Guillén Family Values: Openness, Angering the White Sox With Said Openness

Ozzie Guillén has been a Twitter sensation. By nature, he’s gregarious, and giving him a filter-free way to tell the world what he wants to say at any hour has been predictably entertaining. But Ozzie’s earned some of his freedom, as a major league manager with a World Series title under his belt; his son, Oney, found out that being just as open as his dad despite being little more expendable leads to being expunged.

After being pressured to tone down his tweets on Friday, Oney Guillén resigned from his position in the White Sox’ scouting and video department. (On Saturday, Ozzie told reporters that he urged his son to resign from the position.) This did not come to pass quietly. Oney responded with barbs: “I hope the dorks aren’t running the organization or else were (expletive)” and saying an ESPN reporter was “wrong again” and his comments were “all false.”

Of course, Papa Guillén got to respond on Twitter, too. After apologizing for blowing off the Chicago media following the White Sox’ game on Friday, he tweeted, “Me tocaron donde mas me duele y tengo que estar listo para lo que venga como siempre lo e hecho.” Loosely translated, that’s “They touched me where it hurt me most, and I have to be ready for whatever comes, like I’ve always done.”

Things seemed to simmer down overnight. Oney tweeted early Saturday morning that he was offered a job for extended spring training, and Ozzie tweeted that today was a “new day,” vowing to “keep moving.” But I wouldn’t rule anything out, or bet against the Guilléns’ ability to make news with their words.

I suspect that, after this headache of a controversy based solely on trying to get an employee to clam up, the White Sox might wish they had let the garrulous Guilléns continue to do just that.

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