“He’s been very verbal about his need for sufficient financial compensation and respect, demanding better pay when he was with the Dodgers, and refusing to play in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, saying “his season is when he’s getting paid.” When was this 98′ ???

Regarding the jerks comments, it is the spoiled athlete syndrome. The “I’m not being respected” garbage really bugs me. Failing to always get your way is not necessarily a matter of respect. Believe it or not, people base decisions on other factors than just your sense of self-worth. Even the athletes considered good guys have trouble understanding how these personnel decisions are made. Thome last week was talking that this seasons contract should make up for being underpaid last year. No, Jim. This years contract (if you get one) will be based on an evaluation of the market (more DH’s than open DH jobs), your expected contributions (over 40 equals no guarantee of performing at last years level), etc. Teams overpay when the player has leverage. They don’t need to overpay when a player is not in high demand. That probably applies to Sheffield double. What TB could expect from him is probably worth a lot less than what he would want in compensation. If TB offered him a contract for what he’s worth to them he’d be screaming even more about being disrespected. Or worse yet for the team he’d sign it and then be a malcontent as soon as he had a couple good games and decided they underpaid him.

What a maroon.