Larry Brown Sports

You didn’t really think new Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was going to remain quiet while a former player trashed him, did you? Of course not.

Guillen fired off several tweets Friday in response to White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy who accused him of quitting on the team last year (Ozzie walked away with two games left in the season). Peavy was upset that Ozzie said the pitcher quit on the team, so he turned the tables. Now Ozzie has responded.

Here are all the tweets he sent on Friday:

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Over his nine-year career, Jake Peavy has been a dominant MLB starter when healthy. The problem is he is rarely ever healthy. Since Peavy was acquired by the White Sox, that always seemed to irritate former manager Ozzie Guillen. It’s no secret that the two never got along, and it was known that Guillen believed Peavy gave up on the team. During a recent interview with WSCR-AM 670, Peavy gave his side of the story. According to the right-hander, it was Guillen who called it quits.

“I know he had a hard time, saying I quit on him, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Peavy explained. “I would never quit on a team. … Ozzie didn’t finish the season with us the last (two) games. So I don’t know who quit on who.”

As you may remember, the White Sox had to make a decision on whether or not to shut Peavy down at the end of the season last year.  Guillen wanted no part in the decision, which could be because he was sick of hearing about Peavy’s injuries or because he already knew he was headed to Miami.  In all likelihood, it was a combination of both.

“At the end of the day, Ozzie didn’t really know what goes on, (about the decision)” Peavy said according to the Chicago Tribune.

To say that Ozzie is outspoken would be a legendary understatement, so it comes as no surprise that he and his oft-injured starter never got along.  That being said, the way he left Chicago was not exactly well-received by many.  In a sense, Peavy is right about who walked out on the team.

Ozzie Guillen recently renewed his wedding vows with his wife of 28 years, but she may actually have some competition. The new Marlins manager is pictured on the cover of ESPN the Magazine sharing a mouth-open kiss with his dog, DH.

DH is an English bulldog who got his name from Ozzie because he’s lazy. Guillen says the dog was the star of the show when the camera crew came over to his house for the photo shoot.

See, this is exactly why the Marlins hired Ozzie. They’ve changed their name, their uniforms, their home stadium, and they hired a manager who could get them on the cover of national magazines.

How many other managers would be pictured on the cover of a magazine smooching with their bulldog? Then again, how many other managers are as crazy as Ozzie?

Pic via ESPN the Mag

When we bring you quotes and other material from Ozzie Guillen here on LBS, we usually preface it by saying something along the lines of, “nothing Ozzie says or does surprises us.”  For the most part, that is the case.  Guillen loves to rant and baseball fans are used to hearing him by now.  However, Ozzie made it clear on Monday that even he can still leave people speechless and a little shocked.

As I’m sure you have heard by now, Guillen was released from his White Sox contract upon request and will reportedly manage the Marlins for the next four seasons.  The contract with Florida will pay him roughly $4 million per year.  One might expect Ozzie to claim the decision was not about money like every other player and manager before him, but as The Big Lead pointed out that was hardly the case.

“With the rings, I can’t do [anything] with that,’’ Guillen said according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “But with money, I can go buy me a new boat, I can go buy me a new car, I can dress my wife the way I want to dress her, I can go to Spain. With the ring, I can go to United Airlines and say, ‘Hello, I won the 2005 championship. Can you fly me to Spain?’ Hell, no.

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Regardless of his relationship with the White Sox front office, it would be tough to argue that Ozzie Guillen has not done a ton for the Chicago franchise.  Guillen played shortstop for the White Sox for 13 seasons before becoming their manager in 2004.  In only his second year in charge of the White Sox, Ozzie led the team to its first World Series championship in almost 90 years.  In a way, the eccentric, outspoken Venezuelan has been a savior for Chicago’s south side.

Unfortunately, that is sometimes not enough to repair a broken relationship between manager and front office.  Many believe Ozzie’s days with the White Sox could be numbered, as the relationship between he and GM Ken Williams is beyond repair.  As for whether or not that has distracted the team, one pitcher who has never been afraid to speak his mind said he actually enjoys the drama.

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One skill Ozzie Guillen has never seemed to master is the act of giving a compliment.  One of the most misunderstood personalities in baseball, Guillen frequently gets himself into hot water with his mouth — whether intentionally or not.  It’s all good.  We know Ozzie means well.

After the Angels swept the White Sox in a short, two-game series this week, Guillen gave L.A. center fielder Peter Bourjos a similar compliment to the one he gave Dustin Pedroia a few years ago during a series with the Red Sox.  By that I mean it wasn’t much of a compliment at all, but it’s the thought that counts.

“Oh my god, he can be my favorite player,” Guillen told ESPNChicago.com via Hardball Talk. “I’ve never seen a white man that can run that fast. It is really impressive. That man might be the fastest person in baseball right now.”

Bourjos has only stolen 17 bases this season, but his speed has made him one of the best defensive center fielders in the game.  Ozzie’s right: he’s even fast for a white guy.  As I’m sure Bourjos has learned from his short time in the big leagues, any compliment from Ozzie Guillen is a good one.

Ozzie Guillen tells it like it is. When he feels as though he isn’t doing his job effectively, he calls himself out. When one of his opponents is too short for his liking, Ozzie has something to say about that too.  One thing we cannot deny is that the White Sox manager speaks the truth.  That even goes for his thoughts on Steve Bartman.  Have a look at what Ozzie had to say when asked what he would tell Bartman if he spoke to him, courtesy of SI Hot Clicks:

My thoughts exactly.  Unfortunately Bartman is a scapegoat for one of the most epic meltdowns in postseason history.  Nine fans out of ten would have done the same thing.  Sometimes when you’re cursed, you’re cursed.  Leave it to Ozzie to put it in perspective.

Ozzie Guillen got tossed during the 6th inning of Monday’s White Sox-Cubs game. Ozzie was actually justified in his complaint because Alexei Ramirez’s ball appeared to be in foul territory when catcher Geovany Soto touched it. It’s no wonder he went nuts. Check out the ejection video:

The best part easily was Geovany Soto’s reaction to seeing Ozzie kick his mask. Soto was a fan enjoying the action like the rest of us. Maybe this was just an umpire conspiracy to give us our weekly dose of Ozzie entertainment.