caulfield12

Here's the beginning of the actual TIME MAGAZINE story...interestingly, the quote/s are from the first week of March, more than one month ago. And Time actually has the picture of Guillen wearing a White Sox uniform from the 2011 season!!! Bet Reinsdorf and KW aren't happy with that. "I love Fidel Castro," Blurts Ozzie Guillen, the new manager of the Miami Marlins, in his Jupiter, Fla., spring-training office before an early-March team workout. During a typically stream-of-consciousness Ozzie oratory, he has covered some favorite topics, such as his passion for bullfighting ("You're giving the animal an opportunity to kill you"), disdain for sports shrinks ("You're 4 for 4, you don't need psychology. You're 0 for 4, you need a f---ing guy to get you ready to play?") and the benefits of brutal honesty ("I told my wife, 'I don't like the perfume you're wearing.' She was mad, but meanwhile,...(the rest is available through subscription) Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...l#ixzz1rc15Ys92 http://www.cnnsi.com/video/mlb/2012/04/09/...1&eref=sihp Verducci on why Ozzie shouldn't be suspended

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 11:26 PM) Which very well could become upgrades soon enought. Reed -> Santos Viciedo -> Quentin Sale -> Buehrle Santiago/Reed/Molina > Santos

With 50/50, you'll actually be pleasantly surprised. Seth Rogen isn't half as annoying as he normally is, largely because he's a supporting actor. Both a totally realistic and "feel good" story at the same time that doesn't feel completely contrived...at least not as much as most Hollywood fare these days. Bryce Dallas Howard does a great job of making you dislike her, which means she hit her mark well.

With all respect to Rosenthal, a 30-day sitdown is ridiculous. Not only because it'd be a longer punishment than transgressions in baseball history that were much worse, but because it's not as if he directly endorsed the despicable methods (including obstruction of free speech) that Castro used to rule over the island country for more than half a century. When I read Guillen's comments, I interpret them as the product of a rambling idiot unable to draw a distinction between the reality of Castro and the weird admiration our society has built up for fictional rogues who gave the middle finger to those who wanted them dead (i.e., Scarface, Tony Soprano). One day we're reading how Guillen says he gets drunk every night, win or lose, and the next we're expecting him to be well-versed on the societal implications of talking about Castro in Miami? What's more, I'm willing to bet that Guillen's thoughts on Castro were likely one of 500 off-the-cuff observations he made that day, whether it was to a relief pitcher on his way to get treatment or in front of reporters with notepads and recorders. Serious question here: If Guillen doesn't have an adequate filter to judge what should and shouldn't come out of his mouth — if he's freely flowing from thoughts about dictators to the yacht he wants to buy — why are we assigning any value or judgment to his ramblings? I don't want to be seen as condoning Guillen's comments here. And I don't want to praise the Marlins for acting like they had nothing to do with it either. When the two sides agreed to a four-year deal, the first bullet point should have been that Castro's name does not leave Guillen's lips for any reason the entire time he wears a Marlins uniform. But with Guillen exposing himself as completely ignorant to the issues involved less than a week into his first season, I think the immediate loss of respect at his new workplace is a worse punishment than any suspension could possibly bring. Taking away his Marlins hat and replacing it with a dunce cap until the All-Star break seems perfectly fitting. BigLeagueStew at yahoosports.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...0,2369568.story Chicago Tribune editorial board getting into the mix

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/11806414-41...ro-in-2008.html Telander taking Guillen to the woodshed. Interesting they didn't let Cowley address this directly, at least yet. Maybe he'll be at the presser tomorrow. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/cowley/1174...know-basis.html This Cowley column from five days ago complaining about the Sox organization not being "open" enough about information like who the closer is seems even more hilarious in light of Ozzie's being "too open." Who can blame them? After all, with Guillen gone, everyone is happy. Williams finally gets to be the face of the franchise, a position he long has coveted but couldn’t have under the huge shadow left by Guillen. Sure, Williams pretends he wants to be “under the radar,’’ but he’s on television more than Snooki. The latest is the new North Side-South Side Nike ad. A bunch of players from the Sox and Cubs are shown training, and there’s Williams, lifting weights and sweating. What the hell does a GM need to train for? You know why Theo Epstein or Jed Hoyer weren’t in it? BECAUSE THEY’RE EXECUTIVES! They’re building teams, not muscle and ego. It’s crazy until you consider this: The Sox must make this transformation. Who knows, it just might work. The idea that they are a 90-95-loss team seems far-fetched. They should breathe down the backs of the Tigers in the first half before fading in September and still finish second or third in the Central. What’s next for the franchise? Sometimes you have to go all the way back to Step 1. No one said detox is easy.

Well, our newest version of Aaron Miles/CJ Retherford might end up getting extensive playing time if Beckham and/or Morel don't get things figured out.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 09:51 PM) The Sox have Cespedes-lite in LF. Or Cespedes-Heavy! Now 9 K's in 15 AB's for Yoenis, the ultimate all-or-nothing hitter.

And Buehrle, we already know the story with that situation. Pretty hard to see anything wrong with how things have broken so far, but it's only 4-5 games in. Obviously, it would have been a spark to sign Cespedes or Soler, but the numbers just got too big with the Dunn/Peavy/Rios contracts already on the books, couldn't afford another bust.

So now Sergio has to save 15-18 in a row to put himself in the territory of "successful" SV/SVO ratio.

Never would have thought that Hernandez would be a starter in AA and Santiago would be the closer at the beginning of ST. Probably just trying to develop all of his pitches like they did with Jones, still a pretty high likelihood he ends up a major league reliever.

All that I'm saying is someone who can consistently throw 95-97 and has that 10+ MPH differential with the offspeed stuff, and 2 decent to above average off-speed pitches, at least has the physical tools/ability to be a closer. Many don't make it, true enough, but the reason they took Jones over Bruney was 100% potential and raw stuff.

QUOTE (Chet Lemon @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 08:51 PM) I think his "best" option would be Brian Sandoval. Unlike some other options being mentioned to appeal to hispanic voters, Sandoval would actually be qualified to take over the Presidency if needed. He's a Governor, former federal judge, held statewide offices, etc. Except very few people have even heard of him. I thought I followed presidential politics pretty closely and that name has never once been on the radar screen nationally.

Pretty funny that former Sox RF Ryan Sweeney broke Papa Grande's save string in DET and now beat ex-Sox Santos in TOR. Ouch. Meanwhile, the bullpen is seemingly our greatest strength and we have theoretically five guys who have the ability to close in Santiago, Thornton, Crain, Reed and even Nathan Jones. Darvish is going to get an ugly win, but it counts. 98 pitches in just five innings, 5 ER, FB 92-93-94 but not anything that was just totally dominating or awe-inspiring.

8 k's in 14 ab's, 1.375 OPS But a bit more power than Brent Morel. 4. All or nothing Already living up to the hype, Yoenis Cespedes looks like he's going to be fascinating to watch this season. After doubling off Felix Hernandez in his major league debut in Tokyo, Cespedes has homered in each of his last three games, and the moonshot that he hit off Jason Vargas Friday night suggests that Oakland's Coliseum isn't going to cramp his style (though it would help if they played Christopher Cross' Sailing when Cespedes rounds the bases). Those three homers tie Cespedes for the major league lead in the early going, but it's worth noting that he also leads the majors in strikeouts. Of Cespedes' first 15 major league plate appearances, 10 have ended in a home run or strikeout. That's not unexpected given the scouting reports we had on him, but it's still a red flag, particularly given the fact that none of his plate appearances have ended in a walk (though he does have a double and two hit-by-pitches in his five other PAs). The concern is how often Cespedes will make contact once major league scouts, coaches and pitchers have seen him enough. Watching major leaguers figuring out how to pitch to Cespedes, and watching Cespedes try to adjust to them in turn, could be one of the more fascinating plotlines of this season, and one of the few good reasons to watch A's games. www.aolsportingnews.com

Leadoff double, 3 chances to tie it. Now a passed ball, runner on 3rd base.

If you factor in all the money we spent on Pena, it probably wasn't a win. We already have Dan Johnson and Conor Jackson, then there's Dunn/Konerko in front of him, so not sure if it would be of interest to KW, maybe not.

CLEVELAND -- Alexei Ramirez is a Cuban native, but with his wife, Mildred, being a native of the Dominican Republic, he did not defect when coming to the United States to play baseball. The White Sox shortstop rarely if ever talks about Cuban politics or dictator Fidel Castro. But he did take time on Monday to briefly address former manager Ozzie Guillen's comments referring to the despot as someone he loved and respected in an upcoming Time Magazine article. "His opinion is not the same opinion I have," said Ramirez through translator and White Sox director of cultural development Jackson Miranda on the Guillen issue. "Everybody is free to have an opinion. "It's one of those that there are some people who like Castro and some people who don't. In Miami, it's definitely of a different thought frame." Although Ramirez had not heard or read Guillen's comments, he felt a public apology that Guillen is set to deliver on Tuesday could go some way in putting the matter behind him. "Apologizing is definitely a big first step," Ramirez said. "Again, I feel that everyone has their opinion, but I also feel that people should be forgiven. So, if he's going to apologize, then I feel that hopefully it will be accepted. I would just say whatever his thoughts, whatever his comments, those are Ozzie's comments. That's more on him." Scott Merkin

That's better. Didn't compound his mistake by walking the next batter. Outings like this might actually be better for his development than just going through it 1-2-3...he'll need it when he faces the best offensive line-ups like DET where every batter can take you yard in a heartbeat.

Uh-oh. Well, still a two run lead. Saw too many pitches there. Have to mix it up more.

Running 54 to 46% in favor of Ozzie not being fired or forced to step down.

Uva de Aragon, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, agreed that Guillen’s remarks were insensitive, but added that many people have fueled the controversy to suit their own motives. She expects it won’t take long for the firestorm to subside. Dario Moreno, a pollster who has worked for Gimenez, said the Marlins knew what they were getting when they hired Guillen, long known for his colorful personality and tendency to put his foot in his mouth. “Is what he says important? No,” Moreno said. “He’s not an expert in foreign politics. He’s controversial. He is a manager. This should be about sports.” Even Chairman Martinez, speaking to radio hosts Roberto Rodríguez Tejera and Helen Aguirre Ferré, said it might be enough to suspend Guillen if he delivers a “sincere” apology. And Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, who voted against the ballpark deal and has repeatedly criticized the Marlins, said he accepted Guillen’s apology. “I think it’s a lesson for him, and we should move on,” Regalado said. Guillen’s talk-first, think-later nature has made him one of Major League Baseball’s most intriguing — and inflammatory — characters. Guillen won the World Series as manager of the Chicago White Sox in 2005, but his tenure in the Windy City may be remembered more for what he said than what he did. Among his most notable provocations: • Using a profanity-laced gay slur while referring to a local sports columnist critical of the White Sox. Guillen later apologized to the gay community, but not the writer in question. • Speaking out against Arizona’s strict illegal immigration law in 2010. He was quoted as saying that “this country can’t survive without [immigrants]. There are a lot of people from this country who are lazy. A lot of people in this country want to be on the computer and send e-mails to people. We do the hard work.’’ • Praising Chávez and appearing on his radio show in 2005, only to deny ever speaking to him when he was introduced as the Marlins manager last fall. He has since criticized the longtime Venezuelan president. Guillen even admitted Saturday to drinking to excess after every game, claiming he’s done so for more than two decades. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/09/2739...l#storylink=cpy

PRESS CONFERENCE 10:30 AM Tuesday at Marlins Park, Cowley, better take the red eye, this might be your last Guillen article for awhile http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/09/2739...aring-thin.html Guillen getting hammered by local Miami Herald columnist and Miami mayor. Ramirez and fellow Marlins broadcaster Yiki Quintana did not wish to speak about the situation but Ramirez said he felt Guillen was doing the right thing by returning to Miami. “Obviously it’s something that was going to affect people a lot and [Guillen] realizes that,” Ramirez said. “I think he will answer everything [in Miami].” The ripple effect reached members of the Cuban community even in Philadelphia. Phillies spanish radio announcer Rickie Ricardo, who was born in New York but whose family migrated from Cuba, said the situation was something that could be more damaging to the team’s image than anything negative on the field. “Let’s hope Ozzie addresses it and clears things up,” Ricardo said. “That’s a subject that’s untouchable. This team could go 0-50 and it wouldn’t hurt the Cuban community as much as him saying something like that.” Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/09/2739...l#storylink=cpy http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/09/2739...guillen-in.html The battle for politicians and activists in S. Florida to distance themselves from Ozzie.

I think I'd walk DeAza to face Morel. If we're 2-2 with how bad we've hit with RISP, we should consider ourselves quite lucky at this point.

No more Greg775 or Marty34 on this topic? Hmmm...I know Greg usually posts late at night or after games.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 06:33 PM) Sale's control has been very meh so far. Probably hard to get a feel for the ball with the cold weather, that might be part of it. Strike 3 right down the middle, center cut fastball. Morel and Beckham constantly second-guessing themselves, swinging at tough sliders and then misidentifying fastballs as sliders and letting them go...or vice-versa.