Ozzie Guillen goes off on Marlins after loss, defends Heath Bell’s blown save

The All-Star break can’t seem to get here fast enough for the Marlins. The past month or so has been horrible for Ozzie Guillen’s squad, as they have managed only nine wins since June 1. After showing signs of life recently and putting together a short four-game winning streak, the Marlins have lost two close games in the row to the Brewers. On Tuesday night, closer Heath Bell blew the save for Miami by giving up two runs in the 10th inning. After the heartbreaking 13-12 loss, Guillen went on an epic tirade but refused to blame Bell for the team’s misfortunes.

“Make sure Miami people don’t (expletive) Bell,” Guillen said according to the Miami Herald. “Bell gave up two runs. How about the rest of the (expletives) 10 or 12 runs they scored? That’s why this (expletive) game is not (expletive) fair.

“It’s Ozzie talking (expletive)? No. It’s Ozzie talking the truth, about how (expletive) we were before that (expletive) inning. Put that (expletive) down!”

The Marlins trailed 9-2 at one point in the game and were able to rally back, so you can understand why Guillen was so angry. To his credit, Bell blamed himself several times after the game for “letting my teammates down.” But Guillen is right. In a loss where the team gives up 12 runs, its hard to blame the closer simply because he was the last person to get racked. If you score 11 runs, you should win a game.

“It hurts, obviously it hurts,” Guillen said. “You take the win away and have a punch right in your stomach. We fought, we fought with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy even when we were down. But at the end of the day, it’s not how much we fight. Win the fight — that’s more important. They pay you to win the fight, not fight good.”

I’m going to guess Ozzie’s sleeping medicine was put to good use on Tuesday night.

Photo credit: Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE