those same guys - intelligent men with strong opinions and great intregity - would silence themselves the very next day when confronted by the press.
I saw PR image making and plain-spoken truth as opposing forces.
It should also be noted that a few other players have had problems with Joe Torre during his 10+ years as Yankee manager; Raul Mondesi once accused Torre of prejudice against Dominican players after being traded. He was traded after getting upset when Torre lifted pinch hit for him with Ruben Sierra; Mondesi went to the clubhouse, showered, and left the stadium before the game ended. He was traded two days later, and it was clear that something had been simmering beneath the surface for a while. Mondesi claimed that Torre didn't treat him with respect (there's that word again).
Joe Torre did say that he later got a letter of apology from Mondesi.
Ruben Sierra was also noted for having some beef with Torre, calling him a "liar" at one point, though the later hashed out their working relationship. If you are keeping track, that's African-Americans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans.
In all seriousness, this might effect the Yankees' pursuit of Torii Hunter in the offseason. Torii Hunter has seconded a lot of Sheffield's comments in the past, including once saying "When I go home I keep hearing they people say all the time 'Baseball just doesn't like black people'." He may be a little gun-shy about joining the Yankees if he's worried about Joe Torre's rep. I doubt it... NY is not Boston, and the Yankees have had lots of great black players in the Steinbrenner era (Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, lots of love for Daryll and Doc, Cecil Fielder, etc), and it was Big George who went after Sheffield when alot of the organization (including Torre, apparently) wanted Vlad Guerrero.
Personally, at the time I wanted Sheffield more - Vlad was asking for a longer contract, and considering he had a bad back in Montreal, I was scared by that violent swing of his. Especially since Vlad chases alot of bad pitchers out of the strike zone (he's a freaking hacker), I didn't think his back would hold up the length of the contract. I was wrong, but at the time I want Sheffield.
Sheffield is probably still upset about that incident with the Cardinals. As described in the book: basically, Larry Walker hits a hard shot to right (keep in mind Larry Walker is an excellent baserunner for his size); Sheffield cuts it off, and goes to his knees, in his words, to trick Walker into going for two, so he can gun him out at second base. Walker does, but Sheffield's throw is off line, and Walker is safe. That game featured some errors from the rest of the outfield, legit errors. At the team meeting afterwards, Joe Torre singled him out for criticism, asking him "what happened out there today?", ignoring the miscues from the rest of the outfield. They had it out later in his office, Sheffield asking why he was singled out, Torre replying that it was because he's the vet, the leader. He also reminded him of his "arrogant" statements earlier in the season.
So Sheffield is still a little bitter about that. Cool.
He's also probably bitter about his contract. After his monster year in 2003 in Atlanta, in which Sheffield finished 2nd in MVP voting (and lead my fantasy team to some money), Sheffield was looking for a new contract. Despite making $11 million his last year in Atlanta, every offer was exactly the same - $10 million for 3 years. The Braves finally ponied up a fourth year, but Sheffield was upset, because he was sure there was some collusion going on. Every single offer was the same; also, keep in mind that Sheffield doesn't have an agent, so he figures that made the owners think they could take advantage of him.
Eventually he got Steinbrenner to give him $13 million over 3 years, but he had to give them the option on the fourth year. They agreed, but then when he was going to sign the contract, he found out that Steinbrenner was deferring $4.5 million per year (only paying $8.5). Sheffield wanted interest on his deferred contract. According to the book, Steinbrenner promised he would, but hasn't fulfilled his obligation yet.
We'll tackle the Bonds and steroids quotes tomorrow.
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SML, great way to add in the discussion from Sheffs book. I thought that the "soap opera" exchage was hilarious and even laughed out loud twice even though no one else is home right now...
Oh, and since it's a new feature now: That last photo was taken in Havana.