It only took 6 months ...
... finally, the Adam Dunn ordeal is over. Or is it?
From the start, Adam Dunn was nothing but dung. And yet he held a lineup spot, most often in the heart of the order, through it all.
Ozzie Guillen made his bones on being a tough, no-nonsense manager who played producers and sat underachievers. But with Dunn, it was kid gloves all the way.
A .163 hitter getting pencilled into the lineup in late-August is beyond incredulous, it's pure farce. Which is what Ozzie has sought to make it from the beginning.
Guillen has always been "praised" as a National League Manager operating in the American League, as if somehow using a square peg to fill a round hole is an asset. Ozzie's obsession with National League-like "smallball" prompted first the ouster of Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, then the release of Thomas's replacement, Jim Thome.
In 2010, Kenny Williams decided to let Ozzie fall flat on his face. He jettisonned Thome and replaced him with Ozzie's dream-DH: Mark Kotsay. Kotsay was an utter disaster as a run producer, and Kenny had proved his point. Because in 2010, proving Ozzie wrong was more important to Kenny Williams than winning ballgames.
For 2011, Kenny pulled out all the stops to bring in Adam Dunn. And what did Ozzie do? Did he shun him the way he had Thomas? Did he damn him with faint praise the way he had Thome? Nope. He played Dunn, and fellow Williams whiff Alex Rios, far longer than either of them deserved. Dunn has the lowest average of any hitter with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, by a long shot, and is having a season of mythic proportions. Rios is still in the lineup, hitting cleanup last night.
Because in 2011, proving Kenny wrong has been more important to Ozzie Guillen than winning ballgames.
This morning, Ozzie hit the newspapers to complain again that, despite having a contract extention for 2012 picked up at the beginning of this season, he feels unwanted yet again by the White Sox. Is it any wonder? He sacraficed the season to his petty fued with Williams who, whether Ozzie likes it or not, is his boss.
Both of these guys have proven their egos are such that they are unable to work together and would prefer jeopardize not only pennant chances, but a multimillion dollar business.
The fact that White Sox fans had to suffer through 400 at-bats of .163 hitting stands as testament to the farce this organization has become with Guillen and Williams at the top.
