Orlando Cabrera Calls Press Box to Complain During Game

[Controlled Chaos]

End of an error: Ozzie restores order

Guillen makes sure Cabrera controversy doesn't escalate

 

May 29, 2008

 

BY CHRIS DE LUCA cdeluca@suntimes.com

Quiet for a second. Did you hear that? No, sorry, that was noth- ing. Shhh. Wait. ... No, still nothing.

 

That silence no longer can be ignored.

 

What we have here is no one -- not a single White Sox teammate -- stepping up and defending veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who has been drawing so many evil looks, you'd swear Johan Santana had just walked in the room.

 

Surely, someone is willing to fall on the side of serial dialer Cabrera, who wants the world to know this: ''If there was a major-league player who tells me he's not selfish, he's lying. Everyone is selfish about numbers because that's the only thing people cannot lie about.''

 

So Cabrera -- in an interview with the Chicago Tribune -- is on record saying being selfish is just part of being a major-leaguer. MLB's marketing team in New York should jump all over this slogan.

 

Cabrera had all of the makings to become the biggest distraction in the Sox' clubhouse since David Wells took up more than his share of space during a tumultuous 2001 season. Then manager Ozzie Guillen stepped in and did something he rarely did last season. He restored order. Guillen addressed a festering issue before it turned into a season-ruining distraction.

 

Guillen's take: Cabrera was wrong to take matters into his own hands a week ago and call the press box twice to argue a scoring decision -- one that originally credited the Gold Glove shortstop with his second error this season.

 

Now move on.

 

''The only thing I care is how he's going to be on the field,'' Guillen told reporters Wednesday in Cleveland. ''I don't think I'm his favorite manager. But you know what? He's my favorite shortstop right now.''

 

Now it's up to Cabrera -- a self-described clubhouse leader who has zero followers -- to make sure the issue dies.

 

When Cabrera was acquired last November from the Los Angeles Angels for pitcher Jon Garland, no one would have imagined the veteran would become such a headache so early. Guillen and Cabrera had worked together before. Guillen's first coaching job was with Montreal in 2001, when Cabrera played his first full season in the majors and won the first of two Gold Gloves.

 

Garland was entering the final year of his contract, just like Cabrera, but the Sox had hoped they could lock up the shortstop for a few more years. Now, they simply want to survive the season.

 

All over a few phone calls to the press box, including one during a May 3 game in Toronto.

 

There are a few facts in this case Cabrera and his media defense attorneys don't understand: This isn't about Orlando vs. Ozzie or Cabrera vs. the media. It's about Cabrera and the 24 players he lives with in the Sox' clubhouse. Because it definitely doesn't matter if the media like him. It doesn't even matter if his manager likes him. It does matter if his teammates like -- and respect -- Cabrera.

 

Players complain about scoring decisions all the time. They might point out, usually through a third party, that the ball took a bad hop or their errant throw wouldn't have been in time anyway. Most players -- the ones considered good teammates -- don't try to get a decision reversed if it means a teammate will get the error instead.

 

But that's what happened in this instance last Thursday against the Indians during a stolen-base try by Ben Francisco. Cabrera's case hinged on catcher Toby Hall's throw being errant. Basically, he was saying: Don't give me an error, give it to Toby.

 

That's where things can get ugly.

 

Some teammates also were irked that Cabrera jumped for a ball that didn't require acrobatics. Was he trying to make the play look more difficult, or was he unwilling to sacrifice his body with Francisco charging toward the bag? Either way, his actions at second base came under tighter scrutiny after the phone calls.

 

Here's an interesting twist to the whole story. Official scorer Bob Rosenberg, who never spoke directly with Cabrera and wasn't even aware the shortstop had lodged the complaint, did change his scoring decision after the game, taking the error away from Cabrera and giving it to Hall. After he left the ballpark, Rosenberg had a change of heart and decided the error belonged to Cabrera. But before he could make another switch, the Elias Sports Bureau -- MLB's official statistician -- stepped in and ruled that no one committed an error. Francisco had simply stolen a base.

 

In the end, the Sox won that game. They also won Wednesday, beating the Indians 6-5. The Case of Cabrera Calling hasn't served as a distraction. Credit Guillen for not committing an error on this issue.

 

_____________________________________

Ozzie takes high road, feud with Cabrera is over

 

May 29, 2008

 

BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com

CLEVELAND — As far as Ozzie Guillen is concerned, the matter is over.

 

The White Sox manager made that very clear today, taking the high road, despite shortstop Orlando Cabrera continuing to cast stones in the fifth-year skipper’s directions.

 

But if Cabrera refuses to let it just go away at this point, well, it is evident he will not win this battle. Not on the South Side.

 

“I’m not going to go back and forth with my players,’’ Guillen said. “Everyone has the right to say what he wants.’’

 

Guillen was informed Tuesday that Cabrera told a reporter that the manager wasn’t protecting him, and then had a chance to read the quotes Wednesday morning. It was a claim that Guillen still didn’t understand.

 

“I don’t think I’m his favorite manager,’’ Guillen said laughing. “But you know what? He’s my favorite shortstop right now.

 

“I hope I can protect him better. I don’t know how. Like I say, my door is open. If something bothers you, feel free to talk to me about it. I’m not going to make a big issue about it. As long as he’s here, he’s going to play. It’s not about feelings, it’s about winning. The only thing I care about him is make sure he plays the game and respects his teammates. That’s all you can ask. Everything else will take care of itself. If he wants to call back, I’ll give him my cellular phone to call back.’’

 

Cabrera is a free agent after this season, and it has become clear that this will be his only season with the Sox. The question is, will he even last the entire season?

 

In the only newspaper Cabrera was speaking to on Tuesday, he went on to say that all major league players are selfish.

 

“When he says every player is selfish, maybe he used the wrong word about selfish,’’ Guillen said. “Everyone has to take care of themselves before they take care of the team. That’s the way he should have put it. Because saying every player is selfish, I played the game. I played longer than he did. And I played with more different teammates than he did.

 

“I think selfish sounds like he isn’t a team player. But in baseball, I say we win as a team and lose as a team.’’

 

The incident sprang out of a Sun-Times story on Sunday about how Cabrera had called up to the press box during games twice this season to dispute errors. Guillen said Monday that Cabrera needed to watch what he did because of how it would look for his teammates.

 

“This is not Anaheim,’’ Guillen said. “I know he played in Boston. But the fans here and the media here get into stuff like this. And I don’t want him to cut off and keep prolonging it because he’s not going to win.’’

 

Much ado …

 

Asked about the on-field argument between reliever Octavio Dotel and director of conditioning Allen Thomas on Tuesday, Guillen said it was nothing.

 

“A.T. has a job, Dotel got a job to follow,’’ Guillen said. “I think everything went out of proportion. It’s a not a big deal. I think everyone will be fine. Everyone has to respect everyone’s job. We’re not children here. Make sure everyone gets along on the field. But I don’t put my nose there because they should resolve it like men.’’

 

 

 

[southsider2k5]

There you go. That's leadership from Guillen, once again taking the pressure off of Cabrera. If Cabrera doesn't respect Guillen, he can catch the next train out of town as far as I am concerned.

[Leonard Zelig]

Hope this is the last we hear of this.

[RockRaines]

There you go. That's leadership from Guillen, once again taking the pressure off of Cabrera. If Cabrera doesn't respect Guillen, he can catch the next train out of town as far as I am concerned.

To be honest, I'd like to see OC get a day off one of these days and watch Alexei play a game or two at SS. Maybe it could give us a glimpse of the future.

[Melissa1334]

thats just a flat out retarded statement. But continue.

bcuz when we saw that article, none of this had been out yet. we saw oc as a leader, great guy, etc and we thought renteria was the bad guy. now we're seeing how some of what edgar said was true.

[Controlled Chaos]

The weird thing to me is when OC says "I don't have to do it with other teams because they always had my back. They don't want to do it here" I mean that comment kinda sounds like it has happened before and Ozzie didn't have his back and call...but OC only has one credited error on the season...so what is he talking about??

 

Also, is it normal for managers to call to the official scorer during the game to argue these things? That seems weird to me.....After a bad play in the field...be it the catchers fault or the SS or whatever...I can't see the manager calling the player over who was charged with the E and saying...hey they charged you with an error there...I'm going to call up and get that changed for you. That just seems like such a messed up thing to do in the middle of the game. After the game fine....but during the game....when a guy gets back to the dugout..it should be like....don't worry about it...shake it off.....lets get some runs here...whatever. Unless OC is the type that says....I ain't worried about it...it wasn't my fault anyway. I would think in a situation like the one with Toby and OC...both players would get together and say...my bad lets shake it off...yada yada yada.

 

 

 

 

[Melissa1334]

The weird thing to me is when OC says "I don't have to do it with other teams because they always had my back. They don't want to do it here" I mean that comment kinda sounds like it has happened before and Ozzie didn't have his back and call...but OC only has one credited error on the season...so what is he talking about??

 

Also, is it normal for managers to call to the official scorer during the game to argue these things? That seems weird to me.....After a bad play in the field...be it the catchers fault or the SS or whatever...I can't see the manager calling the player over who was charged with the E and saying...hey they charged you with an error there...I'm going to call up and get that changed for you. That just seems like such a messed up thing to do in the middle of the game. After the game fine....but during the game....when a guy gets back to the dugout..it should be like....don't worry about it...shake it off.....lets get some runs here...whatever. Unless OC is the type that says....I ain't worried about it...it wasn't my fault anyway. I would think in a situation like the one with Toby and OC...both players would get together and say...my bad lets shake it off...yada yada yada.

great post. i dont get it either. what was he expecting, for ozzie to call them and say change it? i dont know, dont get this. should be about winning. we're in 1st, none of this stuff should be happening.

[joejoesox]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3415430

 

honestly it doesn't sound as bad as it seems after reading that article, just my opinion

 

i wasn't aware that ozzie actually DOES call scorekeepers to get calls changed, this sounds like the media just making a big deal over nothing

 

other than OC thinking ozzie didnt give a s*** about him, the rest seems wildly blown out of proportion

[Reddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3415430

 

honestly it doesn't sound as bad as it seems after reading that article, just my opinion

 

i wasn't aware that ozzie actually DOES call scorekeepers to get calls changed, this sounds like the media just making a big deal over nothing

 

other than OC thinking ozzie didnt give a s*** about him, the rest seems wildly blown out of proportion

 

you can't blow words directly out of a guys mouth out of proportion. he said what he said, and what he said is that he doesn't like playing here...

[chiguy79]

less errors = more $$$s for him in free agency, plain and simple...selfish greedy move.

[joejoesox]

you can't blow words directly out of a guys mouth out of proportion. he said what he said, and what he said is that he doesn't like playing here...

 

he never said once he doesn't like playing here, that was never an exact statement made by him, not that i've read or seen linked to

 

and besides, my post was about the scoring thing, i guess ozzie actually does call the scorekeepers for his players, that's something i never knew about before until today.