Linnwood Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Mariotti: Put Guillen out of misery, call La Russa August 31, 2007 BY JAY MARIOTTI Sun-Times Columnist I am genuinely concerned that Ozzie Guillen is about to say or do something that will shame him and his bosses forever. Hey, have I been wrong about him yet? Not only is this man-child a poor loser, he's a scary loser, capable of who knows what as the $108 million White Sox stumble to one of the most underachieving and farcical seasons in baseball history. By awarding his beloved managerial pet with an ''A'' grade last week, a wacky professor named Jerry Reinsdorf only has enabled the Blizzard of Oz to exhibit his foolish lack of perspective, intelligence and couth. The last two days in Texas, he has exploded into mindless rants that were stunning even by his guttermouth standards. However, please note that the more he lights into his ballplayers, the further they go into the tank. After their 18th loss in 23 games Thursday evening, there is only one sensible conclusion about Guillen's leadership breakdowns amid a 94-122 nosedive since July 2 of last year. He must be fired. Now, today, yesterday -- before the Sox lose every fan they cultivated two years ago. Put him out of his misery so a team and its followers can go on with their lives. Thank him for his charmed 2005, acknowledge his other three seasons ended in disappointment and point him to someone else's third-base coaching box. Then put in a call to Tony La Russa, Reinsdorf's old friend, who has made noises about leaving St. Louis and would maximize the talent that Guillen has minimized -- actually, deadened -- like few managers in my lifetime. So awful is this situation, the statute of limitations on a World Series championship has expired. As it is, the Blizzard already has embarrassed a city, a franchise, a sport, his native country and his adopted land, not to mention himself about a thousand times. Now he has established a new low by interjecting his wife into his crude dialogue. Before the game, Guillen showed no regret for his blowup of the night before, continuing to rip his players as pride-challenged dogs while accusing the Chicago media of giving preferential treatment to Cubs manager Lou Piniella. If those topics can be debated -- though I recall harsh treatment of Piniella in May -- there is no middle ground when Guillen includes his wife in a rant in which he wished his players hated him with a passion. ''Don't like me but win for me, and everything will be fine,'' he said. ''I'd rather they say that than, 'Oh, Ozzie is great, he's my friend, he love my kids and we're in last place.' [Expletive] that. When they see my wife, I hope they say, 'Look at that [expletive], that's Ozzie's wife, she's [married] to a piece of [expletive] like him.' Good, as long as in October we have the trophy. That's what I want.'' My God, is nothing sacred in his life? Yes, it's clubhouse boys' talk, but it's also another example of how clueless he is about handling adversity. Wednesday, he sounded hideous when he said, here in the 21st century, that his team is ''killing'' him, ''killing'' his family, ''killing'' his coaching staff, ''killing'' the fans, ''killing'' the owner and ''killing everyone.'' No one is dying here, chief. If the Sox have faded into their usual irrelevance, after a brief and aberrational run as champs, let's keep in mind that no lives have been spared. But what really should bother us about his latest tirade is that Guillen, more strongly than ever, continues to harshly deflect blame onto his players. In truth, he is primarily responsible for the dismal, lifeless culture that has produced a 28-games-under-.500 reversal since the Sox ruled the baseball world. Given the $200 million-plus in payroll the last two seasons and the absence of significant injuries -- unlike clubs such as the contending Cardinals, who have been guided through pitfalls by La Russa -- Guillen looms as the biggest problem. When a club woefully underachieves in any sport, the manager or head coach usually is the immediate culprit. For recent evidence, examine the Houston Astros, who played the Sox in the Series only 22 months ago yet saw fit this week to fire manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim Purpura. ''I want change,'' Astros owner Drayton McLane told the Houston Chronicle. ''I've watched great organizations [decline]. Who remembers Montgomery Ward? That was the No. 1 retailer in America when I was young. Who remembers Gulf Oil? I can name corporation after corporation that had immense success, but they just froze and kept making the same mistakes over and over. A change in leadership can make a huge difference. I'm looking for new, fresh ideas.'' Now, juxtapose those refreshing comments against the pathetic rant of the Blizzard, who keeps dipping into a filth mode that grew old long ago. ''We've got a $100 million payroll, and they don't show it on the field,'' Guillen said. ''I'm tired of seeing this [expletive] every day. I'm tired of seeing that [expletive], day in and day out. And I don't want to spend a miserable September seeing the same [expletive]. If I have to see the same [expletive], I told Kenny [Williams], 'Bring somebody up. [Expletive] it.''' Then consider his latest plea for Williams and Reinsdorf to fire him. How many times has he done this -- five, 10, 20? I've lost count. ''If it's my fault, I should be moving out of here then,'' Guillen said. ''If it's my fault, [expletive] fire my ass and I'll be fine. I have the job to do, and I get paid a lot of [expletive] money to make this club work, but it's not easy to work with people like that.'' Why would you keep someone this miserable, someone who doesn't want to be here? Send him on his way so the Sox can be fixed. Because if you bring back the clown, you bring back to circus. The culture must be changed, blown up. Focus not on why the players aren't producing but why they aren't producing for Guillen. His rip-the-players, rip-the-media, rip-everyone rants stopped resonating midway through last year, when Ozzie Burnout settled in. Even his fondest loyalists will admit the Sox are playing dead and going through the motions, which more than suggests at least some players aren't interested in playing for him. And what's crazy is, there's enough talent under contract next season to resume winning ways. But a return to glory can't happen under Guillen, who is minimizing his talent when his job is to maximize it. He caught a spark in '05, almost watched his club blow it in September, then received incredibly good luck throughout October. He should have reached the playoffs last year but flopped. He should have reached the playoffs this season but fell off a cliff. I've seen enough to realize a change is necessary, that the Sox can't afford a repeat next season unless they want a market niche closer to the Kane County Cougars than the Cubs. Just so you know, the perfect replacement could be available, too. Don't you think La Russa would whip them into shape? You may remember him as a young buck who managed the Sox to a division title in 1983. He was fired three years later by Hawk Harrelson, who somehow was dumber as a general manager than as a Reinsdorf-bobo broadcaster, and he went on to a Hall of Fame career in Oakland and St. Louis. This would be a nice way to rectify one mistake. And eliminate another. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/53...t-jay31.article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Hes such a retard. When the Sox win its luck, when they lose its Ozzie's fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 (Expletive) Jay Mariotti! He's a (expletive) (expletive) (expletive)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 While I agree Ozzie is on the verge of saying something that gets him fired, Mariotti picking on him for using "killing" is just so nit-picky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 The next insightful thing Mariotti says will be his first. He's a newspaper "shock jock", whose only intent is to rile someone up. Praise comes from him like frozen glue, while complaints/criticism/stupid nicknames flow from him like diarrhea. He is to be ignored and avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 QUOTE(The Critic @ Aug 31, 2007 -> 10:40 AM) The next insightful thing Mariotti says will be his first. He's a newspaper "shock jock", whose only intent is to rile someone up. Praise comes from him like frozen glue, while complaints/criticism/stupid nicknames flow from him like diarrhea. He is to be ignored and avoided. Well put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klaus kinski Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 And you knew he'd work Harrellson in, but the reference to corpseball is true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BainesHOF Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 While I've never been a big fan of LaRussa's, the one thing you can say is his teams always play hard. That would be a huge improvement, so I'd be in favor of hiring him. It's looking like it's time for Ozzie to be fired, and he practically seems to be begging for it. One of the big reasons teams find it so hard to repeat is they remain too loyal to the people who helped them win the title, even when it's obvious changes need to be made. While such feeling is admirable from a personal perspective, it's deadly to the goal of remaining a winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LVSoxFan Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I have made the mistake of being a Mariotti defender here before (true story! I even started a thread! Never doing that again!) but when I read this all I could think was: STFU already. All this faux outrage about Ozzie's wife and yada, yada. Sometimes Jay has a point (the LaRussa thing is intriguing) but at this point all I get from this guy is he wants Ozzie fired so he can finally get back into the Sox clubhouse. Only Mariotti seems to view Ozzie's tirade about the team as a negative. Instead of focusing on the issue, Mariotti's all offended by the language. Sniff. I think at this point Mariotti is too blinded by his feud with Ozzie to objectively report on the Sox. He should just stop writing about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie5angels Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I'm no Mariotti fan by any means, but I think this article was spot on. I have no problem with anything Mariotti said. Ozzie needs to go plain and simple. He says it's killing his family?? Well first off his family shouldn't be with him every day and night in the dugout. His kids are with the team constantly, I don't know of any other managers who have there kids with them every game. I never understood why his sons were at every single game. I also agree these players have totally tuned him out. They look like a bunch of overpaidstiffs. The managers job is to get the best production from his players, and Ozzie just isn't getting it done. It's time to cut him loose. Thanks for 2005, it was a great year, we caught lightning in a bottle, but it's time for you to go. And while you are at it, take KW with you. This franchise has fallen so fast in such a short time that we pretty much are the laughing stock of baseball. They need to blow it all up. But I believe JR will never fire Ozzie, just because of the Mariotti factor. Him calling for Ozzie to be fired will only make JR support Ozzie more. Hell just the other day he gave Ozzie and A for this year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LVSoxFan Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 (edited) Like I've said I'm biased about Ozzie but if they were to fire him tomorrow I probably wouldn't protest. The more this goes on the more I do indeed think: he has lost this team. They don't listen to him. I'm game for one more year but at the same time I think I'm just asking for another 2007. Edited August 31, 2007 by LVSoxFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Kotex-boy has written about someone needing to be fired about as many times as Hawk has called for Kotex-boy to be fired... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbicker2424 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I like Ozzie. I don't think this mess is fault. KW put this team together and if anyone is to blame I would think he is more responsible than Ozzie. What does anyone expect him to do with injury prone guys like Erstad and Pods, guys who don't belong on a major league roster like Owens and Andy Gonzalez, and not much in reserve in the minor league system. Add in the injury to Crede, and the non-talent of Jose Uribe, and you really have a lot of dead weight on this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 If hes lost this team, get rid of them and get a new one. ozzie isnt the one at fault this year, these players played like they were waiting for next year since April. Get rid of the dead weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxgt Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 "Why would you keep someone this miserable, someone who doesn't want to be here? Send him on his way so the Sox can be fixed. Because if you bring back the clown, you bring back to circus." Couldn't Agree More Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Jay Marriotti calling for someone to be fired...YAWN. If Jay Mariotti was a GM of any team, there wouldbe a new manager each month Hell, look at his quotes on Lovie Smith: All I know is, a man named Lovie cannot coach the world-famous Chicago Bears ...Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti, Jan. 14, 2004 Lovie Smith, racking up Coach of the Year votes by the week...Sun-Time columnist Jay Mariotti, November 14, 2005 Let me give it to you real, Lovie Smith...If Rex Grossman remains your quarterback, your season goes splat in January. You won’t see a contract extension, the city will call for a full-blown probe of your pedigree and years of Bears disgust will plummet lower than Lower Wacker Drive.....Jay Mariotti, Dec. 4, 2006 Listen closely, those who agree with Jay: He'll be asking for LaRussa head next May, July and September too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I take no consideration to what Mariotti has to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 If this team was trying to win now Erstad and Podsednik would play every day and Fields would be at third, Iguchi at second and Mackowiak on the bench. The fact that this not happening shows this is a try out for next year. Why Guillen is ranting about it is the question. Who cares the season is over what the f*** is the point of b****ing and moaning about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwolf68 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Ozzie has proven he can lead a team to the World Series...the real problem is this team isn't any good. We have some of the worst players in baseball playing prominent roles for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossarian Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 QUOTE(The Critic @ Aug 31, 2007 -> 10:40 AM) The next insightful thing Mariotti says will be his first. He's a newspaper "shock jock", whose only intent is to rile someone up. Praise comes from him like frozen glue, while complaints/criticism/stupid nicknames flow from him like diarrhea. He is to be ignored and avoided. Nothing I can add to this. You truly have earned your moniker with this accurate apparaisal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 The real question is: what inning will the first heiny bird remark be made tonight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealSouthsider Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 mariotti is a f*****..nuf said. Why is he even still in chicago? No one likes him. I have not heard one person say that like him. He just says s*** to piss everyone on. Ever see him on ESPN? What a f***ing tool. Take your whack ass s*** to LA or something--we don't want you here.. p.s. the sun times sucks anyways, it's at a 5th grade reading level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ginger Kid Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 it's a shame he gets two pages worth of discussion on soxtalk...and i just contributed to it! s***!! it's just a terrible season, fellas. Let it go at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santo=dorf Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Kotex-boy has written about someone needing to be fired about as many times as Hawk has called for Kotex-boy to be fired... WORST. NICKNAME. EVER. ..and it came from an obnoxious blowhard as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPN366 Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 Does Jay not realize that Ozzie is beloved in Chicago? I hate sports journalists, they're so full of themselves and act as if they're the elders of Greece. They bypass reality in an attempt to shove their myopic opinion down your throat. If I was a player, I wouldn't want a coach who wasn't fired up. The Dungy style of coaching doesn't always work. Mariotti is also trying to convince people that Lou Piniella is having a negative effect on the Cubs. What planet is he on? The bottom line is that Jay Mariotti doesn't like Ozzie Guillen, period, for obvious reasons. And, of course, Jay Mariotti is a %@&. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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