Sheff out for 4 games

Gary Sheffield suspended four games, still vows revenge vs. Indians

BY JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • September 22, 2008

Editor's note: Story updated at 5:31 p.m.
Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield has been suspended four games by Major League Baseball for his role in a brawl with Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona last Friday in Cleveland.

Cleveland right-hander Fausto Carmona was suspended for six games. Indians catcher Victor Martinez and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera received three-game suspensions and were fined.

Sheffield will not appeal the suspension and will begin serving it tonight. He will miss the entire three-game series against the Royals at Comerica Park and the first game against Tampa Bay on Thursday in Detroit.

But to Sheffield, the matter is hardly closed. He again vowed a payback against the Indians whom he believes punched him from behind.

“I’ve been in a lot of brawls, not including me, where I have been the peacemaker,” Sheffield said. “When you get into brawls -- when somebody’s back is toward you -- you pull each other apart. That is what you’re supposed to do. But when guys take cheap shots, I take that personal.

“When I find out who they are, they are going to have to deal with me . . . They’re going to be penalized by me.”

In what form?

“Don’t worry. You’ll see. I’m not one of those guys to sit there and talk about what I’m going to do. I’m just going to do what I’m going to do.”

The Tigers have no more games with the Indians this year.

Sheffield explained why he was making clear that he would go after anyone who hit him from behind in the brawl.

“When I challenge a man, I challenge him to his face,” he said. “I’m not going to surprise you with anything. You’re going to know I’m coming. That way you’re ready. I want you ready just like I’m going to be ready. That’s what kind of man I am.”

He was asked if he was concerned how major-league baseball would react to these comments.

“I don’t care (anything) about what the league thinks or what they do,” Sheffield said. “I’ve got enough money to cover any fine they’ve got, trust me.”

He said that if anyone messes with him, “It’s on. It will never end until I get you. I told you from Day One. I don’t mess with (anybody). I don’t bother anybody. But when you bother me, it’s on. Trust me.”

Players often appeal suspensions in the hopes of getting them reduced by a game or two. But as Sheffield made clear, it makes sense for him not to appeal the suspension and to serve it now.

By serving it now, he does so in the final week of the season, with the Tigers out of the post-season race, and with a lot of reserve players on hand because of the annual September roster expansion from 25 to 40 players.

If Sheffield had appealed the suspension, he could have continued playing now. But he likely would have had to serve the suspension at the start of next season. Under the rules of baseball, the Tigers couldn’t have replaced him on the 25-man roster.

So for up to the first four games of the season, the Tigers would have had to play without the suspended Sheffield and would have been a man short.

“Obviously we’re not in the playoffs,” Sheffield said. “So the better thing is to get it over now. That way it doesn’t linger into next year and (then) start out with a clean slate.”

Shortly after Miguel Cabrera hit his second home run Friday night against Cleveland, Carmona pegged Gary Sheffield on the left elbow with a fastball. Sheffield glared at Carmona as he walked to first base, bat in hand.

Once Brandon Inge stepped to the plate, Sheffield took a modest lead at first base. Carmona threw over. Sheffield barked at Carmona for a moment, then started toward the mound, igniting the most ferocious in-game confrontation during Jim Leyland's three seasons as manager.


Sheffield is pursuing 500 career home run before the end of the season. He has 497.

Free Press sports writer Jon Paul Morosi contributed to this report.

09/22/2008 5:05 PM ET
Sheffield given four-game suspension
Tigers slugger won't appeal, begins serving it Monday
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Gary Sheffield's quest for 500 home runs will have to wait a while. The Tigers slugger received a four-game suspension from Major League Baseball on Monday for his role in Friday's benches-clearing fracas at Cleveland.

The Tigers announced the suspension Monday afternoon after receiving a call from Major League Baseball. Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona received a six-game suspension, while catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Asdrubal Cabrera each received three-game suspensions and an undisclosed fine.

Sheffield decided not to appeal. His discipline began Monday and will run through Thursday.

"Obviously, we aren't in the playoffs," Sheffield said, "so the better thing to do is just get it over now. That way, it won't go on into next year, and [I can] start over with a clean slate."

He is not wiping his personal slate, however, for the Indians players involved.

Tempers began flaring in Friday's seventh inning, starting when Carmona hit Sheffield with a fastball in the left elbow. It came two batters after Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer to pull Detroit in front, and Sheffield believed he was hit intentionally because of it. He walked to first base while still carrying his bat before handing it to the bat boy when he got there.

When Brandon Inge stepped to the plate, Carmona tried a pickoff throw to first base, to which Sheffield took exception. He waved and yelled for Carmona to throw to the plate. Carmona challenged him back, and Sheffield promptly charged the mound.

While Sheffield tried to throw the big-framed Carmona to the ground, Carmona punched Sheffield on the top of his head. Replays showed the Indians' Martinez and Cabrera trying to hit Sheffield.

Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, also ejected from the game, received neither a fine nor a suspension. Umpires cited him for acting in an aggressive manner in their decision to throw him out of the game, but replays showed him trying to hold back Martinez when he began yelling at Sheffield from across the infield after tensions had eased.

Sheffield pulled no punches in his feelings about the incident and the players involved when he talked with reporters after that game.

"There's a point I get to where it's hard to come back from," Sheffield said Friday. "And when I get to that point, you're going to have to deal with me -- today, tomorrow, until the day I get you."

Of the players who punched him from behind, Sheffield said, "I saw the tape. I know who they are. And I guarantee you, they'll have to deal with me."

No further incidents happened over the weekend, though Sheffield and Martinez could be seen marking lines in the dirt around home plate when Sheffield stepped into the batters box Sunday.

On Monday, after learning of the penalties, Sheffield was still vowing some sort of payback.

"They're going to be penalized by me, too," he said Monday. "That's just the way it goes."

Asked why he has been so public about retribution, Sheffield said, "When I challenge a man, I challenge him to his face. I'm not going to surprise you with anything. You're going to know I'm coming. That way, you're ready. I want you ready, just like I'm going to be ready. That's what kind of man I am."

Any reaction from Major League Baseball on that matter will not concern him.

"I don't care about any league thing, what they do," he said. "I've got enough money to cover any fine they've got. Trust me."

In Monday's case, he wasn't worried about an appeal, or the suspension's effect on his quest for 500 homers. With Sheffield currently at 497 home runs for his career, he'll need three over the final three games to reach 500 this season.

The downside if he had appealed, of course, is that the suspension could've carried into next year, when the Tigers will be trying to open the season strong and erase the bitter taste of last year's 0-7 start. Moreover, Sheffield has expressed optimism about next season because of his health. With no major injuries, he said he has a chance to go to through his normal, intensive offseason workout routine for the first time in several years, and he's upbeat about how he could perform given that chance.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Quote :

Cleveland right-hander Fausto Carmona was
suspended for six games. Indians catcher Victor Martinez and second
baseman Asdrubal Cabrera received three-game suspensions and were fined.

Well, they must have felt Carmona was responsible for hitting Sheff! Carmona got 6 games compared to Sheff's 4.

Thanks for changing my post title! Must've had Carmona on the brain.

laprimamirala wrote:

Thanks for changing my post title! Must've had Carmona on the brain.

no problem, my friend!

Sheffs dumb and we need to get rid of him.

gdennis59 wrote:

Sheffs dumb and we need to get rid of him.

It was nice to be at Comerica Park tonight and not see Sheff out there


Get rid of his ass;


And MLB better get this situation under control

AND NOW

Before someone ends up getting hurt[ like Dave Rozema in the Brawl with Minnesota in 1982] because of Sheff's BS desire for revenge

laprimamirala wrote:

“When I find out who they are, they are going to have to deal with me . . . They’re going to be penalized by me.”
...
...
“I don’t care (anything) about what the league thinks or what they do,” Sheffield said. “I’ve got enough money to cover any fine they’ve got, trust me.”

Sheff is a total idiot. Get rid of this stupid ! Quotes like these above.... sorry Gary but you're just dumb!

This "revenge" he talks about will land him in jail! Where else but a baseball diamond can you attack a man and not land in the slammer!

He sucks. we need to deal him! Early next year. get a pitcher out of it or someting.

swiss_tiger wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

“When I find out who they are, they are going to have to deal with me . . . They’re going to be penalized by me.”
...
...
“I don’t care (anything) about what the league thinks or what they do,” Sheffield said. “I’ve got enough money to cover any fine they’ve got, trust me.”

Sheff is a total idiot. Get rid of this stupid ! Quotes like these above.... sorry Gary but you're just dumb!

If Sheff wants to fight people so bad;


Go Fight Kimbo Slice!


This is MLB

Not Ultimate Fighting or Boxing or even the WWE


I think you in the wrong sport Gary