BALTIMORE – Shortly after Gary Sheffield warned the Mets and any other team not to trade for him, Joe Torre informed him the Yankees had killed the Mets’ advances concerning a Mike Cameron-Gary Sheffield swap.
“I talked to him and let him know that we turned down any inquiry about him from the Mets,” Torre said last night before the game against the Orioles was rained out. “We said, ‘No thank you.’ “
Torre wasn’t aware of an exclusive story in yesterday’s Post that reported the Yankees and Mets were in the early stages of a deal. But GM Brian Cashman informed Torre of the story and tried to reach Sheffield. When he couldn’t, Cashman had Torre relay the message. “Brian wanted me to let him know,” Torre said. “I told him they asked and we said, no.”
Sheffield was aware of the Post’s story when he arrived in the clubhouse and uttered stern words.
“I made a lot of concessions to come here,” Sheffield said of deferring $4.5 million without interest on his three-year, $39 million contract that has 1 ½ years remaining. “If I have to go somewhere else there are going to be a lot of changes coming. If I have to go somewhere, a lot things will have to change with my whole situation – contract, years, everything. Other than that, you may as well not bother trading for me. You will have a very unhappy player.”
If Sheffield – who didn’t get a no-trade clause in the contract he negotiated with George Steinbrenner – is dealt in the middle of a long-term deal, he has the right to request a trade after the season or become a free agent and leave $13 million on the table.
“I will still play but I won’t be happy,” Sheffield said. “I am the player and I am the one you have to trust. If I am not happy, you don’t want me on your team. That’s the way it goes. That’s life. Don’t ask about me, I am not interested in driving to any other stadium. I love (Mets GM) Omar Minaya, I think he is a great guy, but this is more personal than anything.”
Sheffield said he wasn’t unhappy in his second season with the Yankees and said the Yankees aren’t to blame if another team wanted him.
But Sheffield was miffed about the concessions (deferred money) he made to join the club.
“You have to understand, I allowed them to defer money that no player has ever done,” Sheffield said. “How many people the caliber of my player would have done what I have done? You have players on this team making the salary they are making and they aren’t deferring nothing.”
Sheffield lamented he is often caught in the middle of controversy and would like to come to play and leave everything else outside.
“The perception is that it’s me, that I am disruptive,” Sheffield said. “This is why I feel the way I do and my attitude is the way it is. I can’t come to play like everybody else. They want extra stuff that they don’t pay for.”
Asked about the extras, Sheffield said, “You want a fiery guy, an emotional guy and leadership, but they don’t pay for that.”
When Sheffield asked about the Yankees possibly trading him, he said, “They are the experts. They may get a guy who is the perfect fit, a more perfect fit than me. I understand the situation. I made concessions to come here and it’s personal to me whether it’s talk or it’s real.”
Since Sheffield has a solid relationship with Steinbrenner, he was asked if he called The Boss when he heard about the story.
“He will call me, why should I have to call anybody,” Sheffield said. “He should be calling me.”
