Lip Man 1
11-15-2003, 09:02 PM
Folks:
This week in the printed version of The Sporting News, Ken Rosenthal has a column on the Sox hiring Ozzie Guillen.
It’s possible you may be able to read the column on TSN’s web site, it might be worth checking.
In case it isn’t here is a summery.
Headline: Playing With Fire In Chicago.
“Cito Gaston would have been a safe choice, but the White Sox couldn’t play it safe. They remain second class citizens in the Second City, and the gap threatens to grow wider. That, above all, is why their hiring of Ozzie Guillen as manager makes sense. His passion will transform a fractious team and restless fan base, presuming he is competent enough-and levelheaded enough-to handle the job.”
Ken goes on to discuss the fact that the Sox don’t have a Mark Prior, Sammy Sosa or Dusty Baker and they don’t have a Wrigley Field, but Ozzie immediately makes them more interesting.
He says Gaston would have been too similar to Manager Gandhi evoking yawns from both players and fans.
He says Ozzie will need help from his coaching staff until he gets the needed experience.
He mentions a very interesting stat. Of the 20 active managers hired since the end of the 2001 season, 12 hadn’t managed in the majors.
He says today teams would rather hire younger communicators because it’s cheaper, but says the success of guys like Tony Pena, Mike Scioscia, Ron Gardenhire and Grady Little can not be overlooked.
He says Ozzie has shown manager potential since he was in the Padres organization but “he needs to tone down his act.”
“Guillen is such an effervescent, forceful personality maybe nothing can stop him. He will inject a positive current into a team that in recent years has been drained by the negative energy of Frank Thomas, Albert Belle and David Wells. The Sox lacking better options, are taking a calculated risk. Their ballpark is boring. Their team is uninspiring. Someone has to provide a spark.”
(And before you ask... yes Ken has been to Comiskey Park in recent years including this past July for the All Star Game...I already asked him that question...)
Lip
This week in the printed version of The Sporting News, Ken Rosenthal has a column on the Sox hiring Ozzie Guillen.
It’s possible you may be able to read the column on TSN’s web site, it might be worth checking.
In case it isn’t here is a summery.
Headline: Playing With Fire In Chicago.
“Cito Gaston would have been a safe choice, but the White Sox couldn’t play it safe. They remain second class citizens in the Second City, and the gap threatens to grow wider. That, above all, is why their hiring of Ozzie Guillen as manager makes sense. His passion will transform a fractious team and restless fan base, presuming he is competent enough-and levelheaded enough-to handle the job.”
Ken goes on to discuss the fact that the Sox don’t have a Mark Prior, Sammy Sosa or Dusty Baker and they don’t have a Wrigley Field, but Ozzie immediately makes them more interesting.
He says Gaston would have been too similar to Manager Gandhi evoking yawns from both players and fans.
He says Ozzie will need help from his coaching staff until he gets the needed experience.
He mentions a very interesting stat. Of the 20 active managers hired since the end of the 2001 season, 12 hadn’t managed in the majors.
He says today teams would rather hire younger communicators because it’s cheaper, but says the success of guys like Tony Pena, Mike Scioscia, Ron Gardenhire and Grady Little can not be overlooked.
He says Ozzie has shown manager potential since he was in the Padres organization but “he needs to tone down his act.”
“Guillen is such an effervescent, forceful personality maybe nothing can stop him. He will inject a positive current into a team that in recent years has been drained by the negative energy of Frank Thomas, Albert Belle and David Wells. The Sox lacking better options, are taking a calculated risk. Their ballpark is boring. Their team is uninspiring. Someone has to provide a spark.”
(And before you ask... yes Ken has been to Comiskey Park in recent years including this past July for the All Star Game...I already asked him that question...)
Lip