The baseball world, as everyone knows, usually revolves around the New York Yankees. They have the biggest payroll, the biggest egos and the most irritating fans, so the media gives them the most attention. This column will not change that.

Two interesting things have happened this week, both solidifying the Yankees as the most annoying team on the planet. And not just because Limp Bizkit "superstar" Fred Durst likes to wear the team's hat.

First, outfielder Gary Sheffield had a little misunderstanding with a fan. And second, owner George Steinbrenner had a little message for his million-dollar-baby ballplayers.

To start things off, Sheffield was playing in Fenway Park and going for a ball near the foul line when a fan, Chris House, leaned down and attempted to pick up the ball as well.

Sheffield grabbed the ball and threw it into play, then turned around and looked as if he were about to punch House.

Thankfully, Sheffield's brain misfired, and his cocked fist remained where it was instead of nailing House with a round-house punch to the face, a la Ron Artest.

In the end, you have to give House a break. Sure, the ball had been in bounds at first, but I'm sure he was just following the advice of Little League coaches everywhere to keep his eye on the ball. In fact, his fiancée told the Boston Herald that he was just "going for the ball." I think we've all been in the situation where we want to help our team as much as possible. House just had a great opportunity to do that, although I'm unsure if he thought Sheffield was going to have to chase him through the stands for the ball or if the umpires would rule for "fan interference."

All I have to say is, Gary, if you don't want to worry about coming into contact with fans, you should come play for the Brewers again.

Going back to the Boss, apparently Steinbrenner was a little steamed his $200 million team had bought him a 4-8 record. He lashed out at his team for its sub-standard level of play.

The Yankees "responded" by destroying the lowly Devil Rays (payroll $38 million) 19-8, and then basically spent the rest of the night patting themselves on the back for their great accomplishment. Good job, boys! Too bad they ended up losing the next day. Honestly, when you're the Yankees, beating the Devil Rays should be as easy as taking candy from a baby or making a joke about engineering students.

Of course, there's not much value in any of those things. Kind of like owning a red Yankees baseball cap.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 21 2005.