Sheffield Is Confident He Won’t Be Suspended

Gary Sheffield believes in the system.

The Dodger all-star left fielder said he is confident a five-game suspension ordered against him--and recently upheld on appeal--will be overturned. Commissioner Bud Selig will hear the Dodgers’ second appeal stemming from their melee with fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and Sheffield eagerly awaits another day in court.

“I honestly believe this is going to work out because I know in my heart I did nothing wrong,” he said. “I know I was only out there trying to help my teammates and get them out of danger.”

Sheffield, catcher Chad Kreuter, pitcher Carlos Perez and outfielder F.P. Santangelo are expected to go before Selig in Atlanta during the July 10-12 All-Star break.

Selig will rule on penalties issued against the players, which were not reduced in the initial appeal, after a May 16 dispute with fans in the stands in a game against the Cubs.

Kreuter faces an eight-game suspension, and Sheffield, Santangelo and Perez five games each. Sheffield believes Selig will do “what’s right.”

“I’ve seen the evidence, and nobody can show me where I did anything to deserve this,” said Sheffield, leading Dodger regulars with a .343 batting average, 27 home runs and 71 runs batted in.

“If somebody showed me what I did wrong I would take the punishment and move on, but that hasn’t happened. It’s just about being fair.”

Sheffield, and many others, believe Frank Robinson, baseball’s vice president of on-field operations, tried to send a message about fighting in the sweeping penalties he handed down against the club.

Twenty Dodgers, including three coaches and a nonroster bullpen catcher, were suspended a total of 89 games and fined $77,000.

Paul Beeston, baseball’s chief operating officer, overturned 12 suspensions in the initial appeal. The fines were upheld.

Robinson said he wasn’t trying to send a message.

“That’s not what this was about. . . . I was just trying to deal with the situation,” Robinson said. “We had something that needed to be addressed, I did my part in the process, and that’s all you can do.

“Obviously, I felt that [fines and suspensions] were required, or I wouldn’t have [ordered them]. But this was never about trying to send any type of message.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--San Diego Padres, three games.

* Site--Qualcomm Stadium.

* Tonight--6.

* TV--Channel 5 tonight; Fox Sports Net 2 Wednesday and Thursday.

* Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Records--Dodgers 41-39, Padres 36-45.

* Record vs. Padres--2-2.

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ CHAN HO PARK

(9-4, 4.17 ERA)

vs.

PADRES’ MATT CLEMENT

(7-7, 5.24 ERA)

* Update--The Dodgers lost two of three against the San Francisco Giants in their trip-opening series. They are 3-8 in their last 11 games and trail the Arizona Diamondbacks by five games in the National League West. Park is 5-0 with a 3.14 earned-run average in his last seven starts. He is 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA against the Padres.

* Wednesday, 7 p.m.--Kevin Brown (7-2, 2.31) vs. Brian Tollberg (2-0, 2.79).

* Thursday, 2 p.m.--Darren Dreifort (4-7, 4.94) vs. Brian Meadows (7-5, 5.01).