Oops, he’s done it again.

Gary Sheffield’s mouth always seems to get him in trouble. And of course, it’s the media’s fault.

In a New York magazine article that hits newsstands Monday, Sheffield discusses a variety of topics, from the leadership on the Yankees to a lack of chemistry on the team due to the overwhelming amount of media.

Allegedly, some of Sheff’s comments are aimed at Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

“I know who the leader is on the team,” Sheffield is quoted. “I ain’t going to say who it is, but I know who it is. I know who the team feeds off. I know who the opposing team comes in knowing they have to defend to stop the Yankees.”

Sheffield is also quoted as saying that the media portrays A-Rod and Jeter “in a positive light and everyone else is garbage.”

Before Friday’s win over Blue Jays, Sheffield denied the quotes, saying he would never dis A-Rod and Jeter. Sheffield blasted writer Stephen Rodrick, saying that Rodrick told him he wanted to do a positive story about Sheff, only to turn around and take shots at him in the final version.

“There are a lot of things in there I didn’t say. There’s a lot of things in there he made up to juice the story,” Sheffield said. “It’s just whatever to make me look bad. That’s what they want to do.”

Gary, Gary, Gary. Stop blaming the media and grow up. You are a great player, and you carried the Yankees last year. You’re having another fine campaign this year.

But please, let your bat do all the talking.

Lee Mazzilli  deserved better from the Orioles. He had this team exceeding expectations through June. No one thought the Orioles would contend this year. But on June 15, they were in first place in the AL East, three games better than the defending world champion Red Sox.

Of course, the wheels came off the bus.  The Orioles enter play Friday night 10 1/2 games behind the Sox.

And because you can’t fire players, Maz becomes the fall guy. Which is interesting because:

It’s not his fault Erik Bedard got hurt.

It’s not his fault Rafael Palmeiro decided to use ‘roids.

It’s not his fault Sydney Ponson stinks.

It’s not his fault the two-headed GM monster of Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan couldn’t pull off the deal for A.J. Burnett.

According to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, Mazzilli is the first manager since the Yankees’ Gene Michael in 1981 to be canned during a season in which his team was at any point 14 games over .500.

Kurkjian also reports that Maz was never a favorite of owner Peter Angelos. Then why did Angelos authorize his hiring? If you don’t like a person, don’t hire him.

Maz says he will take some time off and hang out with his family. He definitely deserves another shot at managing a big league club.

Harry Caray must be twisting in his grave right now after the way his beloved Cubbies lost on Wednesday night.

It’s all tied, 3-3, between the Cubs and Phillies heading into the bottom of the ninth at Citizens Bandbox Park. Jimmy Rollins leads off with a double, then moves to third on Kenny Lofton’s groundout. Cubs reliever Mike Remlinger intentionally walks Chase Utley and Bobby Abreu, loading the bases.

Michael Wuertz comes in to replace Mike Remlinger. Wuertz strikes out Pat Burrell on a 3-2 pitch ,but the ball eludes catcher Michael Barrett. Now all Barrett has to do is step on home plate, since Burrell is trying to advance to first.

Instead, Barrett sees Rollins dancing down the third-base line, and throws the ball to third. While Aramis Ramirez is trying to gun the ball back home, Rollins scores and the Phillies win, 4-3.

It was a boneheaded play by Barrett. “I just panicked and threw the ball,” he said.

The loss leaves the Cubs five games behind the Astros in the Wild Card race, and this is the kind of loss that will haunt them the rest of the season.

Put a fork in the Orioles. They have lost eight in a row and 14 of 15. They are five games under .500 and 10 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East — their largest deficit of the season.

Things got so bad Wednesday night against the Angels that Miguel Tejada, who struck out three times versus John Lackey, had to cover his head.

Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the first inning Wednesday, giving him 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the eighth straight season.

But then in the second inning, Ramirez collided with shortstop Edgar Renteria on a ball hit by the Royals’ Ruben Gotay. As Ramirez made the catch, Renteria tried to avoid a collision. But Renteria couldn’t stop his momentum, and slammed Ramirez across the face with his glove.

Ramirez suffered two contusions on the play, one on the right side of his chest and the other on the right side of his face. He is listed as day to day.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Rafael Palmeiro’s positive steroid test was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that is not available in dietary supplements.

Stanozolol, known by its brand name, Winstrol, was most notably linked to the Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada, who was stripped of a gold medal in 1988 after testing positive for that steroid.

Palmeiro said Monday that he had never intentionally taken steroids, but that statement lacks credibility. Stanozolol does not come in dietary supplements and is among the most popular steroids on the market. It can be ingested or injected and usually remains in a person’s system for at least a month.

Bottom line: You can’t go into GNC and ask for stanozolol.

I am really ashamed of Palmeiro. I wish he would come out and tell us the truth. Stop hiding behind lawyers and agents, Raffy. We all want answers.

It was a heavyweight battle on Tuesday night in Anaheim between Sydney Ponson and Bartolo Colon. Punchy Colon allowed just one run on 10 hits in seven innings. Sir Sydney was not as lucky.

I don’t see Ponson finishing the season with the O’s. They want to get rid of him in the worst way, and he will definitely clear waivers — especially if he keeps pitching like he did against the Angels.

Granted, the Angels can hit. Ponson allowed three homers to two of the best hitters in baseball — Vlad Guerrero (who hit two of them) and Garret Anderson.

But let’s be honest: He’s out of shape, and his control is way off. He throw 100 pitches, and 58 were strikes — not the best ratio. Ponson hasn’t won a game since beating the lowly Rockies on June 18. He went 0-4 in July with a 7.89 ERA, and he’s continuing that trend in August.

Carlos Zambrano pitched an eight-inning gem for the Cubs on Tuesday night against the Phillies at Citizens Bandbox Park.

Closer Ryan Dempster, though, nearly wasted Zambrano’s effort. Check out their lines.

Zambrano was awesome, throwing 68 of his 104 pitches for strikes. Dempster struggled with his command, though, throwing 21 balls in 41 pitches. He walked the bases loaded, then walked Ryan Howard to force in a run. But he rebounded by striking out the next two batters. For his efforts, Dempster picks up his 15th save.

I am wearing the Fantasy dunce cap tonight for starting Al Leiter against the Indians. Leiter threw 78 pitches — 41 for strikes — in just two-plus innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and walked five. Leiter faced 15 batters, and retired only six of them.

It was ugly, and that’s being kind. The Yankees nearly came back, and Scott Proctor pitched well in relief. But the Indians held on for the win.

The Pirates and Major League Baseball unveiled the 2006 All-Star Game logo on Tuesday, and I must say it’s hideous. The cartoon rendition of Pittsburgh does not do the city any justice.

This is a hard-nosed, blue-collar city. The logo should reflect that. It shouldn’t look like a logo for Candyland.