Sheffield says battle with former agent will get ugly

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Sheffield says battle with former agent will get ugly
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Still embroiled in a lawsuit with his former agent, Scott Boras, Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield verbally launched into Boras on Thursday before the team's spring-training workout.

Prompting the outburst is the fact that Sheffield will miss one of the Tigers' early exhibition games because of matters involved in the suit that dates back to 2004.

"If you need money that bad, all you have to do is say, 'Can I please have it? I need it.' I'll give you some," Sheffield said of Boras, who told the Associated Press, "I'm not going to comment on Gary's comments."

"It's probably personal with him, but when it's done, it's going to be personal with me," Sheffield said. "It's going to be the ugliest thing you've ever seen.

"Certain people you don't mess with and I guarantee you, I'm one of them."

Sheffield stopped short of saying he would advise young players not to sign with Boras, who also represented Alex Rodriguez before Rodriguez negotiated his own contract with the Yankees this winter.

"I'm not going to get into that," said Sheffield. "You have to do whatever you feel is best for you. But my experience was total hell. I should never have introduced myself to him. He's a bad person."

Boras sued Sheffield because the agent said he had a verbal agreement with Sheffield during the off-season of 2003-04, when Sheffield left the Atlanta Braves as a free agent and negotiated his own three-year contract with the Yankees.

Sheffield countersued Boras, claiming the agent bad-mouthed him, but there's also the unresolved matter of who is responsible for Boras' legal fees.

"He cost me two years of a contract because he was trying to tarnish my name," Sheffield said of Boras in an MLB.com story written in 2004.

"He said he feels he's entitled to the contract that I did myself even though he didn't have anything to do with it. He said I'd get killed on the free-agent market, but I showed him I wouldn't."

That's just the kind of one-upmanship that motivates Sheffield. He loves to prove his doubters wrong. In fact, he thrives on it.

Smiling in front of his locker Thursday, it was clear Sheffield was thriving on this particular controversy.

"None of this is a distraction, though," said Sheffield, "because to call it a distraction would mean it got under your skin. I've learned to adapt to any situation, because people like that exist and I already know it.

"If it's money you're after, that's not the issue to me. But that's why it's not a distraction. When this first came up, I went blasting him everywhere, but it's not an issue to me anymore until someone asks me about it.

"I'm always on the borderline of blasting him anyway. Major league baseball hasn't heard what I'll have to say when I'm done with all of it.

"Nobody is going to shut me up. No fine is going to be big enough. No suspension will be long enough."

You can reach Tom Gage at tom.gage@detnews.com.

be afraid, Boras! be very afraid!

Boras is persistant. The suit that dates back to 2004! Shef fired Boras, then negoated with the Yankees himself, now Boras says he wants hs portion. I agree, Boras is a bad man!

It makes me sick to see Rick Porcello has Boras as his agent.

He's a newbie...doesn't know the ropes yet! Sheff should tell him!

I'm sure he will!

lol Is anyone else sort of reminded of "The Hulk" when they read about Sheff and he's so p*ssed?

He definitely is a smoking gun. I'm sure he pretends the baseball is several different people when he comes up to bat.

laprimamirala wrote:

He definitely is a smoking gun. I'm sure he pretends the baseball is several different people when he comes up to bat.

As long as they end up home runs, who really cares?

Nobody, really. At least it's a healthy way to let off steam!

Sheff is getting ready to rumble!

to make up for last year!

He channels all that anger to hit the hide off the ball!!! Go Sheff.

Here Sheff, Kenny will throw a special ball for you to hit:

good job!

Hi, iluvpudge! How's yer man doin' at ST?

I'm sure great, there were pics in the News yesterday, how 'bout yours? (Don't we wish we knew???????????)

I'm gonna try to get as close to him as possible at the 3 games I go to next month. *whew* getting hot in here!

FIESTA!!!!!

that pretty much describes it! LOVE your emoticons! We should have them here!

Thanks, I use smiley central. It is easy to use. Just install it and it makes a search bar across the top with the Smiley Central button. When you want an emoticon you click on the button and choose your smiley!

cool! wonder if it works on a Mac. I'm stuck with a work computer and there is so much firewall I probably couldn't install anything else.

I checked, Smilie central will NOT work on a mac, sorry.

rats!

laprimamirala wrote:

I'm gonna try to get as close to him as possible at the 3 games I go to next month. *whew* getting hot in here!

Lookout Maggs, she's a comin'!!!!

I know...I'm scared of myself!!!

I understand, I would be scared of myself too!!!