LOS ANGELES – Gary Sheffield's agent says it's all a
misunderstanding, that his client still wants a contract extension
and to remain with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It may be too late, especially considering what Sheffield
reportedly said about the Dodgers and some of his teammates.
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Thu, February 22
ESPN's Dave Campbell believes Gary Sheffield is out of line with his demands.
"All the time I hear garbage about respect -- players deserving it and not getting it. What it's actually about is money and jealousy. Somebody else has come along and gotten a contract that makes others' pale in comparison."
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"If it is the truth, it would make it very difficult for him to
come back," first-year Dodgers manager Jim Tracy acknowledged
Wednesday of comments attributed to Sheffield in this week's
edition of USA Today Baseball Weekly.
"Until I hear it from him, I don't give it much credence,"
Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone said. "What is disheartening
is the probability that Gary will not be with the Dodgers for 2001
because of the type of player that he is."
According to the story, Sheffield met with Dodgers chairman Bob
Daly and team president Bob Graziano for 1½ hours at his Los
Angeles-area home Feb. 12. Not present were Sheffield's agent, Jim
Neader, and Malone.
"His request earlier this month was to be a career Dodger. He
asked for a contract extension," Neader said Wednesday by
telephone from St. Petersburg, Fla. "The result, indeed, was he
may be traded, although there's always hope the contract extension
will come.
"Right now, the Dodgers are attempting to trade Gary. The
Dodgers will make the decision they're going to make, whether it be
trade or extension. He will report on or before Feb. 27 to the
Dodgers if there is no deal."
Neader referred to the mandatory reporting day of next Tuesday.
Sheffield is the only member of the 40-man roster not in camp at
Vero Beach, Fla.
According to Baseball Weekly, Daly told Sheffield the Dodgers
lost $25 million last season and couldn't afford a contract
extension. A 32-year-old six-time All-Star who hit .325 with 43
homers and 109 RBI last season, Sheffield is due $9.5 million in
each of the next two seasons and $11 million in 2003. There's a
team option for 2004 at $11 million.
Sheffield reacted angrily to Daly's feeling that there was a
risk involved.
"A risk? Come on, they're paying Brownie (Kevin Brown) $15
million a year until he's 41," Sheffield was quoted as saying.
"They just gave (Darren) Dreifort $55 million when he's only won
39 games in his career and had arm surgery. They gave Shawn Green
$13 million a year. And how about Carlos Perez -- paying him $6
million a year?
"And you talk about risk, that I'm a risk? That's an insult.
... I'm getting less than Dreifort? I'm getting just $3 million
more than Carlos Perez? It's not my fault they signed Perez to that
stupid contract. It's not my fault they gave Eric Karros a no-trade
clause when he's got no value. It's not my fault they gave Greenie
all that money.
"They give out all of these dumb contracts, and when it comes
to me -- nothing. And I'm even willing to defer a lot of the money
for that. They were saying how they lost $25 million. I almost
laughed in their face."
Speaking from the Dodgers' camp in Vero Beach, Green said he
wasn't upset by the situation, and didn't feel distracted.
"He's a grown man, a veteran player," Green said. "He's got
the right to his opinion, and I respect it.
"Every year there are distractions. It's fun for everyone to
speculate and make chatter in the clubhouse, but it doesn't affect
the job we have to do."
Brown refused to respond until he "heard the whole situation."
"It's never been my policy to criticize other people," he
said. "My job hasn't changed, we'll just see what happens."
What's likely to happen is a trade; at least that's the current
plan.
"We're keeping all our options open," Malone said. "The
timing of this makes it more and more difficult for the Dodgers,
but we're not going to let a superficial time line of Monday or
Tuesday make us make any bad moves. We'll take it day by day. The
time frame dictates that we get value for value. There's no set
time limit, though the sooner the better."
Tracy thinks other than Sheffield, things are going well in his
first camp as manager.
"Obviously, there's a cloud here, I'm not going to duck that,"
he said. "But the guys are energetic, upbeat and working hard. We
have to keep going. There's no utopian type of situation ever.
There's potholes everywhere you hit occasionally, and good clubs
step up to the plate and do something about it."
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ALSO SEE
Sheffield: Trade talk came from Dodgers
Dodgers optimistic deal for Sheffield can be worked out
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Peter Gammons provides some insight on the Gary Sheffield-Dodgers feud.
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