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Sheffield causing great divide
Disgruntled outfielder Gary Sheffield finally reported to camp on Friday. However, many questions still loom about the moody All-Star. How will Sheffield be received in that clubhouse? Will he try to explain himself and will anyone bother to listen to his explanations? Dodgers ace Kevin Brown said he was willing to give his former Marlins teammate "the benefit of the doubt," adding that he had "tremendous respect for Gary and what he's done." But others don't seem so willing to forgive. Second baseman Mark Grudzielanek ripped the timing of the whole incident, calling it "the worst thing in the world." Then there's right fielder Shawn Green, whose six-year, $84 million contract remains a sore subject with Sheffield. Green, asked about the potential loss of a 43-homer bat, shrugged. "Obviously it's hard to replace a guy like Sheffield," Green told me. "But if we get some guys who come in and do a great job for the club and who want to be here, it's not going to hurt us. ... We'll be fine. That stuff will be behind us in another week or so and there won't be any looking back." Maybe. Maybe not. One thing is for sure: The longer Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone tries to hold out for fair-market value, the greater the potential for this distraction to torpedo the Dodgers' season before they even make it to Opening Day. "Typical L.A. team, huh?" one Dodger told me. "It's like a soap opera. It's one thing after another around here."
Better playing through chemistryWhile the Mets remain interested in acquiring Sheffield, there is understandable trepidation about dropping such a potentially disruptive force into the middle of a mostly serene clubhouse.Mets chairman Nelson Doubleday said that while he and co-owner Fred Wilpon leave all personnel decisions up to general manager Steve Phillips, there would be concerns about altering the chemistry of the defending N.L. champions. The same reasoning was behind the Mets' early exit from the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes last winter. "You've got to think of the other 24 guys in that room," Doubleday said. "You can't have a we-they relationship going in that clubhouse. ... When [Rodriguez's representatives] started talking about how they had to have more billboards than [Derek] Jeter, we said, 'Whoa, wait a minute. Are we talking about a baseball player or Dolly Parton?'" Dolly Parton?
Ryan's hopeWhen he toured Japan with the Major League All-Stars last November, Marlins right hander Ryan Dempster started the opener of the 10-game exhibition series. The 14-game winner got the call ahead of more notable teammates like Randy Johnson and Mike Sirotka.That experience should prove valuable on April 2. That's when Dempster, a month shy of his 24th birthday, will start the Marlins' season-opener against the Phillies at Pro Player Stadium. Unless Kerry Wood starts for the Cubs, which appears unlikely, Dempster will be the youngest Opening Day starter in the majors this year. Younger than the A's Tim Hudson, who is 25. Younger than the Expos' Javier Vazquez, who is 24. Younger than any of the 15 other 20-somethings expected to start openers. "That's pretty cool," said Dempster, who made the 2000 All-Star team last July en route to a 209-strikeout season, which broke Kevin Brown's franchise mark. "Getting to start on Opening Day means a lot. I want to prove to [the Marlins] that I'm worthy." With Alex Fernandez back home in Miami, still rehabbing his right shoulder and hoping for a May return, it's the brash young Canadian one locker over who will take the ball first. It is Dempster who, after spending much of last season as the de facto ace, moves from understudy to starring role. "Alex is Alex," Dempster said. "In no way will I try to replace what he brings to the team. I just try to be myself. I don't come in here to change or be anything different because of some label put on you. I just go out there and pitch my butt off. I know that if the team needs innings, I have to give them innings." That burden was increased this week with the news that A.J. Burnett, the Marlins' No. 3 starter, has a stress fracture in his right foot and could miss the first month of the regular season. Beyond eating up innings, Dempster doesn't see much difference in his role. He does not buy, for instance, the concept of the "stopper," the guy at the top of the rotation who is supposed to stop losing streaks. "I always think that's funny," he said. "Why should I want to win more because we just lost a game? It's like, 'I've got to win extra today because we lost five in a row?' Or 'I'm the No. 1 guy. I have to win today?' No, I want to win every game I pitch." Mike Berardino covers baseball for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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