"I'd rather have people on base, have 100 people on base than have 100 guys stealing bases. I think...

"I'd rather have people on base, have 100 people on base than have 100 guys stealing bases. I think the on-base percentage is pretty important." -- Ozzie Guillen

The Official Site of The Chicago White Sox: News: No speed? No problem, for White Sox

4 months ago The Wizard Comment 28 comments 0 recs |

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I would say that Ozzie has turned into a genius of a manager...

but really, this is mostly Kenny’s doing. He acquired the high(er) OBP players and pretty much forced Ozzie to play them. Does anyone think that Quentin would really have been our opening day starting LF’er had Owens not gotten injured?

by SSH2005 on Apr 16, 2008 8:49 PM CDT 0 recs

Does it matter?

by Tdogg on Apr 17, 2008 10:26 AM CDT up 0 recs

depends upon whether you think this a permanent philosophical change

so to speak, or a temporary change based upon necessity.

somewhere in arizona, jerry owens silently weeps.

by larry on Apr 17, 2008 10:38 AM CDT up 0 recs

winning will quickly change minds

fact

MrROFL.com

by shaftr on Apr 16, 2008 8:57 PM CDT 0 recs

That's the beauty of a young manager

You get a guy like Lou Piniella or Dusty Baker and their brains are fossilized (or pickled, occupational hazard) and they can’t/won’t adapt. This is a huge leap for Ozzie, respekt – I didn’t think he had it in him. He’s now on the cutting edge of mlb managers.

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 8:57 PM CDT 0 recs

But it took an injury for this to happen...

If Owens wasn’t Podthetic v2.0, he might still be starting in our outfield.

by SSH2005 on Apr 16, 2008 9:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

Well, a lot of things had to come into place for this to happen

Not only did Owens get injured, but you had a high OBP slugger in Swisher who has a 5yr contract and is a team guy and doesn’t give a shit if his counting stats suffer willing to take the spot. Plus Ozzie has a 4yr extension so he’s in a position to do more things that aren’t by the book than most managers can.

On top of that he’s not throwing outs away with the sac bunts, etc. I’m really excited about Ozzie’s development this year.

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 9:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

Swisher at leadoff was still the obvious move though...

1.) Owens got injured.
2.) Ozzie wanted to keep Cabrera in the two-hole.
3.) Ozzie (and probably all managers) wouldn’t trust a young guy like Quentin to lead off.

Who else was an option other than Swisher? I’m not complaining but it’s not like it was a tough decision.

by SSH2005 on Apr 16, 2008 9:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

Or you could do like Dusty Baker

and insist that your GM go out and sign Corey Patterson to fill the leadoff position.

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 9:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'm not a Korey Patterson fan but Jay Bruce is still very young...

I can’t argue with the signing. But Patterson should be no where near the leadoff spot. Although, I think I would rather have Patterson batting ninth than Urine.

by SSH2005 on Apr 16, 2008 9:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

Corey - an outmaker of Uribean dimension

50 ABs so far for Corey, batting avg of .220 and 4 walks add up to a .273 OBP

Uribe’s got 3 walks in 45 ABs, Dusty might want to consider him for leadoff – get Krivsky on the phone Kenny!

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 17, 2008 7:43 AM CDT up 0 recs

Uribe's bat is still a black hole in our lineup...

His defense at 2B is great but man, he sucks with the stick. It would be nice if Richar would start tearing it up at AAA so he would get a shot to replace Uribe.

by SSH2005 on Apr 16, 2008 9:08 PM CDT 0 recs

WHO IS THIS GUY AND WHAT HAS HE DONE TO OZZIE?

by thecip on Apr 16, 2008 9:11 PM CDT 0 recs

some weird vulcan mind meld I suspect

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 9:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

from a common sense, stat-minded vulcan manager. vulcans make the best mangers cause of there devotion to logic.

joe morgan is a klingon

by thecip on Apr 16, 2008 9:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

Or, maybe...

he works with what he’s got, and doesn’t try to make ballplayers do something they’re not suited to do.

I’m sure if he had a team with a lot of speedy free-swingers, he’d be talking about stealing bases and doing the “little things” to win games.

by The Jerry Royster Experience on Apr 16, 2008 9:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

I like this attitude, JRE

Can we get SSH on the “one complaint a day” program, too?

Sox Machine

by Sox Machine on Apr 16, 2008 10:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

ozzie

“We don’t have the type of ballclub that’s going to steal 100 bases,” Guillen said. “As long as we run the bases well, as long as we stay aggressive on the basepaths …

by The Wizard on Apr 16, 2008 10:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Well said jre

I actually think this is a strength of Ozzie. In the end I still don’t put too much into what comes out of his mouth. He is not as stubborn as people like to think.

by Tdogg on Apr 17, 2008 10:28 AM CDT up 0 recs

Agreed

The guy probably deserves more credit then some give him, if he had 9 Jerry Owens on this team you could be sure he’d talk all about how speed never slumps and how it’s essential to grinding out runs by playing small ball.

by Grinder in Training on Apr 17, 2008 10:58 AM CDT up 0 recs

and he'll talk about whatever the media wants to talk about too

want to talk about ozzieball? he’ll give you ozzieball. home runs? defense? pitching? grinding? OBP? toughness? speed? he’s got a speech. i’d rather watch what he’s doing on the field. so far, limited bunts (though hit and run still seems a predilection), virtually no stealing (for obvious reasons), OBP at the top, etc.

somewhere in arizona, jerry owens silently weeps.

by larry on Apr 17, 2008 11:06 AM CDT up 0 recs

He loves the media (mostly) and talking

which is why he’s always seen as a great interview. Plus, he’s colorful. And his players love him, so no one really cringes when the red light goes on (except Marriotti). Just like investors – don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do. Follow the money. The rest is obfuscation.

I took the "under".

by winningugly on Apr 17, 2008 11:58 AM CDT up 0 recs

do u think ozzie heard jesse's 50 sb comment and went with 100?

by The Wizard on Apr 16, 2008 9:15 PM CDT 0 recs

haha

Ozzie’s wearing a wreath of garlic and a crucifix

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 9:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

Tigers giving the Tribe a beat down

We finished up with them in just the knick of time.

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on''

by ChicagoPete on Apr 16, 2008 9:25 PM CDT 0 recs