Guillen Wants Contract Extension

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

With his team barely over .500 and thisclose to being eliminated from the playoff hunt, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has gone public with his desire for a contract extension. The Sox skipper has one more year on his current deal, but wants security beyond 2012 before next season.

Said Guillen, "I'm tied up with them for another (year), but that doesn't mean I have to come back. That's up to them. The one thing I make clear, I don't think I'm going to be back here for a one-year contract."

To try and force the issue, Guillen again alluded to the Florida Marlins job as leverage. WIth a home in Miami and time with the Marlins as a coach before joining the White Sox as manager, his name as repeatedly been linked to the job in South Florida. Since Edwin Rodriguez's resignation in June, 80-year-old Jack McKeon has managed the Marlins. Clearly he's not in their long terms plans at that age. The Marlins are apparently willing to offer Guillen a four-year deal if they can get permission to meet with him.

Adding fuel to the fire are reports Guillen's relationship with general Manager Kenny Williams is as strained as ever. Would Guillen leave Chicago for the Marlins if he doesn't get an extension from Williams? Does he deserve one?

When asked about Ozzie's comments, Williams deferred for now, stating, "Winning takes care of a lot of things." We think the Sox middling performance in 2011 is due much more to Adam Dunn's and Alex Rios' inability to hit than anything within Ozzie's control, and we can't imagine the Sox without him just yet.

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By Benjy Lipsman in News on August 31, 2011 1:20 PM

Comments [rss]

lhly16

http://www.lovetoshopping.org

Navin_Johnson

Hi antics don't bother me, in fact I kind of enjoy them. Taking as long as he did to finally 'bench' Dunn is another thing.

BlueFairlane

I like Ozzie and would hate to see him go, but he's the kind of guy who gets bored. He's been here a long time, and he's done the team a hell of a lot of good, but he might benefit from a fresh start and new people to tweak. I think the Marlins job would do him good.

What it would do for the Sox, though, is another story entirely.

slickpoetry

The only think keeping the white sox on the front page of the news (since fall of 2005, at least) is ozzie's constant bullshit drama queen antics (and those of his sons, lest us forget). Ken Williams is not blameless for perpetuating the soap opera histrionics either.

I could definitely do without all this crap. Just put together a team that will be competitive, and then coach them well. That is the alpha and omega of baseball management.

BlueFairlane

Eh, I don't really care about antics, one way or the other. Mostly, I ignore that stuff. All that matters to me is that Ozzie's done a pretty solid job coaching for most of his tenure with the Sox. He's had off years, sure, and there's plenty of stuff I don't agree with (Dunn's one example, his long-term love of Bobby Jenks was another), but all in all I'd say he's above .500 when it comes to the current crop of Major League managers.

slickpoetry

I'm pretty much over Ozzie at this point, and would welcome new management in Ken Williams' office too.

Navin_Johnson

Guillen has gone public with his desire for a contact extension

Just give the man his contacts. You'd think the Sox would have a good vision plan ffs.