Ozzie Guillen does not seem overly concerned about being able to handle Carlos Zambrano. Big Z has a dynamic personality, but so does Ozzie. The pairing could either be a match made in heaven, or a recipe for disaster. Guillen is confident it will be the former. The Marlins manager explained the situation using animals and their keepers as a comparison on Tuesday.
“Maybe it’s not his fault,’’ Guillen said when asked about Zambrano’s past issues according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Maybe it’s somebody’s fault. Maybe they let that tiger leave the cage and couldn’t bring him back. That tiger is not going to leave the cage. I guarantee you he is not leaving the cage. I guarantee you that. As soon as he tries to open the cage, I’ll be waiting for his ass.’’
If the Tiger and the zookeeper comparison doesn’t do it for you, how about the bull and the matador?
“Do I want him to get (ticked off)? Of course, I do,” Guillen added. “But take it easy, tiger. Like I say, in Venezuela, there’s the bull and the goddamned matador. He will be dead in two seconds because I know how to kill the bull at the right time.’’
Ozzie insists he does not foresee any issues, and made it clear that Zambrano was his friend off the field but is now his player as long as he’s wearing the Marlins uniform. He also said people have a pool in Venezuela revolving around when Big Z and Guillen will have their first fight. Zambrano has been known to abandon his team at horrible times, but for some reason I have a gut feeling Matt Garza may have a point about Zambrano pitching for the Marlins. It just might be a crazy enough idea to make sense.
