Ozzie Guillen Apologizes, Draws 5-Game Suspension

So it’s only mildly surprising that the Marlins fired Ozzie Guillen on Tuesday. From a Marlins press release:

“After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie,” said Beinfest. “Our managerial search begins immediately and our hope is that a new manager, along with roster improvements, will restore a winning culture.”

The whole thing will hang around, thank you very much. It’ll be something that harangues Ozzie every time his face is on a Miami television or in a Miami newspaper. This is like the old joke about the guy who wishes he were called John the Dock-builder instead of the name he was given -- sorry, Ozzie. This is what you’re known for now.

(An aside: There are five new managers in baseball this year. Robin Ventura is best known for a 16-year-long career that included him getting punched in the head by a player who was as old as Ventura is now. Mike Matheny is best known for his quiet defense and leadership. Dale Sveum is best known for the silent ‘v’ in his name. The other two guys were best known for being brash and abrasive. Guess which two of the five are in hot water?)

Bud Selig: I’m hungry. I think I’m going to get a hot dog. You want something, Fidel?

Fidel Castro: I do not eat what you call “hot dogs.” It is a way for capitalists to process foodstuffs the bourgeois will not eat into something they pass off to the proletariat, fattening them up and filling them with nitrates so they will die early deaths and make room for the next wave of drones.

Amy K. Nelson visited Miami’s Little Havana -- where some of the locals are calling for Ozzie Guillen’s head on a stick -- and mailed us this video dispatch:

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Who speaks for the victims of Fulgencio Batista?

That was the first question that popped into my head when I read of the outrage among Miami’s Cuban-American community over Ozzie Guillen’s flippant comments about Fidel Castro in TIME.

Jeffrey Loria wanted a circus, and he’s got a circus. Maybe he really had to suspend Ozzie Guillen. But it would seem impolite for Loria to actually complain about any of it.

This is a safe place. No one will judge you. This is the room where we can sit back and wonder what in the hell is going on. Ozzie Guillen was suspended for five games. He held an emotional press conference to apologize to the City of Miami, to the legions of Cuban expatriates and their who are demanding that he be fired. Here’s what he said:

”I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that mother****** is still here.“No comments on Castro’s policies. No specifics other than a respect for Castro’s tenacity.

He said he’d show the Cuban-American community that this isn’t just for one day, but the way he’ll conduct himself in the future; he’ll speak with his actions, not his words.

His suspension for five games will be without pay, but Guillen said that’s the last thing he’s worried about right now. He said he’ll talk to Marlins players on Wednesday and hopes the team will play hard while he’s under suspension. According to Ken Rosenthal, bench coach Joey Cora will manage the Marlins while Guillen is under suspension.

Guillen has a long history of making comments that have gotten him in some sort of trouble, as you can see in the Ozzie Guillen Rant Timeline, posted at Baseball Nation on Monday.

May 2006

Tell that Triple A [bleep] to shut the [bleep] up. Tell him to start throwing some strikes or he’s going to get Dusty fired.“Actually, that one’s pretty funny. If Ozzie had stuck to funny, we wouldn’t be having this discussion today.

Monday morning, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal said the Marlins should suspend Guillen for those remarks.

Now, Guillen is going to make some further remarks, this time to assembled members of the media. Jayson Stark:

If you had “the first week of the 2012 season” in the “When will Ozzie Guillén say something that will get him in trouble?” pool, you win.

The new Marlins manager wasn’t even a week into the season when he made this controversial comment to TIME magazine: