Mariotti: White Sox are losing because of Fag-gate

[Chi City 81]

Guillen, Williams partners in crime

September 19, 2006

BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

You might say karma, the bad kind, is biting Team Reinsdorf in the butt cheeks. When former White Sox pariah Magglio Ordonez delivers a staggering right-left combination with two home runs, just hours after former White Sox pariah Frank Thomas supplied a hard and pleasing jab to the groin area, well, it might be time to replace those World Series banners with white flags.

I didn't hear ''Let's Go, Go, Go White Sox'' Monday night at The Cell. But I believe I heard strains of ''Taps'' from bugle boy Hawk Harrelson after a feeble 8-2 loss to the Heimlich-free Detroit Tigers, who seem to be going places the about-to-be former champions are not. This won't be found in any Elias Sports Bureau statistical package, but on June 20, the night Ozzie Guillen called me ''a [bleeping] fag,'' the Sox were 45-25. Since then, they are a sloppy 39-41 and looking like they intend to uphold a lame franchise tradition: No back-to-back postseason appearances.

Ever.

So, friends, I am left to surmise the Blizzard of Oz, as a leader of men and overseer of the all-important daily mood, has failed miserably to maintain the proper equilibrium these last three months. Sure, the rotation struggled, the bullpen mushed out and the bats periodically went mute. And on an evening when the Sox looked dead and gone, a deteriorating Mark Buehrle threw like a guy who has pitched too many innings in his Sox career -- 1,423-1/3 to be exact -- and was booed by a sellout crowd that sensed its rare baseball reign is a one-and-done proposition.

Ozzie was just too much

But I'd also argue the Blizzard has burned everybody out, sucking energy from the Sox with his various controversies, slurs and distractions. He truly entered the Twilight Zone, whether it was picking unwinnable media fights, mocking his so-called sensitivity-training sessions or making additional national news by screaming at Sean Tracey for not plunking a batter, ripping Alex Rodriguez for ''kissing Latino people's asses,'' wanting to ''shoot'' steroids informant Jason Grimsley, being told to seek professional help by Phil Garner, being called a liar by Dave Duncan and taking on Andy Van Slyke, Mariano Duncan, Kelvim Escobar and, last weekend, Oakland Athletics management for banning alcohol in both clubhouses.

''He doesn't run my club. I run my club,'' Guillen said in another act of profanity and anger, this one aimed at A's general manager Billy Beane, who's paying Thomas about $11 million less this season than the Sox are paying Jim Thome.

Oh, and there was the day the Blizzard said, ''[Bleep] Major League Baseball.''

I am exhausted just summarizing his year of madness. If this is ''A Mi Manera,'' which translates as ''my way'' and serves as the title of his image-buffing series on Comcast Sports Net, it is an embarrassing way indeed.

When Harrelson cites the lack of a killer instinct--my gosh, the team mascot finally has a legitimate observation---he doesn't mention Guillen by name. But if the attitude and soul of a ballclub is a manager's responsibility, then such criticism can be viewed as an indirect knock on the Blizzard. For a couple of feisty, opinionated whirlwinds who enjoy taking on the world, even after winning a World Series, Guillen and Ken Williams aren't looking so good today. It was a humiliating three games for both in the Bay Area after Thomas, the object of Williams' threatening wrath last February, stuck his bat where first place doesn't shine with a monstrous role in what could be recalled as a killer sweep. How sweet will it be for Thomas if he continues playing in October and they don't? Same applies to Ordonez, who isn't bad for ''a Venezuelan [bleep],'' huh, Ozzie?

''Just because Frank beat us a couple of days doesn't mean he's having a better year than Thome,'' Guillen said.

Wrong, if Thomas goes to the playoffs.

''We should know how to pitch to him,'' Williams told reporters. ''But it's over and done with. You have to tip your hat to Frank for rising up.''

Thank you.

 

[Chi City 81]

Continued ...

World Series title or bust

The Sox still have a faint chance of reaching the postseason, I suppose. But if they fall short, you can drop considerable blame into the laps of the manager and GM.

To their credit, the manager and GM have acknowledged as much in recent days. Guillen has done so without really explaining why -- no way he's blaming his big mouth, by the way--while Williams actually is attempting to support his manager by claiming he deserves more blame. ''You win a championship or you don't, and if you don't, the grade is an 'F,' regardless of the different reasons for it,'' Williams said. ''It's funny because every day that we lose, I feel like I haven't brought in the right ingredients for us to win. I feel like it all rests on my shoulders.''

Consider them equal partners in white-uniformed crime. When it was plainly obvious at the trade deadline that the Sox needed help -- a leadoff hitter, a big-league center fielder, another rotation arm -- Williams inexplicably abandoned his usual pro-active, guts-out dealing philosophy. He preferred to heed the advice of his veteran players, who said no major reinforcements were necessary and only picked up reliever Mike MacDougal and catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. If it indeed is true that Williams abandoned early talks for Alfonso Soriano because he wouldn't relinquish kid pitcher Brandon McCarthy to Washington, that's right down there with some of his dumbest, pre-title decisions. Plus, it was Williams' bright idea to use Brian Anderson in center, believing he could get by with skimpy production. With Scott Podsednik slumping and turning into a leadoff liability, Soriano could have been the impetus for another title run.

After the Sox were retired quietly in the seventh Monday, thousands of fans streamed up the aisles, fleeing the impending doom. Guillen looked up from the dugout briefly and watched. Apparently, he and Williams will have a long winter to think about their roles in the mass exodus. For they are to blame.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

Why does Jay Mariotti hate America?

 

[heyabbott]

Why does Jay Mariotti hate America?

Does Ozzie secretly love fags?

 

[slappy4428]

Last year, when the Sox were busy pulling a solid lead with within a couple of games, they were chokers. This year, when the Tigers let the lead go within a game, they are Heimlich-free?
What an asshole. But you knew that.

 

[Oz]

Would Mariotti visit the White Sox locker room the day they're eliminated from playoff contention? I wonder about that.

Bottom line, Mariotti thinks way too much of himself with respect to the White Sox.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Detroit and Minny had better pitching, this year.

Way to put yourself in the story, Eddie, you little dip****.

 

[Pringle]

Yeah, that's the initial hook, but he also (fairly) goes after Williams for not consummating the Soriano deal. He says the team doesn't have a killer instict and that falls on the manager.

I think overall it's a good column.

For all his faults, Mariotti is a terrific, terrific writer. I just wish he'd take on something deeper some time than fire this guy, trade this guy, etc., etc.

 

[Bubbler]

I'll concede that he actually makes some decent points in that column -- Guillen hasn't exactly been the bellweather of stability for that team -- but his way of going about it makes me puke in my mouth.

 

[Starman]

Yeah, that's the initial hook, but he also (fairly) goes after Williams for not consummating the Soriano deal. He says the team doesn't have a killer instict and that falls on the manager.

I think overall it's a good column.

For all his faults, Mariotti is a terrific, terrific writer. I just wish he'd take on something deeper some time than fire this guy, trade this guy, etc., etc.

There are 500 people on this board, probably including you and certainly including me, who are better writers than Jay Mariotti.

There are probably two or three people at your local McDonald's who are, too.

 

[Ace]

Yeah, that's the initial hook, but he also (fairly) goes after Williams for not consummating the Soriano deal. He says the team doesn't have a killer instict and that falls on the manager.

I think overall it's a good column.

For all his faults, Mariotti is a terrific, terrific writer. I just wish he'd take on something deeper some time than fire this guy, trade this guy, etc., etc.

There are 500 people on this board, probably including you and certainly including me, who are better writers than Jay Mariotti.

There are probably two or three people at your local McDonald's who are, too.

You may be right, Starman. I don't know for sure. I couldn't get past three paragraphs.

 

[Pringle]

I guess we'll agree to disagree. I think you're letting his subject matter interfere with your opinion of his ability to string together words and sentences, which I think he's excellent at.

 

[Ashy Larry]

Yeah, that's the initial hook, but he also (fairly) goes after Williams for not consummating the Soriano deal. He says the team doesn't have a killer instict and that falls on the manager.

I think overall it's a good column.

For all his faults, Mariotti is a terrific, terrific writer. I just wish he'd take on something deeper some time than fire this guy, trade this guy, etc., etc.

There are 500 people on this board, probably including you and certainly including me, who are better writers than Jay Mariotti.

There are probably two or three people at your local McDonald's who are, too.

Jay is certainly a better writer than me.........

He's so smarmy, he actually thinks he contributed to the White Sox not making the playoffs.

 

[Van Lingle Mungo]

After Ozzie called Mariotti a "fag," the Sox were 45-25 (.643). 15 games later, the Sox had a .659 winning percentage, going 11-4 in between.

If anything, Ozzie should've kept the slurs coming.

 

[jason_whitlock]

i'm sorry. writing a column claiming that the sox went into the toilet because ozzie called you a name is indefensible. mariotti desperately wants to be the story. he can't go crying the next time people tee off on him.

 

[fmrsped]

mariotti desperately wants to be the story.

"Hi Kettle. I'm Pot. You're Black."

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

That's why the Tigers are losing, too!

 

[TwoGloves]

When is this guy going to find something new to write about? I loved the part where he talked about Guillen picking an unwinnable fight with the media. Yeah, he can't win, BECAUSE YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO ****ING LET IT GO. "Hey, if I get the last word (or 600), I win!" What a douche bag.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I like Jay personally, honest. This column, however, is borderline insane. It's like what some uberfan would say if Ozzie had once told him to **** off in a saloon.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

Michael, I agree with that...except for the word "borderline". Mariotti would need two tanks of gas to get back to that border.