Sheffield: Jeter Not Yankee Leader

Gary Sheffield says he knows who leads the New York Yankees, and it apparently isn’t Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez.

Sheffield all but appointed himself the Yankees’ most valuable player in an interview with New York magazine, accusing reporters of distorting the truth and ruining team chemistry.

“I know who the leader is on the team,” Sheffield told the magazine. “I ain’t going to say who it is, but I know who it is. I know who the team feeds off. I know who the opposing team comes in knowing they have to defend to stop the Yankees.

“I know this. The people don’t know. Why? The media don’t want them to know. They want to promote two players in a positive light, and everyone else is garbage.”

Sheffield said Friday in Toronto that Jeter is not the leader.

“Jeter is our captain. He’s not the leader. He’s the captain,” Sheffield said Friday in Toronto.

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Larry Krueger, a talk show host for the San Francisco Giants’ flagship radio station, was suspended for a week without pay for racial remarks he made about the team’s Latino players, but a high-ranking station executive said he would not be fired.

Giant Manager Felipe Alou vowed to make everyone aware of the remarks in his native Dominican Republic -- taking it as high as the country’s president, Leonel Fernandez.

“It really made me sad to know that 40, almost 50 years later I could hear comments like that,” said Alou, who faced racism as a minor leaguer in the South nearly five decades ago. .

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Cleveland starter Kevin Millwood was suspended for five games and reliever David Riske for four games for intentionally hitting batters during a July 29 game against the Seattle Mariners.

Indian Manager Eric Wedge and bench coach Robby Thompson were each suspended one game because the batters were hit after plate umpire Chris Guccione had issued warnings to both teams.

Mariner reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa was fined an undisclosed amount but was not suspended for intentionally hitting Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore earlier.

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Detroit Tiger catcher Ivan Rodriguez was suspended for four games for arguing with the plate umpire during a July 29 game against the Oakland Athletics.

Rodriguez also was fined an undisclosed sum. His suspension was scheduled to begin Friday night, but he said he would appeal.

Rodriguez was ejected in the Tigers’ 9-5 loss for arguing balls and strikes. He then went chest to chest with umpire Ted Barrett.

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Leading men

How the statistics of New York Yankee stars Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Derek Jeter compare this season:

*--* PLAYER AVG. R HR RBI SB Rodriguez 314 79 30 85 10 Sheffield 303 72 22 83 7 Jeter 305 80 12 44 10

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