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All Star
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,665
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Quote:
So now it's about race. To hear Ozzie Guillen, anyone who accuses the White Sox of stealing signs -- hollow allegations, by the way -- must not like him because he is ''a Latino.'' That is a very dangerous place to go, as if he hasn't visited dangerous places already, for he's suggesting those who challenge him on something as socially benign as baseball gamesmanship are racists.
Not only is that recklessly unfair and irresponsible, it also underscores the ongoing farce of Guillen's sensitivity-training sessions and commissioner Bud Selig's typical lack of concern about what comes out of the man's mouth. Baseball likes to brag about how it's attempting to unite the world. Every time the Blizzard of Oz speaks publicly, global camaraderie is capable of taking two steps backward.
''They're mad. They can't admit that a Latino kicked their ass,'' Guillen said over the weekend of those who have accused the Sox of sign-stealing. ''That's why I don't get along with too many managers. Because they hate my [expletive] ass, because I don't kiss their ass and I didn't kiss anyone's ass to get this job. Then they have a Mexican win the World Series in two years. And they're saying he doesn't have experience, he never managed in baseball. Well, too [expletive] bad.''
Never mind that he is Venezuelan and not Mexican. What Guillen is doing -- again -- is causing trouble when there shouldn't be any and crossing the professional line of verbal retaliation. The Sox don't need this stuff now, not as they fall 61/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers after a 7-1 shutdown Monday evening at the hands of Justin Verlander, who no longer tips his pitches as previously charged. Starting pitching continues to be a crapshoot, with one-time ace Jose Contreras looking like a man with a dead arm after another silly-putty outing. The Sox have issues, including a sluggish offense, and now more than ever, the situation requires level-headed leadership.
The manager needs to stand up to others with one part fire, one part professional dignity. Yes, Ozzie had every right to rip back at the three men who have wondered to varying degrees this season about the Sox and sign-stealing: Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan and Tigers manager Jim Leyland. But Guillen had no right to play the race card and should be reprimanded by Selig and Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who, I remind you again, is co-chairman of Major League Baseball's Equal Opportunity Committee and cannot keep ignoring the insensitive ramblings of his prominent franchise face.
Modern-day Billy Martin
Pushing the power-trip envelope has become counterproductive for Guillen. He is a terrific manager and wants everyone to know it, yet it's difficult for a sporting nation to appreciate him when he's overwhelming his excellent qualities with relentless and controversial episodes. In what I like to call the Bob Knight Theory, such episodes are tolerated -- and even celebrated by see-no-evil home fans -- when a team is winning. But when the team starts to lose, the reverence can fade quickly. Guillen is the Billy Martin of his time, and as much as Billy could fire up a ballclub, he was better known for a temper that cost him his job too many times to count.
This might seem a strange piece of advice. But if I were Guillen, I'd call John Madden about how to turn the ''cheating'' allegations into a psychological edge for the Sox. Decades ago, when the Oakland Raiders were becoming the most distrusted and hated team in football, Madden gave up trying to deny his team had mysterious tricks up its sleeve. So when an opposing coach questioned if the Raiders were, say, intentionally flooding a field to slow the enemy running game, Madden would admit that his groundskeeper was overzealous.
''Even though the field wasn't watered down at all,'' the Hall of Fame coach said.
When they're playing well, the Sox have a way of jimmying their way into opponents' heads. They're generally smarter than other teams, as they proved last year in winning the World Series. When Ozzie hears whiny sniping, he should accept it as a compliment, chuckle and move on. By lowering himself, he makes me wonder why he can't sit back and realize he won the war last October. This wasn't a one-time outburst, either. Earlier this year, he said some managers resented him and thought this of him last autumn: ''Wow, look at this crazy Venezuelan man going to the World Series.'' I'd like to think every manager, even Guillen antagonist Buck Showalter, was pleased to see him do a great job and win. And if not, that's no reason to think ugly thoughts.
Can't he enjoy success?
What's with the persecution complex? Does Ozzie forget the love he received as the first manager to bring a World Series championship to Chicago since Clarence Rowland in 1917? Did he have an amnesia attack about the confetti that covered his head atop the double-decker bus downtown, or the worship he received in Venezuela? Does he remember being named Manager of the Year by the Sporting News, Baseball America and the Baseball Writers Association of America? Someone explain why the man's ego is undernourished, why he always needs to defend himself. We know he can manage. We know he has a keen mind, an ability to extract undying effort from his players. Isn't there a point where he becomes comfortable with his achievements?
He was the spark of the greatest baseball tale ever told in this town. Apparently, that isn't enough to keep him from talking and talking. The greatest managers and coaches in sports don't have to tell us how good they are. Certainly, they don't resort to name-calling and immaturity.
Problems aside, the Sox still are being beckoned by the American League wild-card slot. The Boston Red Sox are fading away, thanks to a front office that did nothing at the trade deadline and allowed Johnny Damon to flee to the Yankees. And the Minnesota Twins, good as they are, won't have Francisco Liriano until mid-September, if then. The biggest issue remains the Sox' rotation and whether anyone beyond Jon Garland can step up and remain consistent. The hitters, too, look tired, with Scott Podsednik too often draining the lineup after energizing it last year.
But Ozzie is to be watched, too. Unlike last year, when the Sox were front-runners who held on in late September, they're in a grinding survival game that might not be compatible with Guillen's rants. Will he keep his cool? Or will he crack when another manager or media person upsets him?
This isn't about being a Latino. This is about being a professional, a reasonable human being. Two months after his most infamous slur, Ozzie still doesn't get it.
I'm beginning to think he never will.[/b]
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/mario...pt-jay221.html
I think I'm going to have use the Detroy photo for this:
:beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: :beerbang2: |
08-22-2006, 12:47 PM
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