Thank You Ozzie for speaking the truth

[sox-r-us]

"They lost last year because their play was poor, not because of Jerry Manuel," Guillen said. "They had great talent. They didn't need a manager last year with the talent they had on the field. That's an excuse. They have to do better than that.

 

"I told them the first day in the meetings: 'The talent Kenny Williams put on the field for you guys? You should have won that thing. … You want to win? Play better and don't make the manager make any moves.' I respect Jerry Manuel as a man. That's excuses."

 

Guillen already has had his fill of excuses, so he has done something about them.

 

"If we lose, what excuse are they going to make now?" he said. "[Jon] Garland can't pitch because Jerry won't let him pitch past the fourth inning? Well, now we're going to see. Now I have Garland [going longer]. Now he has no more excuses.

 

"Oh, Jose [Valentin] was hitting second or seventh, playing center field or left field or shortstop. Well, now he's the shortstop and we'll see what he can do.

 

"Frank [Thomas] was hitting third, this guy wants to hit fourth. OK, here's where everybody's going to hit. Now, what are you guys going to do?"

[BrandoFan]

"They lost last year because their play was poor, not because of Jerry Manuel," Guillen said. "They had great talent. They didn't need a manager last year with the talent they had on the field. That's an excuse. They have to do better than that.

 

"I told them the first day in the meetings: 'The talent Kenny Williams put on the field for you guys? You should have won that thing. … You want to win? Play better and don't make the manager make any moves.' I respect Jerry Manuel as a man. That's excuses."

 

Guillen already has had his fill of excuses, so he has done something about them.

 

"If we lose, what excuse are they going to make now?" he said. "[Jon] Garland can't pitch because Jerry won't let him pitch past the fourth inning? Well, now we're going to see. Now I have Garland [going longer]. Now he has no more excuses.

 

"Oh, Jose [Valentin] was hitting second or seventh, playing center field or left field or shortstop. Well, now he's the shortstop and we'll see what he can do.

 

"Frank [Thomas] was hitting third, this guy wants to hit fourth. OK, here's where everybody's going to hit. Now, what are you guys going to do?"

I don't know how this fairytale ends, but whatever Ozee did is working -- I truly believe the way Sox played under Jerry Manuel in the 1st half last year, with this tough schedule, after losing the season opener in the fashion in which they did.... Sox woulda been looking at 2-5 or even 1-6.

 

Whereas now they are 4-3 -- could have been 5-2 just as easily.

 

Already a 2 game improvement on what last year's "superior talent-wise" team could have done.

[DBAHO]

The guys are actually havin fun playin baseball again, and it's showin in their numbers, Konerko is a perfect example.

[DonkeyKongerko]

Ozzie is making some serious SENSE here. As a pure manager, Manuel was fine but he sucked as a motivator. The players constantly seemed to let him (and us) down in the crucial game-changing situations. So far, Ozzie has these guys playing near midseason form and it makes him look like a brilliant manager. I think Ozzie is a fantastic motivator, hell he motivates me when I read his quotes in the newspaper.

[greg775]

Ozzie is amazing breath of fresh air.

No managers talk like this!

Way to go, Oz.

[SoxFanForever]

Ozzie is making some serious SENSE here.  As a pure manager, Manuel was fine but he sucked as a motivator.  The players constantly seemed to let him (and us) down in the crucial game-changing situations.  So far, Ozzie has these guys playing near midseason form and it makes him look like a brilliant manager.  I think Ozzie is a fantastic motivator, hell he motivates me when I read his quotes in the newspaper.

My sentiments exactly.

[BrandoFan]

Which brings up another point: if it indeed wasn't a matter of insufficient talent but rather of attitude that did them in 03, why couldn't they "have fone" last year? Was JM that big of a party-pooper? Was the promise of victory less sweet?

 

Jerry wasn't a good manager, granted, but what is this, little leagues? These are highly paids professionals -- these excuses for their own selfishness, lack of discipline and plain buckling under pennat pressure are rather pathetic.

 

Felipe Alou is as laid back as it gets -- how come Giants didn't choke or play uninspired ball?

[JoshPR]

Which brings up another point: if it indeed wasn't a matter of insufficient talent but rather of attitude that did them in 03, why couldn't they "have fone" last year?  Was JM that big of a party-pooper?  Was the promise of victory less sweet?

 

Jerry wasn't a good manager, granted, but what is this, little leagues? These are highly paids professionals -- these excuses for their own selfishness,  lack of discipline and plain buckling under pennat pressure are rather pathetic.   

 

Felipe Alou is as laid back as it gets -- how come Giants didn't choke or play uninspired ball?

Cause Alou Doesn't make Bone Head moves like MANUEL did. Ohh and a Guy named Barry Bonds.

[BrandoFan]

Cause Alou Doesn't make Bone Head moves like MANUEL did. Ohh and a Guy named Barry Bonds.

Yoo want me to believe Manuel's strategic shortcomings caused the Sox to look like zombies for 4 months of the season?

 

Bonds is just one player; he can't create 97-win teams by himself.

 

I find it ridiclous that grown men need to be told to relax and/or to not swing for the fences as much.

 

JM rightfully got his share of the blame, and I certainly have said enough unpleasant things about KW/JR.....but at some point somebody somewhere has to admit that players were selfish and reckless and unprepared, and that ultimately led to 2003 debacle -- that squad had enough talent to overcome JM's tactical mistakes if only it wanted the division as badly Royals and Twins wanted it.

 

Even Ozzie sort of admits as much -- he stops just short of calling them bums and instead gives the PC "not havin' fun" answer to explain away 2003 underperformance.

[DonkeyKongerko]

I think what the Giants did in the playoffs constitutes a choke.

[Mathew]

Alou did well with much less in Montreal too, comparing him to JM is insulting.

[BrandoFan]

I think what the Giants did in the playoffs constitutes a choke.

Giants ran away with the division.

 

Sox, who we arguably more talented than the Giants, couldn't win in the weakest division in baseball.

 

Giants meldown was more along the lines of two really bad defensive mistakes and two brilliant atbats by PudgeJunior. Marlins peaked in the right time.

 

Sox meltdown, on the other hand, was protracted over many, many weeks; there was nothing even remotely accidental about it. If anything, Sox were lucky that they were by far the healthiest team in ALC throughout the year.

 

I just find it shameful that Sox players can look back and basically place the thinly-veiled blame on Jerry for not inspiring their self-centered asses.

 

Yes, when, say, Brian Daubach was trying to put the ball on the moon when the team only needed a measly basehit to win.....all Jerry's fault.

[sox-r-us]

To me this motivation crap is just that crap

 

These are paid professionals...if they need to told to laugh and have fun and play to win and only then they can win.....well, they need to get a new job soon then

 

To me, JM's biggest fault was his tinkering.....Look at what Ozzie has done the last few games.....he has wanted to insert Gload in to play, but looking at how well Maggs, Paulie and CLee are playing, he did not tinker and let the lineup continue

 

I bet JM would have changed the lineup immediately after the 1st win at Yankee stadium and that would have cost us the 3rd game

 

That to me was JM's biggest problem.....darn too much tinkering

[YASNY]

JM had pretty much abandoned the idea of aggresive, situational baseball after the Sox powered their way to the 2000 division crown. The made for a flat, uninspired team that, profesional or not, went through the motions. Even though they are highly paid to play a game, it still is their profession and it can become a daily grind. There has to be a way to keep a spark, and JM couldn't seem to do it. I'm not making excuses for the players, as I do agree that should have been able to do this themselves. But, the fact is, they didn't for 3 years running. Inserting Ozzie into the mix was a good move. JM had overstayed his usefulness.

[WSoxShuf]

I absolutely love Ozzie Ball

 

Viva Ozzie, print the shirts.

[LDF]

i have to admit that soooo far, and i hope this will continue, ozzie has the sox playing great ball.

 

even botch is pitching really good, but lets see if this will continue.

 

i would love to eat crow with all the negative s*** i have said about ozzie and botch, again it is still too early to call it. let see when they will hit the skid, as all teams do in course of a season.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

The guys are actually havin fun playin baseball again, and it's showin in their numbers, Konerko is a perfect example.

That's what counts and therein lies the difference between the 2 managers. Guillen makes them feel good about playing the game while Manuel was the king of Corpseball. I really like our odds this season.

[Al Lopez Ghost (old)]

Which brings up another point: if it indeed wasn't a matter of insufficient talent but rather of attitude that did them in 03, why couldn't they "have fone" last year?  Was JM that big of a party-pooper?  Was the promise of victory less sweet?

 

Jerry wasn't a good manager, granted, but what is this, little leagues? These are highly paids professionals -- these excuses for their own selfishness,  lack of discipline and plain buckling under pennat pressure are rather pathetic.   

 

Felipe Alou is as laid back as it gets -- how come Giants didn't choke or play uninspired ball?

You always hear more of the truth about the ball club after the manager is gone, and it seems to me that Jerry Manuel was the kind of guy who walked into a room and sucked all the fun out of the place. There's not necessarily anything he could do about that, it was just his personality, the way he was (memories...). Rowand said on the radio a couple of weeks ago that if you got thrown out trying to steal a base, you didn't want to go back into the dugout because of what would be said to you. Stuff like that comes out now.

It was a combination of things...one dimensional baseball, an uptight manager and clubhouse, and they couldn't/didn't perform up to their capabilities.

Viva Ozzie!

[The Critic]

JM had pretty much abandoned the idea of aggresive, situational baseball after the Sox powered their way to the 2000 division crown.  The made for a flat, uninspired team that, profesional or not, went through the motions.  Even though they are highly paid to play a game, it still is their profession and it can become a daily grind.  There has to be a way to keep a spark, and JM couldn't seem to do it.  I'm not making excuses for the players, as I do agree that should have been able to do this themselves.  But, the fact is, they didn't for 3 years running.  Inserting Ozzie into the mix was a good move.  JM had overstayed his usefulness.

Very good perspective, YASNY.

 

Here's my take on the Sox under Manuel. JM was their boss. If your boss is a blase, uninspired, uninspiring, dull, listless, flat, lifeless oaf, you will ultimately unwittingly take on some of those traits yourself, at least as it applies to your job. You might THINK you're doing your best, and you might THINK you're trying hard and you may BE trying hard, but when that lifeless boss is replaced by a boss who exhibits more energy, exuberance and love for the job and his workers, THAT will reflect on you also, and you will only then realize the dragging effect that the former boss had on you.

 

Oz is saying the right things for the right reasons - he doesn't want any scapegoating, he wants the past to be past ( a good idea ) and he wants the players to lay off JM bashing because Manuel is a friend of Ozzie's.

 

I, for one, want to forget that Jerry Manuel ever existed. I hope Ozzie helps me to forget him in a hurry, with a few playoff appearances and - DARE TO DREAM - a future WORLD SERIES WHITE SOX WINNER!!!!