Fielder Vents His Frustrations

Cecil Fielder was talking Friday night about how important laughter was for his mental state after he returned to the New York Yankees to pursue a postseason roster spot 10 days ago. But he frowned in expressing bitterness toward George Steinbrenner for not signing him to a three-year, $21 million contract extension before the season.

Saying he would forget but not forgive Steinbrenner, Fielder blamed his unsettled spring training situation for disillusioning him about baseball this season. He formally demanded a trade - his contractual right - and then was upset when the Yankees did not extend his contract.

Fielder could have forfeited his $7.2 million contract for 1997 and become a free agent last March 15, but he declined to do so. That makes his lingering disgust somewhat curious.

“When someone gives you his word and, all of a sudden, he’s supposed to send a fax and then he disappears, it almost seems like it was a setup,” Fielder said. “And I was supposed to not take myself off the trade deadline so I forfeit my money? That’s a bad feeling. I had just talked to him in the dugout and my agent talked to him for two weeks and, all of a sudden, we have a disappearing act. That’s not fair.”

Steinbrenner has contended that he never agreed to give Fielder an extension, but Fielder remembers the negotiations differently.

“When you’re dealing with people, you always feel what they say or what they tell you is what’s going to go down,” Fielder said.

Fielder is expected to be the DH in the division series.