Tuesday, March 30, 2010

6 comments Jay Mariotti Still Mad at Ozzie Guillen for "Outing" Him

I had so many titles for the post today that I didn't necessarily want to put as the title for various reasons. Among them were:

"Jay Mariotti Still Hates Ozzie Guillen, Puppies, Babies, and Human Life in General."

"Jay Mariotti: Poster Child for Woman's Right to Choose."

"Jay Mariotti Still Hates Ozzie Guillen and the Entire World Still Hates Jay Mariotti."

"When the World Ends, Only Cockroaches and Jay Mariotti Will Survive, But How Will We Be Able to Tell the Difference in the Two?"

"No One Likes Jay Mariotti, Even His Heart."

"Mrs. Mariotti, Why Did You Release This Menace On the World?"

"Jay Mariotti Attacks Ozzie Guillen Again, and Ozzie Guillen Tries to Convince Heart Attack to Hit Mariotti Harder Next Time."

"Grim Reaper Comes For Jay Mariotti and Returns Him...Says Even He Has Standards For Souls He Will Accept."

I finally ended up with the title I put above because it was mean enough to be a title and not too mean where I am just beating up on Mariotti in the title. I do think I could go on and on with titles for this post that insult Jay Mariotti, but I will get to the actual post now. In between being shocked baseball isn't kid friendly and beating up on Bud Selig, Jay Mariotti has just remembered he hates Ozzie Guillen.

I have a dream...Ozzie Guillen and Jay Mariotti in a steel cage match...winner takes all. Why can't this happen?

Ozzie Guillen has messed up again and Jay Mariotti is taking time out of his busy schedule of hating everyone in general to direct his anger right at him.

The Blizzard of Oz, as I've come to call Ozzie Guillen, should have been put out of his misery years ago,

Jay Mariotti should have also been put out of his misery years ago. Who likes him? Who reads his writing and actually likes it? I want you to out yourself, I won't feel differently about you, I just want to know why you like him. It's like going in the mind of a serial killer, I have to know what you are thinking.

dumped like an out-of-control radio caller unfit for human consumption.

Should Guillen also be dumped like an out-of-control writer on television who spends his time yelling at the television in order to make a point?

It's funny that Mariotti takes a shot at callers on radio shows because nothing Mariotti says on "Around the Horn" that is any more in-depth or interesting than what your standard radio caller has to say on air. For example, he writes an entire article about why Ozzie Guillen should be fired, but why does he really even care at this point if Guillen gets fired or not...other than the fact he doesn't like Guillen due to a feud they have with each other.

It is the typical Jay Mariotti feud. He takes a shot at a person, the other person takes a shot at him, Mariotti takes another shot and then goes into hiding so he doesn't get his ass kicked as he takes more shots at the person, and then through the years Mariotti randomly expresses his dislike for this person in his columns.

The problem is that his bosses have enabled his mindless, profane, manic and often dangerous dialogue because, well, his team happened to get lucky in 2005 and help the franchise win a World Series for the only time in 93 years.

Got lucky, didn't get lucky...it doesn't matter. They won the World Series. I am not sure how a team that wins 99 games gets lucky, that sounds like a pretty good team to me. Still, without calling them lucky, Jay Mariotti would have to admit Guillen isn't a terrible manager. He has accomplished in his short time with the White Sox what no other Chicago manager had been able to do for decades (and generations), win a World Series. There has to be some talent in his managing skills to do that. The 2005 White Sox team won 99 games, I don't call that luck.

So how comical to see those very same enablers, general manager Ken Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, now being torched and embarrassed by their own monster.

It's hilariously comical if you are the type of person to sit around and wish for terrible things to happen to other people all day. I can't believe Jerry Reinsdorf, who would have brought both the Jordan-era and post-Jordan-era Bulls down with his poor personnel and management decisions if it weren't for Phil Jackson and others, has such bad luck. Thank God, there were others who wouldn't listen to Reinsdorf during the 90's or I could only imagine what the Bulls teams would have looked like.

It was inevitable that the Blizzard would shift his foul-mouthed focus from his own players, players and managers on other teams, TV analysts, sports columnists, blow-up dolls, social issues

How dare he have an opinion on issues! He should be more like Bobby Cox and punch his wife or more like Tony LaRussa and get arrested for DUI. Domestic violence and drunk driving we can stand, but to use your freedom of speech when talking about issues OUTSIDE of baseball? Unacceptable.

Yeah Ozzie Guillen is a loud-mouth and he doesn't always say the right thing, but he is a breath of fresh air for me because he does those things. It's entertaining for me.

and Sean Penn -- yes, he bleep-bleeped the actor for defending Venezuela president Hugo Chavez --

Not Sean Penn! Now Ozzie Guillen has crossed the line. I can't believe Guillen criticized Sean Penn for defending a socialist semi-dictator who is essentially controlling his country through a tight fist that keeps many in poverty and encourages government control of the media.

Who should really know better about what Hugo Chavez has done to Venezuela and it's people? Actor Sean Penn or Ozzie Guillen who is from Venezuela and very likely still has family and friends in the country? Really, let's think about this. Doesn't Ozzie Guillen probably know more about Chavez and is in a better position to criticize him than Sean Penn?

Obviously Sean Penn does according to Jay Mariotti. So Ozzie was WAY out of line for criticizing a socialist semi-dictator. Maybe Jay Mariotti should go to Venezuela and work for Hugo Chavez.

Predictably, Guillen arrived at spring training eager to expand his goofballish persona via social media networks such as Twitter, which allows him to express his absurd ramblings 24/7, heaven help us.

Fucking freedom of speech. Who created that for everyone anyway? Only those who eloquently and intelligently can put the spoken word down on paper, like Jay Mariotti, should be able to use their freedom of speech to express what they would like to say.

Williams was understandably leery, but his stance on the matter also was hypocritical, as often happens in the team boardroom, in that he and Reinsdorf signed off on a MLB Network reality show that is going behind the scenes with the team and front office this season.

So it was hypocritical to allow Ozzie Guillen to participate in social networking and also allow the team to be filmed by MLB Network for a reality show? Isn't this is the opposite of hypocritical because in both instances the White Sox are allowing what thoughts that are normally private in the White Sox organization to become public?

The fact Ken Williams was nervous about Guillen participating in social networking doesn't mean he is hypocritical for letting MLB Network behind-the-scenes of the White Sox organization. I am sure he was a little leery about participating in that show as well, but he still agreed to do it.

With much reluctance, Williams agreed to let the twit tweet.

Name-calling. Always a journalistic technique only used by the highest quality of writers.

E on the boss.

That's a baseball reference! That's hilarious and relevant to the topic at hand!

When the Blizzard's newest hobby made national news, he started thinking bigger, like some media megalomaniac. He devised a plan to launch his own personal Web page with the help of his family.

And after Ozzie Guillen started his own Web page, he was planning on immediately taking over the world. I like how off Jay Mariotti's line of thought is. He believes that Ozzie Guillen, who always has microphones and cameras in front of him as one of the managers of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, needs Twitter or a Web page to get his message out to the masses, even though this has never stopped him before. As if in some way, being the manager of the Chicago White Sox is less high profile than having a Web page and a Twitter account.

It seemed Guillen was becoming so full of himself, urged on by primitive Sox fans who like getting attention of any sort in Cubs-dominated Chicago,

They must be looking for the attention that winning the World Series in 2005 couldn't provide. Again, I enjoy how off Jay Mariotti's line of thought is here too. He thinks White Sox fans are primitive for using Internet social media to gain attention in the city of Chicago. Call them attention-hungry, but using post-new millennium technology to gain attention is not primitive.

The timing couldn't be worse. With the season-ending elbow injury to Joe Nathan dealing a heavy blow to the Minnesota Twins, the White Sox and their new ace pitcher, Jake Peavy, suddenly are the favorites to conquer the American League Central.

As we all know, when the manager of a Major League Baseball team starts to use social media technology this speeds up Joe Nathan's recovery time and causes Jake Peavy to pitch poorly. That's why Jake Peavy was injured last year, Bud Black was always on Facebook "friending" people and it weakened Peavy's ability to withstand an injury.

The last thing they needed was another in a long line of shameful Blizzard episodes.

Due to the fact these episodes have effected the White Sox little in the past, concerning on-the-field performance, I don't see how it makes a difference.

But that is exactly what happened, courtesy of his 24-year-old son, Oney. If ever you don't want a son to act like his father, it would apply to any offspring of Ozzie Guillen.

If there was ever offspring I don't want acting like his father, it would be the son of Adolf Hitler, possibly Osama Bin Laden's children, Kim Jong's children, and just for good measure any children of Jay Mariotti. Other than the fact he called Jay Mariotti "gay," I don't see how Ozzie Guillen is a terrible person.

I could probably name 100 other people off the top of my head who no one would want acting like their father, but clearly none of them would be as bad as the son of an outspoken baseball manager taking after his father. It's abhorrent to hear him speak his mind and use his freedom of speech in the way he does. In fact, it's un-American.

it was Oney who went bonkers in the spirit of, um, family pride. As an employee in the team's video department, he should have been thankful to have a job in Major League Baseball.

Just like Jay Mariotti should be thankful enough people hate him that he gets pageviews everyday that justify the money he gets paid to be hated. Also, I don't get why working in the video department of the White Sox means Oney Guillen should be thankful to have a job, other than the fact he has a job and should be happy about that.

So, like Ozzie, Oney took to his Twitter account, @oneyroberto.

And attacked the very men who employ both Guillens.

11:23 a.m.: "The Guillen family just got screwed over or (expletive) ... but dont worry we have our own way of handling this.''

Jay Mariotti spends this entire column attacking the Guillen family and what they have said publicly about pretty much anything. He doesn't think they deserve a forum to speak their mind or say what they want to the public. Then when writing about this issue, Jay Mariotti freely gives everyone Oney Guillen's Twitter account name, which is still active. So Jay Mariotti has made it easier for people who read his columns to read Oney Guillen's "useless" ramblings by providing this information.

A few minutes later, he took a Twitter swipe at a restaurant, which would seem harmless if the place wasn't co-owned by Williams.

11:46 a.m.: "My fav restaurant in chicago is Chi tung Latte. My least fav Market hands down worst food in the city."

Oh no, he didn't! He took a swipe at a restaurant that is co-owned by the White Sox General Manager! Cripple fight!

If anything, these comments are harmless and immature. I am pretty sure the city of Chicago is not taking food critic advice from Oney Guillen. It's not like he is Gordon Ramsey or anything. He works in the video department of a Major League Baseball team, so to a normal person his opinion means so very little, but to Jay Mariotti this comment will have tremendous repercussions.

Very quickly, after Reinsdorf and Williams called a meeting with Ozzie, Oney was gone. Guillen said last week that he told his son to resign, but his explanation over the weekend included an odd rant that seemed to be a passive-aggressive shot at his bosses.

So let me get this straight...Oney Guillen made an inappropriate comment on Twitter and now he has been let go because of this? So Oney Guillen was in the wrong and he paid for this mistake with his job?

The horror! A human resources problem was taken care of in a timely manner? How dare they do this. Ozzie Guillen is a monster because he isn't happy his son was let go/fired! Most parents would be proud to have their children fired/let go from a job.

"I have to put myself in the situation of feeling comfortable," Guillen said. "When you talk about your family, that's different. I don't give a [bleep] who you are. When you talk about my wife, my kids -- I'll kill anybody for them. When you're not right, you're not right. That's why I made the decision. I made the decision. It was not Kenny, it was not Jerry, it was not [vice president of communications] Scott Reifert. It was myself [who] made that decision for them because ... I don't want to come here every day and feel uncomfortable about anything.

Let's be honest. Any father who loved his child would be frustrated and upset with this situation. What I can't believe is that Ozzie is making this ALL about him...

What's today, the 20th? It's time to talk about how good Peavy is, how good [Gordon Beckham] is and how good my ballclub is going to play. Everyone should be behind us and hopefully in November, we're celebrating with a [bleeping] trophy and have a nice book about how this season began."

How self-centered is that? He wants to turn the focus on to HIS baseball team that HE manages. Ozzie thinks EVERYONE should pay attention to how good HIS team's pitchers and HIS team's hitters are. He even wants the entire city of Chicago to get behind them and watch HIM and HIS team celebrate at the end of the year. How selfish, it's all about him. Clearly.

But how can anyone expect a happy ending here when Guillen, last Friday night, tweeted this in Spanish about his bosses: "They touched me where it hurts most and I have to be ready for whatever comes as I always do."

Ozzie Guillen is a human. He is probably pretty upset his son wrote that on Twitter and is upset that he had to be let go by the team. It hurt him the White Sox wanted his son gone. This would be the case for nearly every parent in this situation. No one said it is rational to be rational in a situation like this.

What should come next is his pink slip. Who in his right mind addresses his bosses with thoughts of "killing'' them, whether he actually means it literally or not?

Umm...if I said I would kill for my family to someone, that doesn't mean I am actually threatening them. I know Jay Mariotti knows this, but he is pretending not to in the hopes Ozzie Guillen gets fired by the White Sox because of this column.

And just how many of these episodes should this franchise deal with -- honestly, I've lost count --

You can always count on Jay Mariotti for honesty.

before Reinsdorf and Williams decide to cut their losses, regain their dignity, realize Guillen has made the postseason only twice in his six seasons and replace him with a more grounded and mature manager who will purge the circus and run a professional operation?

He's only made the postseason twice in the last six years, winning a World Series once? Under this standard many managers over the history of baseball should have been fired somewhere along the way of their career.

After Ozzie tried to smooth over the situation by agreeing that his son would resign, you'd think he would have had a long talk with Oney about public decorum and respecting the people who sign his paycheck. Apparently, such a talk didn't happen or failed to sink in. For the next day, Oney told the Chicago Sun-Times, "They talk about family atmosphere and being up front, where was it? No one ever came and talked to me about it face-to-face. No one approached me like a man, after they supposedly preach that here.''

Jay Mariotti is pretending to know the entire situation, which he doesn't. Maybe Ozzie did try to talk to his son, but wasn't able to talk to him in time for the interview with the Chicago Sun-Times was published. Since it came out in the paper the day after the incident, the interview was obviously done the day of the incident when emotions were still high.

As someone who makes a living having to deliver harsh commentary at times,

Jay Mariotti considers himself to the be the faithful messenger to the masses. It is such a noble and holy cause for a person who pretty much has no integrity (from what I have seen) and is hated by most of his fellow employees and colleagues.

I am not scared to articulate thoughts about subjects that have included Reinsdorf, Williams and Guillen.

He is scared of Ozzie Guillen. When Guillen called him "gay" and Mariotti struck back, Guillen challenged Mariotti to come talk to him face-to-face...and that didn't happen. Mariotti delivered his harsh commentary and then hid from the world like he enjoys doing.

The difference is that I use my brain; Guillen and his son do not.

That's a lie. Jay Mariotti doesn't use his brain. His evil soul writes his columns for him. He thinks wicked thoughts and his wretched soul writes the columns we all read and dislike.

The minute Ozzie wrote that Sox management "touched me where it hurts most'' -- all because they won't let him have a personal Web page after agreeing to let him tweet and do all his other nonsense -- it should have been the final straw inside any clear-thinking, self-respecting organization.

Right. Shake up the entire White Sox team in Spring Training because of hurt feelings and a Web page...this makes perfect sense. Nothing says smart management like firing a successful manager over something his son did which wasn't illegal, unethical nor did it affect the team in any way.

But Reinsdorf, as vindictive a man as you'll see in sports,

Next to Jay Mariotti.

Never mind that Guillen, in the process, also has turned the Sox into a shameful and ridiculous franchise.

The White Sox are not a shameful or ridiculous franchise. The Royals and the Pirates, those are ridiculous and shameful franchises. The White Sox are a competitive baseball team that is run by a manager who, big mouth or not, has had some success managing.

Remember how Reinsdorf, as chairman of the Chicago Bulls in their six-title glory days, allowed a dynasty to disintegrate before its time amid wicked dissension?

Guess who sided with Krause? Yep, Reinsdrf, who let Jackson ride off on his Harley to four more championships in Los Angeles and Jordan fade away for a few years before signing with -- gulp -- the Washington Wizards for an ill-fated period as a player and executive. "Organizations win championships,'' Krause declared one night before the season started, which turned everyone off but Dennis Rodman, who was perpetually stoned anyway.

So because Jerry Reinsdorf helped contribute to the demise of a franchise over a decade ago, he should do the exact same thing now and fire Ozzie Guillen? Mariotti believes this even after knowing organizations don't win championships without hiring the right people also?

Maybe Mariotti doesn't know organizations also need to hire the right people.

And it is doomed to fail. As it was, Guillen and Williams had offseason disagreements about the direction of the club -- Ozzie wants more speed and fewer home runs in one of baseball's most power-friendly ballparks.

I am sure Ozzie Guillen is specifically asking Ken Williams for players who hit less home runs. I am 100% sure that is his exact request.

God forbid a manager and a general manager disagree over the direction of a baseball team. I bet that has never happened before.

"Kenny's my boss, he's always going to be and I respect that. I don't think [Yankees GM Brian] Cashman and [former Yankees manager] Joe Torre got along that well and they won six [bleeping] championships.''

How insulting to suggest that Cashman and Torre, two fine gentlemen, ever behaved like these children.

It is insulting, even though Joe Torre wrote a book detailing how he feels like Brian Cashman did not act like a gentleman when Torre's contract was to be discussed in the offseason of 2007. Let's ignore that and pretend the Yankees manager and general manager never had a disagreement on the direction of the baseball team.

If Jay Mariotti could read, he would know Torre hated many of the signings the Yankees made in the early 2000's. He also expressed his displeasure with these signings to Brian Cashman. I assume disagreements followed.

And how interesting that Guillen conveniently left out this little fact: Torre was forced out two years ago.

How interesting Mariotti calls them gentleman and then immediately refers to their major disagreement and eventual end of a working relationship with each other.

The Yankees, under Joe Girardi, won the World Series last year. The White Sox, under Guillen, won't win the World Series again.

Clearly, Jay Mariotti doesn't know this. He is just hoping this is true.

The Blizzard of Oz was a good story when the Sox were champions in 2005. But it's now 2010, and the statute of limitations on lunacy expired long ago.

For the sake of everyone involved, mostly Ozzie Guillen, please end this hideous sideshow at once.

Fire Ozzie Guillen! Why? Because he called Jay Mariotti "gay" one time...and that's pretty much the only reason we need. Seriously, if anyone likes Jay Mariotti's columns, I would love to hear from you. I won't attack you or anything, I just want to know why you like them...for my own interest. I have a bet going with myself that no one likes Jay Mariotti and this blog has at least 7 readers, so I thought maybe someone would like Mariotti.

I actually want Ozzie Guillen to get fired (or Mariotti get fired) so Jay Mariotti will quit writing columns about him. Or I could go for the steel cage death match between the two. Either way works for me.

I am doing my best to ignore Bill Simmons' column from last Friday. My will is weak though.

6 comments:

Dylan said...

Ozzie is one of the few managers left in Major League Baseball with a little fire and personality. Baseball has become too passive a game (not that it was overly aggressive before anyway). Obviously Jay isn't going anywhere, but he can at least be removed from Around the Horn, which by the way has been ruined since Tony Reali took over for Max Kellerman. A damn shame.

FormerPhD said...

Twitter, which allows him to express his absurd ramblings 24/7, heaven help us.

Jay knows he doesn't have to read Guillen's Twitter page right? Like in order to read the "absurd rumblings" he has to actually exert effort. So Jay, maybe you don't give a shit about what Guillen has to say (and I don't either), but someone else might.

Sox fans who like getting attention of any sort in Cubs-dominated Chicago,

Because Cubs fans (collectively) aren't huge douchebags containing an insane number of fairweather fans who know nothing about baseball.

he should have been thankful to have a job in Major League Baseball.

Beyond what you said BGF, if this line of thinking is true, shouldn't all employees be happy to have a job in MLB? In that case, there are far worse things that you can do, like drive when you're pass out drunk or punch your wife or go out drinking with the opposing team the night before the game and then getting in a fight with the wife.


The difference is that I use my brain; Guillen and his son do not.


Isn't this the same guy who pissed all over everyone when he left his last job? Really using your brain their Jay.

The hypocrisy of the situation is astounding. Guillen's son taking swipes at the Sox and getting fired: Guillen deserves to be fired and is an asshole of epic proportions. Jay pissing all over everyone after signing a huge deal: perfectly normal behavior.

"touched me where it hurts most'' -- all because they won't let him have a personal Web page after agreeing to let him tweet and do all his other nonsense

I think "where it hurts the most" meant his family... you know, the whole "I'd kill for my family" thing. Don't think Ozzie would give two shits if they didn't let him tweet.

Also, the last championship team for the Bulls had a pretty high payroll if I remember right. Jordan RETIRED, Pippen wanted to get paid (more than he was probably worth at the time) and without those two players there's not a coach on the planet who could win a championship.

Sure Reinsdorf had a part in the disintegration of the team, but the man ponied up a ton of money to win that sixth championship, so give the man some credit. He has 7 titles in two sports, so obviously he might know a thing or two about winning.

The Yankees, under Joe Girardi, won the World Series last year. The White Sox, under Guillen, won't win the World Series again.

The Yankees, after paying out 300M for 3 players won the World Series last year. The White Sox, without raising payroll or rebuilding, won't win the WS again.

HH said...

I'll agree with Mariotti on one thing: the 2005 White Sox were extremely lucky to win the world series, 99 wins be damned. Their wins had almost nothing to do with Guillen's managerial skill [of which he has little] and all to do with the fact that their entire pitching staff having career years at the same time. [Don't tell me they were coached into it - if so, why haven't they been able to repeat it?]
The boys of FJM did a great job dissecting the fact that the White Sox rotation posted ERAs well below their career averages, that guys like Neal Cotts, Dustin Hermanson, and Cliff Pollitte had ERAs around 2 after being journeymen all their lives, and Dye/Thome/Konerko took Ozzie's smallball approach and smashed it out of the park a combined 114 times. That's what got the White Sox to the world series title, and for all his many, many faults, Mariotti is right on this one. Guillen gets way too much credit for the title and not enough blame for taking the [by far] biggest market team in the AL Central and making them also-rans.

Martin F. said...

I'll let Ozzie off a bit, in that his hitters haven't been nearly as productive since 2005 as they were then either. Slow home run hitters need to hit home runs, or they are just slow. I think this is what happened to the White Sox, along with the injury to Quentin, to keep them from being the top team in the AL Central the last two years.

On the other hand, from the few White Sox games I've seen, I'm not to sure about how he handles the bullpen, and to me that is the number one influence a manager has on a game.

Bengoodfella said...

I guess we have some anti-Ozzie sentiment and that is fine. I personally like his fire and his attitude, it makes him fun.

Rich, I think everyone knows they don't have to read Twitter. It's not a requirement and I am not sure why Jay acts like it is.

At this point, everyone should be happy to have a job.

I personally agree with you about Mariotti pissing all over everyone when he left the Sun-Times as compared to Ozzie. Jay feels like he is in the right though. He even ripped Roger Ebert a bit, which pisses me off.

I didn't mean to take away from Reinsdorf or anything, I just can't but wonder how he would have built the Bulls if Jordan and Phil Jackson weren't around.

I think the White Sox could win a WS someday soon. Maybe not this year...I could be wrong though.

HH, I see you aren't an Ozzie fan. I somehow missed that FJM post. I will search for it. I don't know if I can say a 99 win team got lucky, but if what you said is true they had a lot of guys have career years. I do know they had GREAT starting pitching in the World Series that probably can't be duplicated. Maybe Bagwell and Biggio quit taking steroids for the WS.

Martin F, you have a more mixed opinion. His hitters haven't quite done so much lately and the injury to Quentin did hurt them. I may be too focused on Bobby Cox's bullpen antics. He has set such a low bar in my mind, no manager can be as bad as he is at managing the pen.

Anonymous said...

WTF? This entire article is so weird. The Sox are seriously the favorites in the AL Central right now?

Sure, the 2005 White Sox were really lucky and I don't necessarily think Guillen had anything to do with that. Their pitching all had craaazy years. But generally all WS-winning teams are lucky in that they stay healthy throughout the season, the players on their teams collectively have solid to awesome years, and bounces both fair and not go their way in the playoffs... (Tarasco wouldn't have caught it. ;) Remember the dropped strike three in the Angels/White Sox ALCS in 2005?)

And yeah, it's HYSTERICAL for him to say "Cashman and Torre totally got along!" Not even if he, you know, READ The Yankee Years, but if he even freakin' heard of the book. And how do we know the White Sox won't ever win again? I don't know if they're the favorites in the Central like Mariotti claims, but they have as much of a chance as anyone in that division, along with an excellent pitching staff which usually bodes well for the postseason.