Leyland Has Strong Words for Weak Talk

Gary Sheffield, batting .242 with nine home runs at the start of the second half, struck a nerve, which is more than he had been doing with his bat.

Sheffield, who received a $61-million extension after Florida Marlin owner H. Wayne Huizenga spent $89 million on free agents last winter, said the Marlins need to pop for another hitter, that having spent so much, what’s a little more? That was enough to ignite Manager Jim Leyland, who didn’t cite Sheffield by name but said:

“I’m tired of this garbage about going out and getting somebody. Go out and get somebody, my butt. We already went out and got somebody. We spent all off-season getting a bunch of guys. What does that mean? That the players we have aren’t good enough? Who’s not good enough?

“That’s another excuse, another cop-out. I’m sick of watching guys give away 10 at-bats in a row. I’m tired of guys breaking out in poison ivy every time there’s a man in scoring position. Go out and get somebody? That’s weak. Get a hit once in a while.”

With all of that, with the Marlins still shadowing the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and trying to hold off the New York Mets in the wild-card race, they might, indeed, go get somebody before the July 31 deadline.

They might be the team best equipped to satisfy the Oakland A’s requirements for Mark McGwire since they can offer a young center fielder in Todd Dunwoody, a first baseman in Jeff Conine and any of several pitching prospects.

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Although the Dodgers still have not received ownership committee approval to share their contracts and financial data with Fox, acting Commissioner Bud Selig said the committee “is proceeding at normal pace, maybe even a little faster than normal. I understand the Dodgers’ desire to move ahead. We’re trying to be sensitive to both sides.”

Selig would not speculate on a timetable for approval and would not comment when asked if there wasn’t a potential conflict in the fact that Atlanta Brave chairman Bill Bartholomay serves as ownership committee chairman.

The ill will between Brave owner Ted Turner and Fox owner Rupert Murdoch has been chronicled, and there have been unconfirmed rumors that Turner has tried to organize National League opposition to the sale.

“The only thing I’ll say is that I’m monitoring the situation,” Selig said in regard to the committee’s activity.

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A week ago, new Philadelphia Phillie President David Montgomery insisted he had no intention of trading ace Curt Schilling, but that may have changed.

A week ago, Schilling listed five teams (Atlanta, Florida, Houston, St. Louis and Baltimore) for which he’d waive his no-trade clause, but that, too, may have changed.

Why wouldn’t the hapless Phillies, looking beyond the 1997 standings, consider trading Schilling if they can get a prospect package in return? Several clubs continue to inquire, with the Cleveland Indians at the forefront.

Schilling, at the All-Star game in Cleveland, said he “can’t find a reason” why he wouldn’t want to play for the Indians, who would seem to have 1) the prospects to satisfy the Phillies, 2) the cash to meet Schilling’s demand for improvement of his three-year, $15.45-million contract, and 3) the motivation to improve their rotation.

Asked if being at the All-Star game helped take his mind off the Phillies’ long season, Schilling said: “I’d have to be on the [Mars] Sojourner for that to happen.”