LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield said Friday that he has been asked to refrain from commenting publicly about the investigation into steroid use headed by former Sen. George Mitchell.
"I can't just go out and make statements like that, because I'm a top player and all that," Sheffield said Friday morning at Joker Marchant Stadium, before the Tigers beat Houston, 13-8, at Kissimmee, Fla.
"I understand that. If that's what Major League Baseball don't want me to do, then I won't do it. That's fine with me."
In an interview with USA Today this week, Sheffield described the probe as a witch hunt aimed at San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. Sheffield also indicated that the Players Association had advised him not to cooperate with the investigation.
The Associated Press reported that one MLB official and another from the MLBPA had met with Sheffield on Thursday to discuss his remarks.
Although Sheffield's attorney, Paula Canny, has received a letter from the Mitchell panel, Sheffield said he wasn't directly asked to assist with the investigation during the Thursday meeting.
"They want to try to make it known that it's not about one player," Sheffield said. "That's basically what it was."
Asked if Sheffield now truly believes that assertion, he said, "I read and see everything like everybody else. That's my opinion. But if they don't want me to make those statements, then I won't."
Meanwhile, in Scottsdale, Ariz., commissioner Bud Selig said he isn't about to guess whether Bonds will cooperate with the investigation. "I don't know that," Selig said. "I'm going to see how the Mitchell investigation plays out."
Selig, sitting in the press box at Scottsdale Stadium during the Milwaukee Brewers-San Francisco Giants spring game, happened to show up in Arizona in time for Bonds' first exhibition game.
"It is incidental," said Selig, who was meeting with a group of bankers.
Speaking of Bonds
Bonds lost a fly ball in the sun and struck out swinging at a high pitch well out of the zone. He went 0-for-2 with the strikeout by Milwaukee prospect Yovani Gallardo in the Brewers' 21-2, split-squad win. "Get all the good stuff out of the way early," Bonds said.
Ticket time
Tickets for the Tigers' 2007 home games at ComericaPark will go on sale at today. When you find the game you want to attend, click on the T icon to buy tickets.
Tickets for Opening Day will soon be available. Since there are a limited number of tickets available, applicants must fill out and submit the online registration form to have a chance to buy up to two tickets.
