Ozzie Guillen's firing was inevitable

The only question is why it took so long. You would think that a 90+ loss season after going all in with free agents in the first year of a new stadium would have resulted in a dismissal of Ozzie Guillen right as the season ended. But here it is, more than three weeks later, and the Marlins finally made the move. What took them so long? And where does the team go from here?

For Guillen's part, he handled the dismissal with tact. His tweet was gracious:

"to the fans that support me and for those who are happy as well my love and respect to you as well"

But then again, Guillen is going to get paid for two more seasons despite his new-found unemployment, so he can afford to be gracious. Guillen has a no-prisoners style of managing and speaking in his public position. He lived and died with that style and this time, he did not survive. Nor probably should he have. This space was on record when he was hired for the position that it was a big mistake and that proved to be the case. (don't you hate I-told-you-so's?).

So where do the Marlins go from here? First of all, most opinions on the ownership of the Marlins are bad. Real bad. And they seem markedly deserved. Bobby Valentine flew down there and left in a hurry after assessing that situation. It's a no win situation for a manager. Just ask any of the last five they have had in the last four seasons. So who in their right mind would take such a job?

It won't be an established name, that is for sure. Nobody is going to bake their reputation going to that pit of an ownership situation. So that leaves it for first time managers who deserve a shot at the big league seat.

A couple that come to mind quickly because of their Hispanic background and respect in the game would be Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Tony Pena. Pena would not be a first timer of course. He managed the Royals in the mid-2000's and but for the 2003 season, did not have fun there. But he has not gotten a shot since, so he is in the same category as someone who would take a chance with a faulty ownership situation to get another chance to manage.

Whatever the case and whomever gets the job, the Marlins remain a mess and Ozzie Guillen was not the total scapegoat for what happened there this season. Even so, he was not a good fit and the mistake will cost the team millions. Baseball needs the Marlins to succeed and perhaps the right new manager can catch lightning in a bottle and make it work.

But that is at best wishful thinking. But thanks for the fun, Ozzie. You were certainly different.

The Evaporating Season of Anibal Sanchez

According to Fangraphs, Anibal Sanchez was the 26th most valuable starting pitcher in baseball last season. He finished with eight wins. Somewhere, someone is shouting, "He just doesn't know how to win!" But seriously, to put Sanchez's season in context (if you believe WAR), Sanchez was just a tick less valuable than Zack Greinke in 2011. Greinke won sixteen games. He was as valuable as Edwin Jackson who at least won twelve games. Sanchez was a tick more valuable than Tim Hudson (sixteen wins), Jon Lester (fifteen) and Jaime Garcia (thirteen). The eight win total was shocking considering that Sanchez was 6-1 on June 10, 2011. He only "won" two more games the rest of the season. So what the heck happened?

According to his player page on baseball-reference.com, Sanchez had a decent first half/second half split. He was only slightly less effective in the second half, but you have to dig to find it. Here are some numbers from the splits (first half listed first, followed by the second half):

• ERA - 3.58/3.78
• WHIP - 1.230/1.344
• K/9 - 9.3/9.2
• BB/9 - 3.29/3.04
• BABIP - .311/..325

Again, looking at those numbers, there is not really a significant breakdown in those splits to go from a 6-2 record in the first half to a 2-7 record in the second half. You might even explain away the higher WHIP with the higher BABIP. If you look at the team stats, the Marlins were slightly better on offense in the second half and middle of the pack and league average in defensive efficiency. So again, why did Sanchez not win more than two games after June 10?

The evidence (and admittedly, it's speculative) seems to point to the fact that after his June 10 start, Anibal Sanchez got a new manager. Why would that make a difference? Different managers have different styles, especially in the National League. Some will leave their starters in longer before pinch hitting for them. Some give more latitude and both appear to be the case with Jack McKeon when it came to Anibal Sanchez.

In the first half of the season, Anibal Sanchez averaged 6.27 innings per start. In the second half, that average went down to 5.95 innings per start. But even that is somewhat misleading because June 10 was quite a bit before the start of the second half. On June 10, before Jack McKeon, Sanchez averaged 6.56 innings per start. Under McKeon the rest of the way, Sanchez averaged 5.84 innings per start.

For whatever reason, McKeon did not trust Sanchez as much as Edwin Rodriguez did and had a quicker hook. A quicker hook would give Sanchez a significantly more difficult time winning games than otherwise. It might also account for some of the higher second half stats as he didn't get enough innings to balance them out. Who knows, perhaps Sanchez was on an innings count for the season. But this writer didn't hear of such a thing. But there does appear to be at least a hint of a suggestion as to why the 2011 season evaporated for Anibal Sanchez.

He will again have a new manager in 2012 in Ozzie Guillen. It will be interesting to see what happens and how long Guillen's patience with his starters will last. Guillen has been an American League manager for a long time so his performance with the pitching and pinch hitting will be fun to watch. It seems to this observer that Guillen would be wise to give Anibal Sanchez a bit more latitude because this guy can pitch.

Addendum *** Since this post was published, a rabid Marlins' fan on Twitter (@LoMoDimples) noted that this writer didn't mention the offense as part of the problem. It's a valid point. In Sanchez's first thirteen starts, the Marlins scored 3.84 runs a game. In his last nineteen starts, the Marlins averaged 3.0 runs per game. So it's a point well taken.

MLB Needs to Grow Up About Social Media

Major League Baseball is a bit like some grandparent with a computer down in a Florida condo. While they think they are approaching hip status for finally joining the computer age, they are hopelessly out of touch with the new world we all live in. Nothing brings this home more intensely than the two game suspension MLB just announced for Ozzie Guillen for "tweeting during a game" after he was ejected from a recent baseball game. The ejection came in the first inning.

To show how confusing this all is for MLB, their Twitter feed announces almost on a daily bases the latest ball player who has joined Twitter. But heaven help those poor suckers should they use their Twitter service in a way that MLB feels is unbecoming.

Let's face it, this Fan thinks that getting fined or suspended for criticizing umpires is un-American. Free speech is one of our greatest tenants. And yet organizations routinely fire people or suspend them for speaking their minds when they disagree with decisions being made around them. The Fan has no problem with an umpire throwing a player or manager out of the game. But to expect blind and quiet obedience on what is a human element of the sport is wrong.

So imagine, then, if the Fan already feels that fining players and managers is un-American, how much more so is it to do so when those free speeches are made in a private medium. Perhaps you can argue Twitter as a public mode of conversation. But the follows and followers of a person on Twitter are personal choices. But perhaps that is a lame argument. In fact, it feels so already. The basic point here that isn't lame is that Twitter and other forms of social media are here to say. They are the new world. They are where we are on this planet. Does the league have rules against using the telephone during a game? Don't know. Can't imagine it, but don't know.

What MLB needs to understand is that Twitter is a major development on the free speech frontier. It gives everyone a voice to say whatever they want. It has also become how many of us get our breaking MLB news because that news comes nearly instantaneous. And barring a major meltdown of our communication and Internet system, this is how it is now done. The only difference is the timing of the communication. In the "old" days (say three years ago), Ozzie's comments would have had to wait until after the game and perhaps they then made their way to SportsCenter. But this is a new world.

Pat Neshek announced to the world that the he was heading to San Diego before his teammates even knew and before the Twins had a chance to announce the story. How did that happen? Twitter. This is the world, MLB. Get used to it. What does it ultimately matter when Ozzie says what he says?

To sum up the Fan's feelings on all this: A player or manager should never be fined for stating how they feel about what happened in a game UNLESS those statements include racially or sexually insensitive sentiments or character or a direct question of an umpire's character. And secondly, Major League Baseball can't be promoting the use of social media and using it in their own propaganda and public relations work only to then turn around and bust people for what they say on that media and when. Get with it, Gramps.

Why We Put Up With Ozzie Guillen

You would have to be in Chicago and be a long-time member of the fans of the Chicago White Sox to understand the strange cult of personality that is Ozzie Guillen. Certainly this writer has no qualifications to make judgments. There have been no scientific polls conducted on behalf of this post to support or deny its conclusions. So why write it then? Well, two reasons. First, Mr. Guillen has a large tendency to let his mouth get him into the news. And secondly, there is no other manager that has ever been like him and that makes his existence very interesting.

There has never been a long period of quiet when it comes to the managerial stint of Ozzie Guillen. Every year there is some sort of flap hovering around him. In some ways, his tenure as manager of the White Sox reminds an old timer of any of Billy Martin's tenures as manager. There is always a story. There is always some controversy. The latest, of course, is the soap opera that has developed around departed pitcher Bobby Jenks. Jenks has taken potshots at Guillen. Olney Guillen, Ozzie's son, tweeted nasty things about Jenks. Ozzie said his son shouldn't have done that. Kenny Williams wasn't pleased. Jenks later made further unflattering statements and now Ozzie has threatened to rip Jenks' throat out. Just another week at the office for Ozzie.

To an outside observer, Jenks is the punk here and initially acted like a child. But Ozzie is supposed to be the adult between the two and he just couldn't help himself but lower things down to Jenks' level. Acting like an adult just isn't in Ozzie's DNA. So again, why do we put up with this constant verbal philandering from the manager of a team in one of the biggest baseball markets in America?

Let's just recap some of Ozzie's transgressions:

• He publicly throws his players under the bus and tells the press when his players have stunk up the joint. This is a no-no for any manager. Criticism is always supposed to be handled with employees in house and in private.
• He verbally spars with his bosses in the press and otherwise. Such a combative relationship with those who employ you is usually career-suicide. But thus far, Ozzie is still there and by all accounts, will be there for some time to come.
• His ideas as a leader don't always work. His attempt to recreate the go-go Sox fell flat last year as the team struggled to score runs. Such creative decisions usually present a ticket to the unemployment line. No for Ozzie.

Now it may seem that this post is all about asking why Ozzie Guillen is still the manager of the Chicago White Sox. You couldn't be more wrong. This post is simply asking a question of why the White Sox and baseball put up with such shenanigans. To be honest, having Guillen around is a blast for the average fan who isn't particularly a fan of the White Sox. Who else in Guillen's position provides so much entertainment? Life in the MLB would be infinitely less interesting and more stodgy if Guillen wasn't providing his verbal gymnastics. Where would we be without his tweets and his bombast? We'd be a lot more bored.

This post isn't asking the question of what Guillen's...umm...approach to managing does to his team and if it has a negative or positive impact on his players. This writer isn't qualified to answer the question. There is no access to the players to know. That is a question that Kenny Williams needs to monitor on a weekly basis and report to his bosses. When Williams and his owner finally feel that Guillen is more of a negative than a positive, Guillen will be fired. But he hasn't been yet, so the bottom line has to be that Williams and his owner do not believe Guillen is a negative force for his team. That's the assumption we have to take.

This far, the reason we put up with Ozzie Guillen is that he is successful. He has now managed the White Sox for seven years. Those seven years include two first place finishes, a World Series title and 15 wins over the Pythagorean won-loss record the team should have had based on their run differential. His .529 winning percentage is higher than Jerry Manuel's was in the six years previous to Ozzie. And Manuel was as dull as they come with negative body language and a lack of inspiration. Ozzie, at least, will fight you tooth and nail to get to the finish line first. He may not always make it, but you know he's going to leave it all out there trying. Despite a fundamental flaw in the design of last year's team, he had them tied for first at one point after a terrible start. That's why we put up with Ozzie Guillen.

Some day, as inevitably as that the winter will some day end, Ozzie Guillen will reach a point where his antics do not remain lower on the judgment scale than the winning baseball he brings. Someday, Kenny Williams or the owner of the White Sox will say enough. But for now, the ultimate answer for why we put up with Ozzie is that because, for the most part, it works.

Padilla, Guillen and the DH

There certainly has been a lot of discussion about hit batsmen lately. Vincent Padilla, apparently a leper to his teammates, likes to hit guys after someone hits a homer off of him. It happened earlier in the year against the Yankees and happened again just last week. In the most recent incarnation, Michael Young got drilled in retaliation. Texas players were fed up with having targets on their backs and when Texas drop kicked one of its semi-reliable starters from its roster, there was nothing but praise for their GM by the Rangers' players.

In another news wire story today, White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen, no stranger to the verbal highlight reels, said he was tired of his guys getting hit and would start hitting players on the other team if it continued. He was quoted as saying that he doesn't care if he gets suspended if it happens.

There are two problems here that have caused the present situation. The American League has the DH. Those who visit the FanDome on a regular basis know the Fan is a conditional lover of the DH. But one of the fall outs of the AL rule is that if the other team feels that its players are targeted, the DH takes the pitcher out of the lineup, so the other team has no other option than to hit another player. Take Padilla for example (which in all likelihood, somebody will). Padilla has his manhood offended by a homer. He decides to get some of his manhood back by plunking a subsequent batter. Padilla doesn't bat. So the opposing team can't go after him. The only option they have is to hit someone like Michael Young.

If the Fan had been the Texas manager, here's how that could have been handled. Obviously, Ranger players have been warned by other teams. Michael Young said so himself after the Yankee incident. Several of his "friends" on the Yankees (read Teixeira, A-Rod and Jeter) told him that Padilla was going to get his fellow Ranger players killed. So, since this is a known problem, the next time it happened, the Fan as manager would insert Padilla in the batting order where the DH is supposed to be. Can you see how that would play out?

Fan as Manager: "Padilla, grab a bat, you're hitting for Blalock."
Padilla: "Que?"
Fan as Manager: "Oh for goodness sake, will somebody bilingual please tell the guy he is going to hit for Blalock."
Bilingual Teammate: [[spanish translation]]
Padilla: "Porque? He Loco?"

Padilla glances at his manager who does a head shake towards the bat rack. Padilla grabs a bat and furiously begs fellow teammates for whatever body armor they wear up to the plate. Finally the umpire walks over and says, "You have a guy to hit or what?"

Padilla walks nervously to the batter's box. He looks out at the pitcher who just smiles at him. Padilla takes the first pitch which is at his feet. Padilla displays a good dance move to get out of the way. He's even more nervous now. The next pitch is a rocket heading right for Padilla's back. No way Padilla has time to get out the way. The sound is something like a hammer hitting a watermelon. Padilla winces and immediately grabs his back. The pitcher on the mound snickers all the way to the dugout after being tossed from the game. Padilla's teammates snicker too as the trainer tries to keep from laughing as he tries to assess the damage. Padilla vows he is never going to "man up" again and hit an opposing batter.

That would fix it. But it will never happen because a manager would be foolish to lose a DH for a game. Now that the Rangers have punted the pitcher, if he signs with a National League club, he better wise up.

The second problem (you have probably lost the reference here as the Fan had a slight diversion of fancy) is that one of the new Nirvanas for pitching is to pitch inside. As Ozzie rightly points out, if you don't know how to do it, don't do it. In other words, pitching inside is a great idea IF you have the control to pull it off. But if you are slightly unaware of where your mechanics are going to take your pitches, pitching inside is probably not a good idea. People can get killed that way. And it might be your own players who get thrown at in retaliation.

Speaking of hit batsmen, did you watch the Sunday night ESPN game with the Red Sox and Yankees? After Damon and Teixeira wrecked Daniel Bard with back-to-back homers, Bard then walked A-Rod. After Okijama came in, Posada doubled to put men on second and third. That brought up Nick Swisher. On the first pitch to Swisher, the pitch came inside and appeared to graze Swisher's uniform. Swisher, an apparent student of the game and the metrics of OBP, looked at the ump and told him he had been hit. The ump didn't see it that way.

Old school Joe Morgan (and the Fan couldn't quite disagree with him) laughed and said something to the effect of, "Why would he want to go to first like that when he has two possible RBIs sitting out there." Such is the vast cavern of thought currently in baseball. Morgan played in the "RBI is king" days of statistical evaluation. Swisher plays in the "OBP is king" days.

It all worked out for Swisher as he hit a single. He got his two ribbies AND a notch on his OBP.