Ozzie, I've Put You On Notice
Ozzie Guillen, you have been a ton of fun during your period on the South Side as the team's Manager. You've brought a tenacity (and a World Series) that otherwise has been missing from the White Sox. You've been hilarious to listen to, fun to watch, entertaining, and you called out the Hineybird.
And now... you've been put on notice by me, Steve Harnden.
The facts are clear. Since 2005, the White Sox have generally under-achieved (and I'm not talking about 2007). What began as a hot start in 2006 and a team primed for a repeat championship ended in a 3rd place finish in the AL Central after playing 10 games under .500 after the All-Star Break. Then 2007 came, and I am thankful for that for bringing the White Sox a healthy slab of Bacon.
2008 was fun; somehow you backed into winning the worst division in baseball with two youngsters in the rotation pitching over their head. Congratulations, a golf-clap is in order.
Now it's 2009. There is no question that this is a season that started with a less-than-stellar roster. A lot of fans thought the White Sox were quietly rebuilding. However, as the season has progressed, Ozzie, you've been given the reinforcements to take a once-again weak division. Gordon Beckham, Alex Rios, Mark Kotsay... those are nice additions to the offense. There are managers who would KILL to have the flexibility of having a roster with more than 11 hitters capable of starting on most squads. However, once-again your team has an inability to display any sort of killer instinct that is greatly needed.
You've got a talented albeit small staff of starting pitchers who will only be reinforced either this weekend or next week with a Cy Young winner in Jake Peavy. The talent on this team, on paper, is as good as any in baseball save the Yankees.
Therein lies the problem. We are now one game under .500. Not one game back in the division, but one game under .500. Think about that for a second, take that in and consider the roster this team can field on a daily basis.
My main issue with Ozzie is his inability to adjust on the fly. He is fiercely loyal, hence Dewayne Wise's amount of plate appearances this year despite hitting below .200. Ozzie Guillen wrote the lineup the day after Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game, and it had a player hitting UNDER .200 batting leadoff. That's asinine!
Then consider Jermaine Dye; he had to OPS under .600 for a month and a half after the All-Star Break before being moved from the third spot in the batting order! Ozzie, this is unacceptable. Add to these lineup gaffe's the fact that you cannot manage a bullpen, and your job is on the line. This is your time to show that you can manage on the fly and win this division. This is it, Oz.
Note: I am in no way saying "fire Ozzie Guillen today". It is not yet that time. However, there's 4.5 games to make up on the Detroit Tigers, and if the White Sox don't win this division, perhaps it's time for "Ozzie-ball" to leave the South Side for good.
The facts are clear. Since 2005, the White Sox have generally under-achieved (and I'm not talking about 2007). What began as a hot start in 2006 and a team primed for a repeat championship ended in a 3rd place finish in the AL Central after playing 10 games under .500 after the All-Star Break. Then 2007 came, and I am thankful for that for bringing the White Sox a healthy slab of Bacon.
2008 was fun; somehow you backed into winning the worst division in baseball with two youngsters in the rotation pitching over their head. Congratulations, a golf-clap is in order.
Now it's 2009. There is no question that this is a season that started with a less-than-stellar roster. A lot of fans thought the White Sox were quietly rebuilding. However, as the season has progressed, Ozzie, you've been given the reinforcements to take a once-again weak division. Gordon Beckham, Alex Rios, Mark Kotsay... those are nice additions to the offense. There are managers who would KILL to have the flexibility of having a roster with more than 11 hitters capable of starting on most squads. However, once-again your team has an inability to display any sort of killer instinct that is greatly needed.
You've got a talented albeit small staff of starting pitchers who will only be reinforced either this weekend or next week with a Cy Young winner in Jake Peavy. The talent on this team, on paper, is as good as any in baseball save the Yankees.
Therein lies the problem. We are now one game under .500. Not one game back in the division, but one game under .500. Think about that for a second, take that in and consider the roster this team can field on a daily basis.
My main issue with Ozzie is his inability to adjust on the fly. He is fiercely loyal, hence Dewayne Wise's amount of plate appearances this year despite hitting below .200. Ozzie Guillen wrote the lineup the day after Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game, and it had a player hitting UNDER .200 batting leadoff. That's asinine!
Then consider Jermaine Dye; he had to OPS under .600 for a month and a half after the All-Star Break before being moved from the third spot in the batting order! Ozzie, this is unacceptable. Add to these lineup gaffe's the fact that you cannot manage a bullpen, and your job is on the line. This is your time to show that you can manage on the fly and win this division. This is it, Oz.
Note: I am in no way saying "fire Ozzie Guillen today". It is not yet that time. However, there's 4.5 games to make up on the Detroit Tigers, and if the White Sox don't win this division, perhaps it's time for "Ozzie-ball" to leave the South Side for good.
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14 Comments
JimH. said:
Nice rant Steve, and well written. One small fly in the ointment though. You may have his job on the line but Reinsdorf and KW do not.
I pointed out what I believe to be Guillen's flaws in another topic. One, trying too hard to instill confidence in players. Two, not going for the jugular enough in sweep situations. Three, showing too much confidence in players who are struggling.
These things have to be tweaked year to year. Bullpens unfortunately are notoriously up and down. Ask about 25 other MLB teams. This team's bullpen is mostly down. No one is doing the job out there.
There is no question the team is underperforming. But who performs? It's the players. Had they hit in clutch situations last night (just as one example) they win the game.
In my opinion some fans are too hung up on lineups, who hits where, etc. Ask the players themselves and most will say it doesn't make any difference. It comes down to players executing, and that has been the downfall of this team.
Is it ever the managers fault? Yes. It's the managers fault when the clubhouse is a mess (it isn't). It's the managers fault when guys are overused (they aren't). It's the managers fault when killer instinct isn't instilled and insisted upon (I believe he is at fault here).
JimH. said:
Great post by a member of SoxTalk and a similar post made at WSI, here is the SoxTalk post:
"There are quite a few people on this forum who know they would do a better job as sox manager. Anyone know how some of these message board posters can score an interview with KW?"
Everyone realizes it's the fans prerogative to question and 2nd guess. That makes watching games fun actually. But some fans take it to an absurd level, 2nd guessing the manager (not just Guillen) every time something goes wrong. That's unreasonable, but don't try to explain it to those fans. They may have a brother who works at Baseball America or something!
Bottom line, fans do not know what is going on with personnel, very often there are good reasons why a certain player is called upon in a certain situation.
katmusic2009 said:
If the White Sox are happy to get swept at Fenway as of tonight, more power to them. But that's not what I want!! THEY ARE FACING THE YANKEES, remember? The same team that could buy THE REST of the league given the time and money?
If the Sox fool around and get killed like this all the time, I can only conclude: Every game lost means getting further from the playoffs, if they even have a chance. But to blame Ozzie Guillen for all this is probably a bit immature. One more chance, one more season, a better lineup (we hope), and then let's make a decision.
--ks
webegeek said:
Okay, I've never managed a big league team nor played major league baseball. I've been a sox fan since Pete Ward and Tommy Agee were the future. I will agree with the original post for two reasons. One, it constantly has amazed me that a team with a manager like Ozzie and a coach like Cora play, year end and year out, such bad fundamental baseball. Errors out the wazzo, can't bunt, don't move runners, throw to the wrong bases and miss cutoff men. It drives me nuts.
The second thing that always makes me question Ozzie is the way he rips his players in the press. It's rude and immature. You rip them in the privacy of your office, you compliment them when they do something right in public. Think about it. Anyone here ever have a boss that would rip employees in public? Was he or she popular and loved by the work group? No.
Thank you Ozzie for the World Series win. But maybe it is time to move on. I hear Bobby Valentine wants to come back and manage in the US. I bet he stresses fundamentals. I'll bet the pitchers would appreciate some error free baseball on a consistent basis.
JimH. said:
Actually he protects his players a WHOLE lot more than he rips them in the press. Jose Contreras is a perfect example. Guillen in fact goes out of his way to say he will not criticize physical errors.
Jason Gage said:
Hey Jim, I saw you mention tight play.
IF the team plays tight, I think you have to look at the so-called leaders of the team and ask some questions cause there is no way that the team plays tight because of Ozzie.
Quietly I think Konerko's leadership style will be put on notice. No guy on the team plays tighter than him (well, maybe Q) and I think having that style coming from your leader hurts. Not sure how Thome is but he doesn't seem like the vocal leader either and in theory I really think the offense lacks real leadership. Hopefully Beckham can become that guy in time.
And no, I'm not saying that Thome/Konerko/Dye aren't good character guys, they are, but none of them are the type of leader I think this team needs. In the pen, well the whole f***ing thing is a disaster. Thornton is starting to get over-worked and how can you blame Ozz, he's the only guy whose worth a s*** right now.
JimH. said:
That's right Jason, some of the leadership has to come from the players because they're the ones who perform. They have Konerko as captain since, what, 2006 and they've had trouble playing up to their potential. I do think leadership has to be looked at. Guillen should probably tweak a few things he does, and KW needs to look at player leadership. When your captain beats himself up over failure you can well bet other players are watching. That stuff rubs off over the grind of a baseball season.
JimH. said:
Jason, who's your guess for the Sat. start? Remember they'd have to add Hudson to the 40 man if they go that route. Personally I shudder at the thought of a rookie making his 1st start at Yankee Stadium but the Sox seem to think he's got the mental makeup. Plus I am convinced he has more mental fortitude than Neal Cotts. Depending what happens the next two nights though I would still not rule out a Carrasco start with Contreras being the long man. Coop and Ozzie don't want to do that though.
Jason Gage said:
What concerns me most about Hudson is the fact that he's simply not ready. I realize Sox brass watched him pitch in Charlotte and in theory I think he could learn at the big league level but I don't think this Saturday in New York is the time.
Hudson has struggled moving up to the more advanced league with his control (ie, how hitters are more patient at the higher levels) and now the Sox would amplify that by putting him up against a New York squad that is full of patient veteran hitters.
I think we are basically asking him to fail and to me that is a mistake. Will it ruin him, hopefully not (and if it does, he isn't cut out for the job) but I do think we'd have zero chance to win the game with him which is why I'd rather go with an option like Torres or fill in the blank.
JimH. said:
Well I agree with you. Not to mention he has thrown more innings this year than any time in his short career. Further, he has been throwing a lot of pitches to get through 5 innings in AAA. That's a sign of a guy not being ready.
Now sometimes a guy comes up and surprises, and they are facing a pitcher on Sat. they can beat in Sergio Mitre.
But their options are few. It's either Torres (who I think will get the nod) or Carrasco with Contreras backing him up. It looks like they won't need DJ tonight so it depends on tomorrow and how it goes with Buehrle vs. Sabathia.
I think they will go with Torres as he's already on the 40 man.
Mario Scalise said:
I like Guillen, but there is no doubt he deserves much of the blame, but I don't think it has anything to do with his managerial decisions. Chances are he hasn't made any more mistakes than the other 29 managers. Really, I'm not sure what Guillen has done wrong, but this is the first Sox team that has baffled me. They fully have the capabilities, and I don't say that in the they are good on paper sense. But they aren't, so I think a lot has to fall on Guillen, although every single person on this 25-man roster deserves blame too. Seriously, which player is free from getting blame for this season? Maybe Thornton, Pierzynski? Even Beckham, as great as he's been and as hard as it is to adjust to a new position on the fly, he's still contributed to the bad defense nonetheless.
It's a team effort, yet, there aren't a whole lot of guys I want gone from this bunch.
JimH. said:
Hey Mario, I can tell you're young if this is the first White Sox team to baffle you. :-)
Try being my age and being baffled by teams in 1967, 1974, and the list goes on and on.
hitless said:
First of all, I've been an Ozzie fan since he played for the Sox. Hurt when he broke his leg, cried when his playing days with the Sox were over. Rejoiced when he was named manager. Was on cloud 9 when he guided the Sox to the WS Champiohship in '05. I'm an Ozzie backer all the way. BUT......this is what I think he has to do. He's backed his players during this rough stretch, been their biggest supporter. He's done that in the past, also. But now's the time to do something else he's done in the past. It's time to pull off one of his R-rated public rantings to get thesee guys going. Now, if they don't react to this like they've done in the past, it will be obvious that Ozzie has lost the team and....gulp....it's time for a change at manager. I'd hate to see that happen. I hope he goes off to the media, the team responds accordingly and the Sox make it back to the playoffs and beyond
Chicago Expatriate said:
I admit I didn't take time to read all the responses. I have long felt that Ozzie is not a good game day manager or strategist. He also seems to have a penchant for sticking with players that I would have permanently on the far end of my bench. His strengths were in my opinion a strong baseball philosophy in keeping with the best White Sox traditions, and an ability to motivate and win most players loyalties. Right now the negatives far out weigh the positives, and it's time for a change. Thanks for 2005 Ozzie, but if the Sox run true to the old form none of us will be here in 2093. That being said I think even if the White Sox are 1962 Mets bad for an extended period of time, I doubt that Reinsdorf will fire either Kenny Williams or Ozzie Guillen.
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