Recently, manager Ozzie Guillen wanted to know about his future with the Chicago White Sox. Now, it looks like he has his answer. Courtesy of Joe Cowley, we get some huge Monday news that has nothing at all to do with either league's Wild Card race:
Ozzie Guillen Reportedly Leaving White Sox, Joining Marlins
According to reports, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is leaving the team, and will manage the Florida Marlins in 2012.
According to multiple sources, the Sox and Florida Marlins are in the final stages of completing a deal that would send the never-boring Guillen to South Beach, ending his eight-year stay with the organization he grew up in as a player and helped guide to a World Series in 2005 as a second-year manager.
The rumored deal is expected to be completed later Monday night. The Marlins have long been mentioned as a probable destination should Guillen leave the White Sox, so while the timing of this report is a little surprising, the outcome is not. Many even figured that Guillen serving as the Marlins’ manager in 2012 was a foregone conclusion, and earlier Monday, current Marlins manager Jack McKeon announced he will retire after the year.
What remains to be seen is whether Guillen gets traded to the Marlins for a player, or simply sold for money. One can't help but think about Logan Morrison, and his crumbling relationship with the Marlins organization. On the one hand, it seems silly to exchange a player like Morrison for a manager - any manager - but on the other hand, Marlins. The White Sox and Marlins reportedly discussed a Guillen/player swap last offseason that didn't materialize.
With the White Sox, Guillen was entering the final year of his contract, as the team picked up his 2012 option last January. He and general manager Kenny Williams have never seen eye-to-eye, so something had to give eventually. It would appear that something has given.
Cowley reports that Guillen will not be the only current coach to leave, although pitching coach Don Cooper will reportedly remain.
Guillen has managed the White Sox since 2004, winning the World Series in 2005 and winning the AL Central in 2008. Assuming this report is true, he’ll leave having amassed a winning record, although one could argue that this year’s team has underachieved, relative to expectations and potential. Guillen will also leave behind a Chicago media that had a field day with his unrestrained loquaciousness. But then, it’s not like he’ll fall off the media radar in Miami. Ozzie Guillen can never disappear from the media radar.
See More:
