Ozzie issued an apology before today's game:
"I was a little soft for three months, but Ozzie has to be Ozzie because I'm going to give my way to get fired. And if people like it, they like it. If they don't, the only two people I worry about [whether] they like it or not, are [chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf and [general manager] Kenny Williams. My players, I don't have any problem with them. If some of my players think I was wrong, shoot, I hope that don't happen because then we're lying to ourselves about how bad we're playing. ... Spring Training, I tell my family, 'I'm going to be nice.' I really regret the way I was for the [past] three months. I was like Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, real polite people. With all the respect [to them], that's not me. ... You hate me, but after the game we're shaking hands. That's why I'm getting paid, to win games. That's all there is. It's funny the way people are killing me, about [how] I'm done, I should be going home. Well, I have good news for those guys. If I don't do it here, I'm going to do it somewhere else, because I'm not afraid for this job. My goal is to win games."
Ozzie's latest fascination: OBP
Guillen believes he still needs the season's final month to decide in his mind if Jerry Owens can handle the leadoff spot. "His on-base percentage is not the way we want it," said Guillen of Owens, who has a .293 on-base percentage. "For me, it's important to have a guy who can get on base and be on base a little bit more than the rest of the guys."
And Coop will be making some pitching adjustments next month:
"Here's what's going on: Danks is getting 10 or 11 days off. He's not going to pitch; we'll have sidelines [sessions]. We're going to give him his time now. So that's our way of taking care of him. The next thing is [that] Gavin Floyd is going to get another couple of opportunities to continue to find out more about [himself]. Somewhere within the next 10 days, two weeks, Buehrle will be taken care of. Might be like nine days [of rest]. Everybody else -- [Jose] Contreras, [Jon] Garland and [Javier] Vazquez -- will be pitching as regularly as we can without giving them too much rest with off-days sprinkled in."
BTW, don't expect Gio to come up when rosters expand, because he doesn't have to be added to the 40-man roster yet. Also, don't expect Ryan Sweeney to come up, because Ozzie won't be able to find him playing time. The only sure bet to come up is Donny Lucy.