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Sheffield, Giambi Mum On Steroids
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Tampa Tribune
Sheffield, Giambi Mum On Steroids
By BRUCE LOWITT Tribune correspondent
Published: Mar 3, 2004
TAMPA - When the subject arose in the Yankees clubhouse, the silence was broken only by the occasional ``No comment,'' ``I don't want to talk about it,'' or even more silence.
Federal investigators looking into the use of steroids and human growth hormone were told Tuesday that Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi and right fielder Gary Sheffield, plus home run king Barry Bonds of the Giants, were among those receiving the drugs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Giambi, who reported to spring training seeming to weigh a lot less than last season - he said he dropped only 4 pounds thanks to better eating habits - refused to speak to anyone after an intrasquad game.
Sheffield, who signed a free- agent contract to add even more power to the lineup, sat in front of his corner cubicle and quietly declined to discuss the report, beyond saying, ``I have no comment on this. If you're not guilty, why would you worry? Words, speculation, that doesn't bother me.
``Simple as that. You know I don't like dealing with controversy. Nobody likes to do that.''
Manager Joe Torre, asked in his media-jammed office for his reaction to the report, leaned back and, with a tight smile, said, ``Next question. I have no comment.''
Asked if he thought the steroid controversy could become a clubhouse distraction to the defending American League champs, Torre replied, ``What, the no comment?''
One more try elicited this: ``I don't even want to go there. We have a lot of baseball to talk about. I really have nothing to say.''
Finally, when a reporter inquired what kind of approach Major League Baseball should be taking toward the bigger issue of substance abuse, the manager again skirted it. ``I don't really want to comment on anything related to that today.''
Before and again after his arrival last month at Legends Field, Sheffield offered to provide a sample of urine or blood to stop the speculation. At the time, Torre, in a more lighthearted moment, said, ``Not in this office.''
At the Giants' Scottsdale, Ariz., spring training site, Bonds softly told a reporter, ``Get out of my locker,'' and refused all other comment, as did team officials.
The two Yankees and Bonds were among several athletes who testified last year before the grand jury that indicted Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, and three others in an alleged steroid-distribution ring run out of San Francisco- based Bay Area Laboratories Cooperative (BALCO), a nutritional supplements lab.
Commissioner Bud Selig's office sent out a directive last week ordering all team executives to refrain from any comment. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said nothing and owner George Steinbrenner was unavailable for comment.
Shortstop Derek Jeter, the Yankees' captain, called the subject ``a non-issue'' in the clubhouse. ``Nobody's spoken about it, at least not when I've been around.''
As far as the Yankees' image being tarnished, Jeter said: ``Just because somebody's name has come up, you can't automatically say he's guilty. I don't think that's changed at all. I can't help what people think. All you can do is go out and do your job. People are always going to have impressions. You can't satisfy everyone.''
The report revealed by the San Francisco Chronicle did not disclose how federal investigators received the information or how the newspaper learned of it.
Prosecutors released documents last month saying Anderson told federal agents he gave steroids to several professional baseball players. No players were identified in those documents, although Sheffield's name was inadvertently revealed as among those testifying.
Human growth hormone works like a steroid, building muscle mass and helping athletes recover from training. Standard drug tests cannot detect it.
Also charged were BALCO founder Victor Conte; the lab's vice president, James Valente; and track coach Remi Korchemny. All four pleaded not guilty and are free on bond. The Chronicle said performance-enhancing drugs also were given to two of Bonds' former teammates - Marvin Benard of the White Sox and Benito Santiago of the Royals - plus former A's infielder Randy Velarde and former Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski, released by the NFL team Tuesday after failing a physical.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
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