Derek’s no leader, he tells mag
BY MICHAEL O’KEEFFE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Gary Sheffield has news for Yankee fans: Derek Jeter ain’t the leader of this pack. “I know who the leader is on the team,” Sheffield said in an explosive New York magazine interview set to hit newsstands Monday.
“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.”
Sheffield, who has a reputation for being prickly and outspoken, doesn’t stop there.
The 17-year veteran blasts the media for hyping team captain Jeter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez over every other player on the team – and says the Yankees lack family values, chemistry and trust. “Why shouldn’t I tell the truth?” Sheffield told writer Stephen Rodrick. “I ain’t trying to get no Pepsi commercial.”
Sheffield never mentions Jeter and A-Rod by name, but he told New York the media portrays the two superstars “in a positive light and everyone else is garbage.”
He says other players look at the Yankees as a first-class organization, but he believes the team lacks respect for family.
“It’s not a family-oriented team. In L.A., wives can fly on the plane; with the Yankees they can’t,” the former Dodger said. “With other teams, the wives always have functions to bring them together. Not here.”
New York’s media crush, he contends, damages whatever chemistry the team might have. “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 from, how you get to know each other, 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 around me.”
Sheffield, 36, also concedes he’s not willing to pull a Jeter and dive into the stands after a ball. “That’s not happening. I tore up my shoulder, I tore up a knee. I’m not doing that again,” he said.
The All-Star with the gunslinger eyes also told New York he was insulted when general manager Brian Cashman offered him a two-year, $18 million contract before last season. He ended up signing a three-year, $39 million deal.
“I just came off 39 home runs and 132 RBIs and you ain’t got nobody on your team that can put up those numbers, and you ain’t gonna get anyone who is going to,” he said. “But George [Steinbrenner] asked me not to take it as an insult and kept pursuing me. I said, ‘Fine, I don’t have to speak to anyone in the organization to still do my job.'”
Source
Cashman kept picking up jerkoffs like this guy – AROD and Jeter don’t seem like the most humble guys around. Sheff was chirping earlier this year about a trade as I remember…I think it was a rumor of him being sent out of town and he fliped his lid.
I know it’s too early to expect my greatest dream to come true, but this team looks to be very close to implosion.
Notice the timing of this article…the trading deadline passes and this jerk blasts off on the franchise guys. He waited until they couldn’t move him and took aim. I love it!
Baltimore peaked before the allstar game (used to be a Red Sox trend) and the Yankees are getting along like the Bundys.
Hype ! Hype ! Hype! Where’s Joltin’ Joe when we need him?
The yankees are turning into baseballs version of the ny rangers, overpaid, underperformers, and I like it.
I am all for anything that gets George Steinbrenner’s goat !!
I guess they had two cameramen assigned to him the entire playoff series last year versus my Sox – – – I read that…so when the Sox would tie it up or do anything, like those last four games they won after down 0-3, he’d always be ready to completely lose it, but knowing those two guys from Fox were there to tape it, suddenly calm down and keep it inside…
I figured those four games alone would have brought on a tumor somewhere.
Something unbelievable happened yesterday and today. My grandparents were over for lunch yesterday and when they left (around 1PM), I went to sleep. I just woke up today at 7:30AM!!! Still trying to shake out the cobwebs…