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Marlins Job Awaits As Ozzie Guillen Requests Release From White Sox

Ozzie Guillen is no longer manager of the Chicago White Sox.

I feel the need to repeat that until it really sinks in for me. I have been a Guillen fan since his playing days as a member of the team, when the stadium was still Comiskey Park.

When requests for a new contract were denied by Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Guillen asked to be released from his contract, subsequently ending his eight year run as skipper of the South Side Blacks, as I like to call them.

But, Guillen is no fool. He already had his ducks in a row. He is expected to be named manager of the Florida Marlins (soon to be Miami Marlins) by weeks end.

    The Florida Marlins and Sox on Wednesday are expected to announce that ­Guillen was traded to South Beach, with Guillen and his family scheduled to leave for Miami Tuesday morning on the private jet of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.

    “If they want me?’’ Guillen said of the Marlins job. “They should. F— it, I’m bad. I’m good at what I do.’’

SOURCE

I don’t know what to say for Jerry Reinsdorf. I still remember when he pompously let Phil Jackson slip away (he owns the Chicago Bulls too), even after Michael Jordan threatened not to play if Jackson wasn’t retained.

Well, this time, Ozzie wanted Ken Williams (Sox GM) to go. But, Reinsdorf would not relent. I ask of Mr. Reinsdorf, is it worth it to keep an often obstinate Williams and lose the face of your franchise?

In a nutshell, Reinsdorf is about his business interests and the bottom line, even at the expense of his teams image and the fans feelings.

Will Ozzie be missed? Sorely.

Not only will he be missed because the Sox won the 2005 World Series under his watch (first one since Nineteen Hundred and Seventeen), but Ozzie’s personality won the City of Chicago over. At some point you learn to love a man you can barely understand, all the while knowing he is sincere with every Spanish, English, or Spanglish word.

Might the White Sox franchise lose some luster and then languish in mediocrity for years to come? It is possible. Chicagoans need only look westward to the United Center for the answers. Mind you, Derrick Rose’s reign over the Chicago Bulls and city’s love affair with him is still new.

I wish Mr. Guillen nothing but the best. Capricorns stick together. I’ll continue to follow him on Twitter. I will continue to blog about him, but most importantly, I will continue to be a White Sox fan. It’s just that now, a piece of me will be in Miami too.

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