Commentary: Sheffield learns from Yankees collapse

Slugger warns Tigers not to be overconfident with loaded roster

? The Detroit Tigers have won … nothing.

They bounce around spring training full of promise and optimism, inciting the fan base with the hopeful rhetoric it wants to hear.

They’re the hot flavor nationally right now, riding a growing wave of popularity. They’ve spent money. They’ve successfully raided the have-nots for their prime talent. They’re seeking payback for a stinging disappointment.

But they have to keep that confidence from morphing into complacency.

Gary Sheffield will make sure of that. He can’t forget that he was part of the greatest choke in baseball playoff history.

“If anybody doesn’t believe that complacency can become a problem,” Sheffield said, “all they need to do is come and ask me about 2004.”

Sheffield signed with Yankees following the 2003 season, when he finished third in the National League Most Valuable Player voting after hitting 39 home runs with a career-high 132 RBIs for Atlanta. He was the big bat in the heart of the order that the Yankees craved, making a monster even more frightening.

But George Steinbrenner wasn’t finished, sending groans of despair throughout baseball when he traded for Alex Rodriguez just before spring training in 2004.

The Yankees suddenly were unbeatable.

“Oh, man, when I first heard that we were getting A-Rod,” Sheffield recalled, “I was ready to get fitted for a championship ring already. And it was only March.”

Sheffield recalled a similar sensation when he heard that the Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in December, making an already-imposing team better.

“But I had to stop myself,” he said. “I had to keep telling myself about 2004, because I don’t want that to happen again.”

There’s more balance in this lineup than the Yankees’ had four years ago. There are more .300 hitters and more contact hitters capable of moving runners and manufacturing runs.

Sheffield believes the 2004 Yankees started simply waiting for the middle of their batting order, Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and himself, to mash their way through opposing teams.

It doesn’t work that way. Sheffield found that out at the worst time.

“All we needed was one more run to finish it out, but we couldn’t move the leadoff runner over into scoring position,” Sheffield said.

Overconfidence shouldn’t be a problem for the Tigers. If last year proved nothing else, it showed there are no guarantees. They never were completely healthy, with Sheffield hurting his shoulder and Kenny Rogers and Joel Zumaya missing big chunks of time.

Zumaya is out indefinitely again. And there still are questions about the strength of reliever Fernando Rodney’s right shoulder. Sheffield and closer Todd Jones will turn 40 this year. This probably is Pudge Rodriguez’s final season in Detroit.

Look within the feverish optimism, and there’s a palpable sense of urgency with these Tigers that should prevent any lapses into complacency.