Leonard Washington Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Ozzie Guillen supports Alexei Ramirez EmailPrintComments 10 By Doug Padilla ESPNChicago.com Archive Not even the biggest blizzard Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has ever seen could cool his fire when it comes to sticking up for one of his players. “Of course you have to be excited to go to spring training. I think I'm very excited to go there to the White Sox field and the people we put together, I'm anxious to go there and watch those guys play.” Appearing on ESPN 1000's "Waddle and Silvy Show" on Tuesday, Guillen was asked about shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who agreed this week to a four-year, $32.5 million extension with the White Sox. Guillen called it "a joke" that a recent MLB Network ranking of major-league shortstops had Ramirez at No. 7. "This kid is one of the best shortstops in the game, maybe top three or top four," Guillen said. "You have the kid in Colorado [Troy Tulowitzki], the kid in Miami [Hanley Ramirez]. They are pretty good players. I think Alexei is right around there. This kid is a great ballplayer." Ramirez's extension was just another sign for Guillen that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, general manager Kenny Williams and assistant GM Rick Hahn aren't just thinking about this year's club, but have solid plan to make sure the White Sox are competitive into the future. "Since I got this job Kenny always said, 'I will give you the best chance to compete,'" Guillen said. "The reason I'm still in Chicago is because of Kenny and Jerry and Rick give me at least a good enough ballclub to compete. That's the people that can get you fired. If they give you bad players you're not going to have a shot." Committing himself to living in Chicago this winter, when in offseasons past he split time between Venezuela and Miami, Guillen said he is ready to get going at spring training. And it's not just because of the massive weather system that moved into the area Monday. Ozzie Guillen joined "The Waddle & Silvy Show" to talk about Alexei Ramirez's extension and looking ahead to spring training. "Of course you have to be excited to go to spring training," said Guillen, 15 days before his pitchers and catchers are set to report in Glendale, Ariz. "I think I'm very excited to go there to the White Sox field and the people we put together, I'm anxious to go there and watch those guys play." Guillen was also anxious to experience Monday night's storm, even offering a Twitter post about it early Monday. Then the storm hit at full strength just before sunset. "I've never seen anything like that," Guillen said. "I went through a couple of hurricanes back in Miami, but the way the wind was blowing it was crazy. I don't say I regret that I tweeted it, but I felt bad in the morning because I saw that people had no electricity and the city was shut down. That was a good experience, but in the meanwhile it was not a good one that I thought it was going to be." The storm might have opened up a soft spot in Guillen's heart, but not for everybody. He was asked if he had been driving through the blizzard and saw umpire Joe West stranded on the side of the road, would he have stopped and helped. "Uh ... I don't know," Guillen said. "I'm not a bad person but I'm not stopping." Really, you wouldn't stop? "No." Other than thinking Alexei is about equal to Tulo, I have no real problems with any of this comments. In fact, it's the opposite. I thought he was sincere and humourous. My only concern is with the Joe West stuff. Again, I think it's hilarious, but at the same time I'm a bit worried about the repercussions. Umpires are a tight-knit group. Of course they're supposed to be subjective, but if you really think they are, you're delirious. Are we getting to the point where we might be facing a somewhat regular disadvantage? I sure hope not, but it does worry me a little. That said, I don't really think West is taken too seriously these days, so it could be insignificant. I hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 "Ozzie being Ozzie" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 QUOTE (Pale Sox @ Feb 3, 2011 -> 05:25 AM) Other than thinking Alexei is about equal to Tulo, I have no real problems with any of this comments. In fact, it's the opposite. I thought he was sincere and humourous. My only concern is with the Joe West stuff. Again, I think it's hilarious, but at the same time I'm a bit worried about the repercussions. Umpires are a tight-knit group. Of course they're supposed to be subjective, but if you really think they are, you're delirious. Are we getting to the point where we might be facing a somewhat regular disadvantage? I sure hope not, but it does worry me a little. That said, I don't really think West is taken too seriously these days, so it could be insignificant. I hope so. Yeah, we're at a regular disadvantage when Joe West is umpiring our game, but half the league can say that. Even when he's right about something, like how long the Yankee/Red Sox games take, by being the way he is, he makes it clear that the show is about him and not the game. Everyone else has to suffer through it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 why is the Joe West comment a concern? He was asked if he would stop and he said no. Whats the big deal? 95 percent of Chicago would have kept going, it was a friggin blizzard. It wasnt like Ozzie volunteered that about Joe West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 3, 2011 -> 09:06 AM) why is the Joe West comment a concern? He was asked if he would stop and he said no. Whats the big deal? 95 percent of Chicago would have kept going, it was a friggin blizzard. It wasnt like Ozzie volunteered that about Joe West It struck me as more of a throwaway question with a funny answer. I so don't care about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetkincaid Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 QUOTE (Pale Sox @ Feb 3, 2011 -> 04:25 AM) Other than thinking Alexei is about equal to Tulo, I have no real problems with any of this comments. In fact, it's the opposite. I thought he was sincere and humourous. My only concern is with the Joe West stuff. Again, I think it's hilarious, but at the same time I'm a bit worried about the repercussions. Umpires are a tight-knit group. Of course they're supposed to be subjective, but if you really think they are, you're delirious. Are we getting to the point where we might be facing a somewhat regular disadvantage? I sure hope not, but it does worry me a little. That said, I don't really think West is taken too seriously these days, so it could be insignificant. I hope so. Umpires can and should be eliminated. We have the technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 With the comment about regretting his blizzard tweet and the way he's handled things this past offseason, it might be that Ozzie really is taking a more professional approach to this season. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chw42 Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 (edited) I wouldn't want to get stranded in a storm with somebody that I totally despise. 1) It'd be awkward and 2) if you hate him, he probably did something bad to you before this anyhow. Edited February 3, 2011 by chw42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scenario Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Feb 3, 2011 -> 10:02 AM) Umpires can and should be eliminated. We have the technology. You thinking guillotine? That could be a ratings coup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxrwhite Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Publicly insulting any umpire is never a good idea. They stick together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (since56 @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 09:00 AM) Publicly insulting any umpire is never a good idea. They stick together. I haven't gotten that impression with West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerksticks Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (since56 @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 08:00 AM) Publicly insulting any umpire is never a good idea. They stick together. I don't think Joe West is some ring-leader of umpires or has any power to rally other umpires. If anything he would be an outcast, as I think it's unwritten umpire code that you should never be a story or a focal point of a game or bigger than a game. He seems to be in the news more than other umpires so I would think they would despise him for that. Kinda like Patrick Mannelly; only time he was interviewed was when he messed up. Rule #1 of Umpire Club: People should never talk about umpire club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Zelig Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 03:56 PM) I don't think Joe West is some ring-leader of umpires or has any power to rally other umpires. If anything he would be an outcast, as I think it's unwritten umpire code that you should never be a story or a focal point of a game or bigger than a game. He seems to be in the news more than other umpires so I would think they would despise him for that. Kinda like Patrick Mannelly; only time he was interviewed was when he messed up. Rule #1 of Umpire Club: People should never talk about umpire club. Well, he is president of the umpires union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 People who don't realize that Alexei is great on defense because they look at the "E" column make me bang my head against the wall, twice if they are Sox fans. He only makes those errors because, well, he actually has the ability to actually move to where the ball is. Most other shortstops just feebly run to where the ball is hit as it goes into the outfield and it ends up a single. So it's actually saying Alexei is less of a shortstop because he has elite range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyDo Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 08:33 PM) People who don't realize that Alexei is great on defense because they look at the "E" column make me bang my head against the wall, twice if they are Sox fans. He only makes those errors because, well, he actually has the ability to actually move to where the ball is. Most other shortstops just feebly run to where the ball is hit as it goes into the outfield and it ends up a single. So it's actually saying Alexei is less of a shortstop because he has elite range. Definitely agree. Just curious, though, how many of Alexei's errors were of the throwing variety? I'm only going off my admittedly-fuzzy memory, but I seem to recall him making some bad throws. Could totally be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 06:56 PM) Definitely agree. Just curious, though, how many of Alexei's errors were of the throwing variety? I'm only going off my admittedly-fuzzy memory, but I seem to recall him making some bad throws. Could totally be wrong. That's one of those Kalapse questions. Alexei gets a s***-ton more defensive chances than, say, Derek Jeter (I think the number was something like 200+ more). I don't trust my memory to tell me if all of his errors were high degree-of-difficulty plays. Edited February 4, 2011 by lostfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Joe West AND Brian Gorman = pray for rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 05:57 PM) That's one of those Kalapse questions. Alexei gets a s***-ton more defensive chances than, say, Derek Jeter (I think the number was something like 200+ more). I don't trust my memory to tell me if all of his errors were high degree-of-difficulty plays. If I get some time tonight or tomorrow, I can do a little digging into this. Really, it's just a matter of going through each box score and looking at what kind of error was made - not terribly difficult, just time consuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyDo Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 11:15 PM) If I get some time tonight or tomorrow, I can do a little digging into this. Really, it's just a matter of going through each box score and looking at what kind of error was made - not terribly difficult, just time consuming. You are a more patient man than I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanne Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Joe West is an egotistical douche nozzle and I'd say probably 95% of the other umpires would agree with that. How he's president of the union is beyond me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 You have to remember that Angel Hernandez was the umpire that called two balks on Buehrle later on in the season. Joe West was the 3rd base umpire and didn't call anything. Do you guys honestly think Angel suddenly started thinking MB's move was a balk? Not a chance. Angel had West's back, and the Sox paid for it. Umpires are police. They're authoritative personalities that stick together, right or wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 05:56 PM) Definitely agree. Just curious, though, how many of Alexei's errors were of the throwing variety? I'm only going off my admittedly-fuzzy memory, but I seem to recall him making some bad throws. Could totally be wrong. He had 3 throwing errors all year (according to Yahoo). June 22 against Atlanta, August 8th against Baltimore, and September 30th against Boston. Every other one was a fielding error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyDo Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 6, 2011 -> 03:31 PM) He had 3 throwing errors all year (according to Yahoo). June 22 against Atlanta, August 8th against Baltimore, and September 30th against Boston. Every other one was a fielding error. Thats pretty damn good. Screw it, keep racking up the errors if theyre due to excess range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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