Adios, Guillen

The Ozzie Guillen era is over in Chicago.

And not a moment too soon. Maybe a moment too late, if anything.

Former White Sox Manager and self-proclaimed "Face of the Franchise" Ozzie Guillen was granted his request to be released from his contract by Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. It gets a little complicated as the actual transaction was a trade.

The White Sox received right-handed pitcher Jhan Marinez and infielder Osvaldo Martinez for Ozzie and right-hander Ricardo Andres.

I will miss Ozzie both as a fan and a broadcaster because he has no filter. It was refreshing in a city where other coaches and managers beat around the proverbial bush and answer every question with every sports cliche in the book. Terms like "we'll get it cleaned up" and "we'll continue to battle" are uttered on a regular basis, right Lovie?

Ozzie was always more than willing to tell it like it is during his time with the White Sox.

I will NOT miss Ozzie because he has no filter. (No, that's not a typographical error).

While Ozzie did tell it like it was and named names when things didn't go as he planned, he also often went into inappropriate topics at inappropriate times. Like say, his whining, I mean, pining for a contract extension late in the 2011 season. Especially when he was already under contract for the 2012 season. Even more so, because the White Sox have only made one postseason appearance since their World Series title in 2005. And when they did make it to the postseason, they won the AL Central Title in regular season game 163 and then got bounced out in the Divisional Series (that's the first round of the playoffs for those of you keeping score at home).

Ozzie wasn't particularly successful in the second half of his seasons as the White Sox' skipper. He only had two seasons where his squads were over .500 in the second half. From 2004 to 2011 they went 37-41, 42-34, 33-41, 33-43, 35-33, 34-40, 39-36, 35-35 respectively. That's not exactly a recipe for success when you're trying to win a pennant.

Baseball, like any business, is a bottom-line business. Why would Jerry Reinsdorf give you an undeserving contract extension?

In early September, Ozzie accused his players of quitting.

I wonder if he remembered that as he shut his eyes tight, puffed his chubby cheeks, and stomped his way down to Miami after he quit on his bowl-cloob and organization.


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