Master motivator working magic again

NEW YORK -- If Gary Sheffield had never played for Jim Leyland or won a championship with him in 1997 with the Marlins, he probably would respect Leyland's managing from afar.

But because he has played for him, he believes that Leyland's motivational skills win postseason games.

Which is why Sheffield is quickly dismissive of the prevailing sentiment that the Tigers have backed into the postseason, which begins for them tonight against the Yankees in the Division Series.

The Tigers did allow the American League Central Division title to slip out of their grasp with a horrible final weekend against the Kansas City Royals, who swept three games.

``There's a lot of managers I loved playing for, and Jimmy Leyland was at the top of the food chain," said Sheffield, who will play first base and supplant Alex Rodriguez as the Yankees' cleanup hitter tonight in Game 1. ``He makes you feel good as a player, his motivation and rah-rah speeches.

``Motivating guys, he's the best at it I've ever seen. It's quite evident that this man is a genius when it comes to talking to his players and getting them ready to play. Regardless of what the results are, he's going to have the Tigers ready to play. So we'd better be able to match the intensity that team will show. Because I know they'll show it. Leyland wouldn't have it any other way."

Sheffield speaks as if this is football; usually when baseball players are asked about managers being good motivators, there's a shrug of the shoulders or a roll of the eyes. After all, you're not getting players ready to go out there and stick somebody. But Sheffield thinks Leyland gets players to do that little extra on the field that can be the difference between winning and losing a game.

``One time in Cleveland during the World Series -- it was either Game 3 or Game 4 -- he really built up this whole story about bringing Muhammad Ali in to speak to us," Sheffield said. ``It never came off, but I think it was a way for him to get his speech in, and once he got his speech in, we felt we could go out and beat the world. Unbelievable. I never heard speeches like that. It's just one of those things that you feed off of.

``He's a people person. From Day One he lets you know where you stand. And now he's back for more, and our team knows how much we respect the Tigers, but if we need any other information on what effect Jim Leyland can have on a baseball team, then come to me. I'll let them know."

Leyland's return to the dugout after a six-year absence from baseball was spectacular, to say the least. The Tigers won 95 games, losing the division on the last day to the Twins. While the ending (a regular season-ending five-game losing streak) wasn't good, the bottom line was that Leyland wanted to lead his team to ``the promised land" as he has called it all season. And he has done that.

He is now imploring his players to forget the regular season, forget the weekend, and look ahead. Game 1 starter Nate Robertson said, ``Unfortunately, there are those who are going to dwell on last weekend. We have moved on. That was yesterday. It was kind of a quiet bus ride to the airport, but the bus ride to the park today was a lot different."

And yesterday Leyland was telling his players to look around the House That Ruth Built. Take it all in. Admire it. But don't let the stage defeat you.

``What I certainly don't want is for them to fear anything," Leyland said. ``And we won't. If we're good enough, we're good enough. If we're not, we're not. But it won't be because we're in awe.

``[The Yankees] are tremendous, maybe one of the best lineups in the history of baseball. But I think we have done a little something, too, and we have earned the right to be here."

Heaven knows what the pregame speech will be tonight. But you can sense the theme. Leyland might just play up the ``underdog" thing.

``If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best," he said. ``And the Yankees, for the most part, over the history of baseball, have been the best. I am not really sure that we're the underdog. And when I say that, I am certainly not being disrespectful. We're one of the teams that earned the right to be here, and in this particular case, we earned the right to play the New York Yankees."

Those who have followed the Tigers this season indicate that Leyland has been very good individually with players but hasn't been big on team meetings. The one time he did meet with them as a group, he exploded following a 10-2 loss to the Indians April 17, an eruption many credit for turning the Tigers ferocious.

``We stunk. Period. Stunk. And it's not good enough," Leyland said that night. ``It's been going on here before, and it's not going to happen. We had a chance to come out and take a series. I'm not talking about anybody in particular. I'm talking team. Myself. Coaches. Everybody."

That awoke a team of sleeping giants.

``They're very underrated," Sheffield said. ``I think they have the best pitching staff in the league. It's what everybody wanted to see, and now you got it. Anybody that makes the playoffs, whether you're coming in on a high or a low, it's dangerous. If they're hot, you're gonna try to cool them off, and if they're on a low, you have to keep them down. If they're low, Jim will raise them."

We'll soon find out whether the Tigers will fade away or be inspired by a Leyland ``Gipper" speech.

``Don't sell us short," Leyland said.