Fuck Gary Sheffield

I don’t like Joe Torre as a manager. I think he makes terrible bullpen decisions and really has no clue sometimes. However, as a person, he is a class act. Native New Yorker, great ballplayer, very respected and liked by his peers and players that have played for him. Which is why bullshit like this pisses me off.

Gary Sheffield has sparked another media storm by charging New York Yankees manager Joe Torre treated African-American players more harshly than white teammates.

Here we go...

The Detroit Tigers DH, who played in the Bronx from 2004-06, tells Kremer that Torre singled him out in team meetings, while criticizing white teammates in private.
"I'd see a lot of white players get called in the office and treated like a man. That's the difference," says Sheffield.

So, because players who happened to be white were called into his office for criticism, but you were singled out in team meetings, Joe Torre is a racist? Are you sure it's not just because you're a jackass?

But when Kremer presses him whether he believes Torre's a racist, Sheffield says "no." When she points out Derek Jeter is the Yankees most prominent player, Sheffield responds the biracial Jeter is not "all the way black."

Yeah, if Derek Jeter's mom was black instead of Irish, you can bet that he wouldn't be one of if not Joe Torre's favorite player. Torre doesn't like guys based on how they go about their business, whether they have a good work ethic or not, etc. He bases his fondness of players on the color of their skin. Go to hell, Sheffield.

And also, need I point out how illogical it is to make such statements about Torre and then claim he's not a racist?

Joe Morgan: Hey, Jon. You really ought to lay off all that bacon fat. The booth has collapsed from underneath you 8 straight Sunday Nights.
Jon Miller: Are you saying that I'm fat?!
Joe Morgan: No, I'm not saying that at all.

Torre benched Sheffield during Game 3 of the Yankees' playoff loss to the Tigers last season. From the start of his tenure in pinstripes, Sheffield thought Torre wanted Vladimir Guerrero rather than him. If Sheffield's real objective, however, is to sully the reputation of his former skipper, then his comments make a lot of sense. Sheffield's Torre-bashing was all over the airwaves this weekend after Newsday revealed them Friday. On Sunday, ESPN's SportsCenter reported Sheffield's former teammate Kenny Lofton "backed up" his allegations by saying Sheffield "knows what he's talking about."

Number of teams Kenny Lofton has been on: 11, I wonder why...

It's not mentioned in this article, but Sheffield also said to ask Tony Womack about the allegations and that Womack would back him up. Womack has not said anything yet to my knowledge, but if he does agree with Sheffield, allow me to point out something:

Tony Womack (2005)
.556 OPS/47 OPS+(!!!!!!!!!), 8 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, and was a 13-year veteran

essentially benched in favor of:

Robinson Cano (2005)
.778 OPS/102 OPS+, 34 2B, 4 3B, 14 HR, and was a 22 year old rookie

I can't imagine a guy who had been in the big leagues for 13 seasons would be too thrilled about losing his starting job at second base to a 22 year old rookie. So if he were to blame anyone other than himself, it would not be surprising if he irritably lambasted Torre.

And as far as Torre wanting Vladimir Guerrero instead of Sheffield...

Vladimir Guerrero
1998: .960 OPS/152 OPS+
1999: .978 OPS/139 OPS+
2000: 1.074 OPS/166 OPS+
2001: .943 OPS/133 OPS+
2002: 1.010 OPS/162 OPS+
2003: 1.012 OPS/144 OPS+
Age going into 2004 season: 28
JACk+ (Adjusted Jackass): -73

people were worried about possible back problems with him to be fair, but that was mostly due to the artificial turf in Montreal

Gary Sheffield
1998: .952 OPS/156 OPS+
1999: .930 OPS/138 OPS+
2000: 1.081 OPS/178 OPS+
2001: 1.000 OPS/167 OPS+
2002: .916 OPS/140 OPS+
2003: 1.023 OPS/167 OPS+
JACk+: 207
Age going into 2004 season: 35

Sheffield is a little better, but Guerrero's 7 years younger and much less of a jackass. I would have taken Guerrero over Sheffield, and Guerrero has outperformed Sheffield in the AL. His OPS has been at least .934 each year since being in Anaheim, with the best being .989. Sheffield's best has been .927, with an .891 in his other full season.

Sheffield fancies himself a truth-teller exposing the hypocrisy of baseball. But as Kremer points out in her piece, he can be full of it himself. Torre's Yankees have helped two African-American players close to Sheffield with their off-the-field problems: his uncle Dwight Gooden and Gooden's close friend Darryl Strawberry.

Thanks for doing the talking for me.

I also would like to add that during the Blue Jays-Yankees broadcast on Monday night, Kay said that he spoke with Jim Leyritz about the comments, and Leyritz said something along the lines of, "Torre didn't like me and I'm white. He'd single me out, bench me, etc. because I was a loudmouth. I spoke my mind and complained a lot. Torre doesn't like those kinds of people. It has nothing to do with their races."

Not to mention, Torre went out of his way to get Sheffield into the lineup at the end of the season and in the postseason by putting him at first base (which he was terrible at by the way).

Go perform biological impossibility, Sheffield. You loudmouth, selfish, egotistical schmuck.