ARLINGTON -- Gary Sheffield is putting his long-term health ahead of his desire to get back on the field, as the outfielder won't take a cortisone shot in his injured left wrist.

Sheffield, who battled the same injury in 2002 with the Braves, spent 15 days on the disabled list that year before receiving an injection to manage the pain. Now, at the age of 37, Sheffield has no plans to take the same course of action, even if it means spending time on the DL.

"It's too late in my career to be getting more cortisone," Sheffield said. "The side effects later on, I don't want to deal with that. So I'm not going to do it anymore.

"I just learned that it's best to worry about yourself when it comes to things like this, and that's what I'm doing," Sheffield added. "I'm going to worry about me and when I get right, I'll let you know. That's the way it goes."

Sheffield injured his wrist in a collision with Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand on April 29, missing the next four games. He pinch-hit on Thursday against the Devil Rays, going 1-for-1 with a walk, then started on Friday night, going 0-for-5 against the Rangers.

Sheffield pulled himself out of the lineup on Saturday, saying that he felt uncomfortable during his at-bats on Friday.

"I felt terrible," Sheffield said. "As the game went on, I knew it was getting worse and worse. I was telling myself during the game, 'I'm not playing the next day or the next day.' This is it."

Manager Joe Torre had no plans to start Sheffield on Sunday, and with an off-day on Monday, the Yankees are unlikely to make a decision regarding the DL until Tuesday.

"If he's hurting and it set him back the other day taking swings, we'll do whatever it takes," Torre said. "If rest is the best thing, we'll certainly look at it."

Sheffield said Sunday that his wrist felt sore and stiff, but he didn't know whether the DL was in his immediate future.

"I don't know," he said. "Whatever they want to do, I'm fine with it."

"There's no way I want to do anything that would jeopardize his well-being," Torre said. "The most important thing is the player here. As for helping the team, that can only happen when he's feeling better."

Sheffield said that although he could hit in batting practice, playing in a game was a different story.

"I can hit the ball far and things like that [in BP], but he's throwing 70 mph," he said. "To try and take that into the game, break down your swing and speed it up at the same time, hit breaking balls and things like that, I just can't do it."

"If something like that is in his mind, he's going to be a little hesitant," Torre said. "I've never really watched a hesitant Sheffield play, so you want to guard against that. We're certainly going to take as good care of him as we can."

Sheffield may ask the Yankees to send him to Miami later this week to visit his own doctor, though that request has yet to be made. According to Torre, Sheffield will visit a doctor in New York on Monday.

For now, Sheffield will continue to take swings in the cage, trying to keep the wrist from stiffening up any further. But until he feels significantly better, the Yankees shouldn't expect to see him in the lineup.

"I'm just not going to go out there and play injured anymore," Sheffield said. "Like I said before: Been there, done that, not doing it again. It's just that simple. ... When it's right, I'll play. Until then, I'm not playing.

"I've just got to wait till the pain goes down a little bit," he added. "At this point in my career, I'm not going to tolerate a lot."

"It's too late in my career to be getting more cortisone," Sheffield said. "The side effects later on, I don't want to deal with that. So I'm not going to do it anymore."

"I'm just not going to go out there and play injured anymore," Sheffield said. "Like I said before: Been there, done that, not doing it again. It's just that simple. ... When it's right, I'll play. Until then, I'm not playing."

I really hope this lingers with Sheffield all year cause he is a scumbag and I hope he also complains about his contract.

I wonder whether he would use some flaxseed oil.

Who backs up the Shefster and gets the playing time since he is so opposed to putting these foreign substances in his body? Bubba Crosby? I can only hope. They don't have some AAAA guy stuffed away who is any better, do they?

He wonders why they haven't picked up his club option..

Yanks don't generally deal with extentions and options during the season. Kind of an unstated rule.

The Red Sox have generally followed the same practice, with the notable exception being extending David Ortiz's contract (twice).

Sheffield is officially on the 15-day DL per ESPN News. They also called up Melky Cabrera (aka Joe D in CF according to Yankee fans.) to take his spot in RF most likely.

Sheffield is officially on the 15-day DL per ESPN News. They also called up Melky Cabrera (aka Joe D in CF according to Yankee fans.) to take his spot in RF most likely.

Cabrera should get most of the playing time in RF.

Melky's playing RF tonight.

Tell him he needs to spend less time with Matsui and his "collection"...

He decided to take a Cortisone shot. He's one heck of team guy. (Or he realized it's his option hear and it will be hard to make a "contract run" while sitting out. )

somebody should tell him that all "shots" are not the same.....although cortisone will dull the pain it will not help the injury heal faster (it may in fact impede healing).....very different from other shots or clears or creams he's experienced in the past......

But he NEVER would have taken them if he had known what they were, remember?

I can't stand that guy, but as I said he's the hitter I least like to see up there in a big situation.

He's the guy I fear most on that team.

I hope he doesn't come back in time for this series.

According to the YES postgame show, Sheffroid went 1-3 today in his rehab start at Trenton and is driving to Boston to play tomorrow.

Teh suck.

Michael Kay says on his show today that the wrist is worse than thought, and they could be looking at an extended time without Sheffroid.

I'm trying to think of a scenario in which Gary Sheffield is on the DL for an extended period of time, and I somehow have sympathy for him.

I haven't come up with any such scenario yet.

I heard something this morning (maybe just speculation) that Sheffy could be gone a long time-like maybe the rest of the year.

Think they'll pick up that option now?

Torre learned the news about Sheffield, the outfielder who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. A club spokesman told Torre that a magnetic resonance imaging exam had revealed a torn ligament and a dislocated tendon of his left wrist.

"That leads you to believe it's going to be a while," Torre said. "I'm guessing, but when you hear there's a tear in something, you have to let it quiet down."

Torre was right: General Manager Brian Cashman said Sheffield would not be back soon. He will wear a splint on the wrist and try to rehabilitate the injury without surgery for the next two weeks. But Cashman said Sheffield would miss more time than that, and he could not rule out an operation that could cost Sheffield at least two months

Griffey could be most likely big name for Yanks
June 5, 2006
Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell are available, Alfonso Soriano can be had and Reggie Sanders probably can be, too. But the Yankees also have their eye on Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, should either become available.

Gary Sheffield's potentially season-ending wrist injury sent general manager Brian Cashman to the phones looking for a corner outfielder late this past week. Big names will be tossed around, but with the Yankees' prospect stash limited, the best option could actually become Griffey.

Griffey's whopping salary ($37 million through 2009) means the Yankees wouldn't have to give up anything of note to get him. The Reds' previous ownership rejected the Yankees' bid for Griffey last year, but the Reds have a new owner, Bob Castellini, and a new GM, Wayne Krivsky, who isn't afraid to deal if they fall out of the race.

Soriano's a high-priced rent-a-player, but the Nats' request of the Mets' Lastings Milledge for Livan Hernandez indicates that temporary GM Jim Bowden is trying too hard to impress his new bosses.

The Nationals will shop Soriano, Hernandez, Jose Vidro and Jose Guillen, but competing club execs wonder if the ownership transition might hinder the process. New Nats president Stan Kasten insisted Friday they'll close before the July 31 trade deadline and noted that Bowden is consulting him about "anything major."

Because the Yankees are reluctant to trade Chien-Ming Wang or Robinson Cano, they'll have difficulty dealing with the Phillies, who seek a starting pitcher. The Yankees' prospect list is "below average at best," one GM said; one scout said the Yankees "have zip at Triple-A." Wang and Cano are their most asked-about players. One American League scout said, "I'd trade Wang before Cano."

John Heyman in Newsday:
[...] Griffey's whopping salary ($37 million through 2009) means the Yankees wouldn't have to give up anything of note to get him. The Reds' previous ownership rejected the Yankees' bid for Griffey last year, but the Reds have a new owner, Bob Castellini, and a new GM, Wayne Krivsky, who isn't afraid to deal if they fall out of the race.