All Sport Report

In what has become quite a bizarre turn of events, in less than a week the New York Yankess have not only gotten dissed (by former NY Yankees slugger Gary “Chef” Sheffield, they did a little dissing of their own, to one of their own, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez. The dissing all started when Gary Sheffield made an appearance on HBO’s Real Sports and it exploded from there.

The interview, which occurred last Friday, July 13, will air in a forthcoming episode of the show. Chef, who has become one of the top power hitters of the season for the Detroit Tigers, had quite a bit to say about the former ball team he played on from 2004-2006. It was reported by multiple media sources that Sheffield stated that famed Yankees manager Joe Torre treated his black players differently than he did his white players. Chef, who is black, was asked whether his then teammate Derek Jeter was treated differently, to which he responded that Jeter wasn’t “all the way black”. Jeter is in fact of mixed heritage with an African American father and Caucasian mother.

When the press asked for a comment on Chefs “accusations” from both Joe Torre and Derek Jeter, prior to their game verses the Devil Rays in Tampa on Friday, both refused a response. The Yankees coincidentally lost the game 6-4, their only loss of the four game series. During the interview, Sheffield also admitted to using steroid creams, but not actual steroids, which he classifies as something you can “stick in your butt”.

To further complicate the Yankees’ state of mind, a clause in the $252 million, ten year contract of their star player A-Rod could lead to an early opt-out by Rodriguez. His agent is hoping he will go for a projected amount of $225 million for seven years. While the opt-out seems pretty much a done deal on A-Rod’s part, the Yanks have given him something to stew over.

The rumor mill is abuzz as the Yankees management and ownership has stated that if A-Rod opts out, he may be looking at the Yankees not pursuing AL MVP status this year for him. Of course, A-Rod has until November 10, 2007 to decide whether he will become a free agent or not, and if he does, he may already have multiple teams vying for his placement in their 2008 lineup.

Amongst the most interested, is the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees’ most bitter of rivals. They had attempted to woo A-Rod to the team back in 2003 and it seems their love affair with the 32 year old in-fielder hasn’t waned. The infatuated president of the Rex Sox, Larry Lucchino, has vowed to atone for his lack of “gusto” when trying to bid for A-Rod previously, and this time he does not wish to fail. Besides, the Yankees loss is the Red Sox’s gain right?

To further add flames to the fire, the Yankees have made it clear they will not have a long involved bidding war, if Rodriguez opts out of his contract. Of course, this could take some finagling on the part of the Red Sox, to fill such a lofty payout on one contract. That is why the Detroit Tigers may be in the running for A-Rod. We’ll just have to wait until November 10th to find out what A-Rod decides.

Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, MLB, Contract, Free Agent, Dissed, Racism