The Miami Marlins thread

[caulfield12]

I said he's leading contender in the AL.

Why would it bother me to have him win it? It'd probably mean the Sox are division champs at the very least.

 

 

See Mark Shapiro, 2005 AL Executive of the Year over KW

[greg775]

See Mark Shapiro, 2005 AL Executive of the Year over KW

 

If the season ended today, Robin would be manager of year in AL and Ozzie in NL.

Pretty amazing when you think of that.

 

[Rowand44]

and Ozzie in NL.

Do you follow baseball?

[Quin]

If the season ended today, Robin would be manager of year in AL and Matheny/Mattingly in NL.

Pretty amazing when you think of that.

 

Fixed for a world of accuracy.

[witesoxfan]

Fixed for a world of accuracy.

 

Davey Johnson is right there too.

[chw42]

Fixed for a world of accuracy.

 

I really don't know about Matheny. Last I checked, the Cardinals aren't even in first place and they've struggled lately.

 

Add in the fact that he took over a World Series champion...and I don't think he will win it unless the Cardinals win 100+ games.

Edited May 30, 2012 by chw42

[LittleHurt05]

If the season ended today, Robin would be manager of year in AL and Ozzie in NL.

Pretty amazing when you think of that.

 

If the season ended today, at least one of the managers of the year would come from the Beltway.

[Quin]

4 Reasons the Miami Marlins Are the Tackiest Team in Sports

[flippedoutpunk]

Miami is a tacky town, it feeds off of being what it is just like Chicago feeds off of the "2nd City" mentality (which IMO holds it back from eventually overtaking NYC as the greatest city ever)

[flavum]

Could you imagine it's late October, and Buehrle is starting Game 1 or 2 of the World Series at the Cell, with Ozzie, Joey, and Zambrano in the visitor's dugout? That would be wild, and also not impossible.

[caulfield12]

I really don't know about Matheny. Last I checked, the Cardinals aren't even in first place and they've struggled lately.

 

Add in the fact that he took over a World Series champion...and I don't think he will win it unless the Cardinals win 100+ games.

 

 

But, they had to replace Pujols, and the "genius" of LaRussa and Duncan, lol.

 

Not to mention quite a few injury problems.

 

But your point is well-taken, despite the fans who are holding onto the "they just got really really lucky twice in five years" card.

[Steve9347]

(which IMO holds it back from eventually overtaking NYC as the greatest city ever)

That and the fact that Chicago will never bee known as the greatest city ever, nor should it be.

[RockRaines]

Miami is a tacky town, it feeds off of being what it is just like Chicago feeds off of the "2nd City" mentality (which IMO holds it back from eventually overtaking NYC as the greatest city ever)

Alot more is keeping other cities fro overtaking NYC. Chicago is dwarfed by manhattan in so many ways.

[Steve9347]

Alot more is keeping other cities fro overtaking NYC. Chicago is dwarfed by manhattan in so many ways.

People who haven't been to Manhattan struggle to understand this. Once you go, you get it.

[flippedoutpunk]

i lived in NY for 3 years and the only reason id want to actually stay there permanently would be for the NY style pizza and the hot staten island gals with the sexiest accents ever created.

[Chi Town Sox]

People who haven't been to Manhattan struggle to understand this. Once you go, you get it.

 

I felt the same way, until I went there last month. Crazy awesome

[caulfield12]

Customer reviews of new Ozzie Guillen/Morrissey book

 

But even from afar Ozzie's antics the last few years i.e. battling general manager Kenny Williams on everything under the sun... both business wise and personal... his public threats and whining about a contract extension with owner Jerry Reinsdorf as well as Williams... wound down to the equivalent of a broken scratched record... extremely irritating. The author's constant hashing and rehashing of the same exact thing over and over for two hundred pages... becomes... well... you know.

 

It probably isn't humanly possible to tell the reader more than they've been told here regarding... that he's a players manager... or that he always wants to take the blame for any losses or problems with player's performances. But somehow... you are told more. Probably the best line in the book is when the author describes Guillen as ** THE CHARLES BARKLEY OF BASEBALL **. The only subject that statistically is in the same "ballpark" as his loyalty to his players... is his protective nature to his family. But I believe when the reader makes note of some of the tweets and comments his sons make to the public about the White Sox... it's hard to side with Ozzie's blind... repetitive... loyalty. How about some "tough-love" with the family? And talk about loyalty... it becomes repetitively non-sensical all the many times in this book that Ozzie swears loyalty to the Sox while considering an offer from the Marlins while still under contract with the Sox.

 

It's made abundantly clear that Ozzie was probably vaccinated with a phonograph needle... as he yaks and yaks to anyone... and anything... and normally about the same few subjects... and so does the author. The following observation is for the benefit of potential readers that may have different moralities than I do because what I'm about to share doesn't bother me... but may bother others. There are probably more F's and MF's per page in this book than in any book I've read in the last five years. That's the way Ozzie and a lot of people talk (I'm one)... so no problem for me... but just a heads up. It's also very interesting/amusing that this book was written right before Ozzie's mind blowingly offensive comments about Fidel Castro got him suspended for a few games. (And Oz also has the Marlin's knocking on first place's door!)

 

 

 

One of the many reasons I love baseball is the characters you find associated with the game. Since a prime example of those characters is Ozzie Guillen, I was happy to win this book from LibraryThing. I thought it would be full of hilarious stories from his many years in the game, and since Morrissey is a Chicago area journalist, he should know the "real" Ozzie from Guillen's years with the White Sox.

 

The subtitle is "Lessons from the dugout, the clubhouse, and the doghouse." Even more reason to believe this would be funny. Now I wasn't born yesterday so I'm well aware that Ozzie's language is offensive, but I figured it would be easy to overlook. Well, this isn't the first time I've been totally wrong.

 

Ozzie cannot form even a partial sentence without saying F--- at least once, if not two or three times. Just for variety he often precedes this with "Mother" and he uses these words as nouns, verbs, adjectives and in every conceivable situation. And he's LOUD. It sounds like he's actually proud of his language, and yet he brags about how he learned English when he came here from Venezuela so he could fit in!

 

This book would have been excellent as a longish magazine article, but it just isn't right for a book. Morrissey tells the same things over and over so that as you get into the book you feel like you've read it before. And many of the stories just aren't that interesting, seemingly chosen more as examples of his foul language than for humor or insight.

 

I don't mean to completely demean either Ozzie or the book. Ozzie is a dedicated husband and father. He can be brilliant as a baseball manager, and there's a lot to be said for his way of communicating with his players. The cover shows him in full rage, right up in the face of an umpire, but that's his way of defending his players and showing them he's on their side. I think it would take a special person to get along with Ozzie but if a player can get along with him, he's got a friend for life.

 

When he's criticized for the way he spends money lavishly on his family, he tells people he works hard for his money and intends to enjoy it. He doesn't wish to save it up so his widow's boyfriend can have a good time with it. Now that's funny!

 

 

 

 

This is a review of Rick Morrissey's new book about Ozzie Guillen, titled "Ozzie's School of Management." I received this book free as a review copy. So there's that.

 

For his first book, Morrissey picks an interesting subject in Guillen. The profane, voluble Venezuelan is never dull to be around, and that shows up in this book. Guillen has a natural talent for stirring things up and attracting publicity. He was a favorite of the Chicago press for his availability and quotable nature (once you bleeping out about half the words) and he is no less interesting here. Language alert: the author and editor do not censor Guillen in the book. Lots of four-letter words, especially ones starting with the letter "f".

 

The major problem with the book is the struggle the author has with moving from the world of newspaper column writing to operating at book-length. It's a big change and Morrissey struggles with it. The chapters in the first half of the book feel very repetitive. There is an attempt to write an introduction and then chapters based on different aspects of Guillen's managerial philosophy, but the author has limited success with the format. It's a lot of, "Boy, that crazy Ozzie, he'll say anything and he sure does cuss a lot." Not until the second half of the book does Morrissey show more skill at separating into chapters.

 

One way to write a book is chronologically, which has the benefit of mimicking the way we live our lives. It feels right to us to see something written out in sequence as it occurs. We tend to assume such is true even when it is not, because it feels right to us, and that is why a movie like "Benjamin Button," which plays with our perceptions, seems so strange. Morrissey chooses not to do that, instead looking at Guillen's managerial stint in Chicago more by themes, and the execution does not always work out. He also pays little attention to the past or Guillen's playing career, except briefly as background. It's a choice that can work, but the book feels choppy, with sentences crafted more in the style of newspaper writing than book writing.

 

For all that, Morrissey has chosen his subject well, because the story of Ozzie Guillen holds the interest and will keep the pages turning. For all the faults of the book, the story wins out. Guillen, his family, and the politics of decision-making in the major leagues are all on display here. Fans who can't understand why baseball teams aren't run in real life like they run their fantasy teams may learn something here, and others will just be entertained. I recommend the story of the never-boring Ozzie Guillen.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ozzies-School-Manage...howViewpoints=1

Edited June 7, 2012 by caulfield12

[Quin]

Ozzie Guillen Outrages Amish Community by Praising Lightbulbs

 

Less than two months after being suspended for making comments that glorified Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has once again kicked a hornet’s nest.

In a press conference following Tuesday’s loss to the Braves, the outspoken skipper went on an extensive, oftentimes nonsensical rant about the merits of the incandescent light bulb. Members of America’s Amish community have since voiced their extreme offense over his remarks.

 

“We are shocked and saddened at the lack of sensitivity Mr. Guillen displayed towards the Amish people in his recent comments,” said Jakob Yoder, a national spokesman for the Anabaptist church. “In bringing praise to the evil that is electric luminescence he has brought shame and mockery to those of us who have resisted its scourge.”

 

While many of Guillen’s remarks are too vulgar for print, his most incensing commentary contained implications that those who do not embrace light bulbs are inferior to those who do.

 

“I love light bulbs. You know why? A lot of people wanted nothing to do with them when they were first invented, and now 130 years later those [expletive] are still here,” mused Guillen. “Only savages don’t love light bulbs. Without light bulbs, how would anyone play baseball at night? They couldn’t. Anyone who can’t appreciate heating a filament wire until it produces glow is an enemy of innovation and a traitor to the progress of humanity.”

 

Thousands of Amish people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana have started protests demanding that Guillen be fired. In Lancaster, PA, over 500 men protested by throwing baseballs at donkeys. Their angry message was clear: Guillen is similar to a jackass in some respects.

 

Though Guillen has yet to apologize, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has indicated that some formal expression of remorse is forthcoming.

 

“We all know that Ozzie can run as mouth just as well as he can run a ball club, and this, unfortunately, is a painful reminder,” said Loria. “I can assure you that no one is more angry at Ozzie than Ozzie is.”

 

At time of publication, several dozen Amish men were preparing their buggies to travel to Florida and formally request Guillen’s resignation in person. They are expected to reach Miami by late August.

[LittleHurt05]

Ozzie Guillen Outrages Amish Community by Praising Lightbulbs

 

Wow, way to go Ozzie. He's lucky they don't play in Ohio or Pennsylvania again until next month. Maybe it will die down by then.

[southsider2k5]

Wow, way to go Ozzie. He's lucky they don't play in Ohio or Pennsylvania again until next month. Maybe it will die down by then.

 

He had better not go to Middlebury, IN... He doesn't want to be the target of an Amish drive-by.

[Balta1701]

Praising the incandescent bulb when there are such efficient options out there compared to those dinosaurs. The Green movement needs to be heard here as well.

[cabiness42]

He had better not go to Middlebury, IN... He doesn't want to be the target of an Amish drive-by.

 

Now you have me drooling thinking about Das Essenhaus.

[Iwritecode]

Now you have me drooling thinking about Das Essenhaus.

 

We've been there two different times when we've been on vacation and I can never remember the name of the place. For us it's just always been "that Amish restaurant near Shipshewana." For some reason my mom pronounces it Ship-sha-wan-ee.

 

Awesome food though.

 

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

4 Reasons the Miami Marlins Are the Tackiest Team in Sports

 

I was stunned when I clicked on this and the home run mechanism (statue?) wasn't all 4 reasons. Then, I noticed that Scott Stapp wrote a song about them and it all made sense. Steve Goodman laughed when he heard about this, and he's dead.

[max power]

The marlins are 1-9 in their last ten. 6.5 games back. In 4th place.