Ozzie

[KevHead0881]

I was just listening to Boers and Bernstein and they were talking about the Cubs meltdown (no this is not another Cubs Suck thread) and Boers asked Bernsy if the freak outs with Hawkins and Zambrano would happen under Ozzie. Bernsy answered with a resounding "no", citing that Ozzie has called out players for not staying with the team while injured, speaking out to the press, etc.; while seemingly having good control over his players.

 

This got me to thinking that with a little more than half the season passed, we have a better idea of what kind of manager Ozzie is. And although we have slipped away from the supposed "Ozzie Ball" (which I don't think we have the right players to play that style anyway), I do think Ozzie has thus far has displayed the qualities of an above average manager.

 

Now, back to Dusty. As far as the national media is concerned, he is amongst the best managers in the league. But after seeing him up close in Chicago the past two years, I feel that Ozzie is at least on par with him. With his poor handling of the pitching staff (any Cub fan would support this statement) and his lack of control over his team as seen recently with the Cubs and previously with the strained Giants clubhouse (Bonds and Kent), I don't think it's a stretch to put Ozzie in the same league as him.

 

I know it might be too early to grasp how good Ozzie is as a manager, and we probably should wait to see how he handles real adversity and the pressures of a pennant race; but from what I've seen, I've been pleased with him thus far.

 

So, knowing what we know, where would you guys put Ozzie amongst the MLB ranks?

[Soxbadger]

Ozzie is good at handling his players, and being one of the guys. I think his players play hard for him, and give it their all. Also I think his mentality makes the players believe they can always come back, and that keeps the Sox in more games, and allows them to come back more often.

 

Ozzie's biggest problem is that he some times does not understand what other teams will do match up wise, and this gets taken advantage of in the later stages of the game. He also is some what reluctant to make decisions on his own, as its always said "Harris has the green light", well some times Ozzie needs to just put on the steal sign because thats his job.

 

These should improve as he gets more in game experience, and if he starts to feel more comfortable getting the players to play his game.

 

As a side note, I think Baker is the same kind of manager, he gets the most out of his players, but is not the greatest in game manager.

 

SB

[Kid Gleason]

I think Ozzie stands a chance in the future (near future actually) to be looked at as one of the best out there. This is only his first year, and aside from stupid moves and, and being a little rough around the edges, I think he is showing himself to be VERY good at the job. I am happier with him in this role than I was expecting to be. I also think that if we keep him in there, with the right player moves, I do honestly believe we will see a Series showing in the near future.

 

As for "Ozzie-ball", isn't the main idea behind that to never be out of the game? People seem to think it is about little ball, but from what I know, the people who coined that phrase seem to be saying that it is all about doing whatever it takes to win. That was this team in the beginning of the season, for sure, but I think we are into the mid-summer slow down now. I expect a second wind to catch them soon enough.

[Nokona]

In Dusty they Busty.

 

Ozzie's biggest problem, I think. is not becoming next year's Tony Pena.

[JoshPR]

Last Night Ozzie Did a rookie Mistake and paid. He brought Maggs to pinch hit ffor sandy with 1stbase open, the other team took the bat out of Maggs hands. Then he didn't leave maggs in the field he lost him. If the game would have gone one and had another situation he wouldn't had Maggs

[southsideirish]

Last Night Ozzie Did a rookie Mistake and paid. He brought Maggs to pinch hit ffor sandy with 1stbase open, the other team took the bat out of Maggs hands. Then he didn't leave maggs in the field he lost him. If the game would have gone one and had another situation he wouldn't had Maggs

I think a bigger mistake was bringing in Marte to face a couple right handed hitters instead of Politte. I would have brought in Politte to get through the righties then brought in Marte and ended it with Shingo. I know it is always easy to 2nd guess things, but this is just what I would have done last night.

[JoshPR]

I think a bigger mistake was bringing in Marte to face a couple right handed hitters instead of Politte. I would have brought in Politte to get through the righties then brought in Marte and ended it with Shingo. I know it is always easy to 2nd guess things, but this is just what I would have done last night.

Good Point. I kinda stoped following the game after we tied, cause i was talking to a friend on IM. Thanks for that

[Wedge]

I think Ozzie will be the next Tony La Russa. He's got great instincts, plus he's the kind of guy that brings heart to a team. I'm not always super pleased with his strategies, but I think a lot of managing is really intangible.

 

I think more importantly, he gives this team a face to its "glory days," way back to the "World Series" team of '94. Hiring him was seemingly management's way of apologizing for the '97 White Flag and all the things it did wrong after the '94 team. I think he brings a lot of charisma to a team that has really lacked charm since the early 90s. Ozzie couldn't be more important to any other franchise, and right now I feel he is the perfect manager for the White Sox.

[sox-r-us]

So when we could not play Ozzie ball with a worse line up in the first half of the year, it was all Manuel's fault, and now it is "we do not have the players to play small-ball, let's face it"

 

[sox-r-us]

On a serious note, manager of a MLB team should be classified as one of the most over-rated jobs ever