Wait, what? He's mad now? He was all smiles 48 hours ago! I think Gary finally understood that the meeting he had with Cashman didn't guarantee that his option was being picked up, but only that it would be a surprise if the Yankees did not.

The right fielder is stewing about having to wait for the Yankees to pick up his $13 million option for 2007, which is reason enough for those RPMs to run near the red line.

Sheffield says the Yankees are making a mistake auditioning him. If they need a few months, or even weeks to see if his bat is still quick, the slugger is ready with a countermove. Actually, it's a thinly veiled threat: wait too long, and he's moving on.

"If my body feels good I'm playing somewhere, here or somewhere else," Sheffield said. "Either way I'll get my 500 home runs. It's no sweat off my back where it happens."

What? A little while ago, wasn't he talking about retiring and perhaps finishing up his career with the Yankees?

Sheffield could have the 2007 option guaranteed by the All-Star break, or even sooner if he hits well in April and May. That's just common sense money management with a 37-year-old player.

But don't try explaining that logic to Sheffield, who with open indignation says, "They can't just use me like that, waiting to see what I've got. They should be glad they got me at the [price] they did [three years, $39 million]. There are a lot of players with better contracts."

Oy vey - this does bear watching as the season goes on. I don't expect Sheffield to dog it on the field but he does have a history of these "incidents". Hopefully, all of this will quiet down as the season progresses and I guess the key question will become, is Gary Sheffield worth $13 million in 2007 to man right-field for the Yankees? Looking at the alternatives, the answer is probably yes.

And as an aside, Mr. Davidoff, I haven't heard anything about contracts being an issue over in Anaheim.