nedwrd12
04-20-2007, 07:51 PM
Friday, April 20, 2007
By Danny Knobler
DETROIT -- This isn't New York, and tonight at Comerica Park, it won't be the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
We know that. We understand that. We're thankful for that.
But as you watch Gary Sheffield struggle through his first weeks as a Detroit Tiger, it's hard not to wonder whether he needs us all to be a little more New York-like.
Sheffield loved New York. He loved Yankees-Red Sox series, so much so that he told Boston writers this spring that his first choice, had he become a free agent, would have been to sign on with the Sox.
There's no indication that Sheffield hates Detroit, or even that he doesn't like it. He seems happy, sounds happy, at least as happy as anyone with a .132 batting average could be.
But wouldn't he rather be at Fenway Park tonight for the Yankees-Red Sox series, rather than 700 miles away with the Tigers and the White Sox?
This week, when Sheffield got his first big hit as a Tiger, a seventh-inning game-tying double against Kansas City, I was struck by how he stood on second base showing almost no emotion. No fist pump, not even a clenched fist, not even a big grin.
The next day, Sheffield said he doesn't like to show emotion on the field, and that he almost never does.
"I did a few times in Yankee Stadium," he said. "Against Boston."
Sheffield went on to say that he when he did pump his fists, he got a little embarrassed, felt a little weird. But he said the emotions of the crowd got to him.
Remember that this spring, Sheffield said he would miss Yankee Stadium, that he got "chill-bumps" when he thought about it. He also said something else.
"I'm going to miss the fans pushing me to go out and achieve, know that if you don't achieve they're going to come down on you," Sheffield said then. "I mean, that's motivation, and that's something I welcome. I think it gets the most out of you as a player."
I thought about that on Wednesday, as Sheffield went 0-for-5 in the Tigers' 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Royals. I listened carefully when Sheffield popped up with runners at second and third base with none out in the sixth inning, and again when he struck out with a runner at first base in the 10th.
I listened carefully, and I didn't hear a single boo.
Imagine if it had been Yankee Stadium.
I know Tiger fans will boo. I heard them boo Juan Gonzalez. I heard them boo Mike Henneman the night he set the club's all-time saves record.
I also know that it's early in the season, that the Tigers have played just five home games, all of them midweek, none of them against any of the big division rivals. We'll see what happens this weekend, with the White Sox in town, or next weekend, when the Minnesota Twins visit.
However it is, it won't be Yankee Stadium. It won't be Yankees-Red Sox.
For many of us, that's a good thing. For Gary Sheffield, I'm not so sure.
By Danny Knobler
DETROIT -- This isn't New York, and tonight at Comerica Park, it won't be the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
We know that. We understand that. We're thankful for that.
But as you watch Gary Sheffield struggle through his first weeks as a Detroit Tiger, it's hard not to wonder whether he needs us all to be a little more New York-like.
Sheffield loved New York. He loved Yankees-Red Sox series, so much so that he told Boston writers this spring that his first choice, had he become a free agent, would have been to sign on with the Sox.
There's no indication that Sheffield hates Detroit, or even that he doesn't like it. He seems happy, sounds happy, at least as happy as anyone with a .132 batting average could be.
But wouldn't he rather be at Fenway Park tonight for the Yankees-Red Sox series, rather than 700 miles away with the Tigers and the White Sox?
This week, when Sheffield got his first big hit as a Tiger, a seventh-inning game-tying double against Kansas City, I was struck by how he stood on second base showing almost no emotion. No fist pump, not even a clenched fist, not even a big grin.
The next day, Sheffield said he doesn't like to show emotion on the field, and that he almost never does.
"I did a few times in Yankee Stadium," he said. "Against Boston."
Sheffield went on to say that he when he did pump his fists, he got a little embarrassed, felt a little weird. But he said the emotions of the crowd got to him.
Remember that this spring, Sheffield said he would miss Yankee Stadium, that he got "chill-bumps" when he thought about it. He also said something else.
"I'm going to miss the fans pushing me to go out and achieve, know that if you don't achieve they're going to come down on you," Sheffield said then. "I mean, that's motivation, and that's something I welcome. I think it gets the most out of you as a player."
I thought about that on Wednesday, as Sheffield went 0-for-5 in the Tigers' 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Royals. I listened carefully when Sheffield popped up with runners at second and third base with none out in the sixth inning, and again when he struck out with a runner at first base in the 10th.
I listened carefully, and I didn't hear a single boo.
Imagine if it had been Yankee Stadium.
I know Tiger fans will boo. I heard them boo Juan Gonzalez. I heard them boo Mike Henneman the night he set the club's all-time saves record.
I also know that it's early in the season, that the Tigers have played just five home games, all of them midweek, none of them against any of the big division rivals. We'll see what happens this weekend, with the White Sox in town, or next weekend, when the Minnesota Twins visit.
However it is, it won't be Yankee Stadium. It won't be Yankees-Red Sox.
For many of us, that's a good thing. For Gary Sheffield, I'm not so sure.