Ozzie Guillen in Trouble

[Skizzick]

Good to know I'm not alone in that.

I came very, very, very close to obtaining one when I was down in Cuba. Through some connections, I met a former member of Castro's cabinet that had one and was willing to sell it, but at the last minute he backed out. I got to hold it though, which was pretty cool.

[godwulf]

The sports media should go to other Cuban baseball players and get their take on the situation and on Cuba/Castro today.

I could not possibly agree less.

The "sports media" should focus on Baseball - and, I suppose, if there's time, and space on the page, those other (what Red Smith called) "back-and-forth sports" - period, and leave the politics to the political reporters, pundits, and assorted elected and appointed goobers of all races, creeds and ethnicities.

I don't care about any player's politics, sexuality, antecedants or personal history, whatsoever, unless it directly impacts how he hits, fields or pitches.

[Skizzick]

I could not possibly agree less.

The "sports media" should focus on Baseball - and, I suppose, if there's time, and space on the page, those other (what Red Smith called) "back-and-forth sports" - period, and leave the politics to the political reporters, pundits, and assorted elected and appointed goobers of all races, creeds and ethnicities.

I don't care about any player's politics, sexuality, antecedants or personal history, whatsoever, unless it directly impacts how he hits, fields or pitches.

Well, you don't have to read it or watch it. ESPN has 230 shows dedicated to fantasy sports, and maybe they'll dedicate an hour every few days to E:60 or Outside the Lines. I think especially with the issue of Cuba, where baseball is the one thing both countries agree on, there should be a larger discussion. Hey man, it's what I study. I love this stuff.

[gameon]

We White Sox fans have seen all too many of these Guillen disruptions in the past and they get very tiresome and annoying. Good luck with your new manager Miami fans. This is just one of many more to come. He said he will learn from this.......NOT!!!!

[jppopma]

Too many whiners out there. I personally don't care what views anybody has or much of what they say. Someone will be offended no matter what anyone says.

Respecting something about someone does not mean that you are supportive of that person or activity. I can say that I respect how motorcycle gangs take care of their own business....but that doesn't condone what they do.

[LastingsMilledge85]

Too many whiners out there. I personally don't care what views anybody has or much of what they say. Someone will be offended no matter what anyone says.

Respecting something about someone does not mean that you are supportive of that person or activity. I can say that I respect how motorcycle gangs take care of their own business....but that doesn't condone what they do.

The problem is that what he said was bad for business. The Marlins need to make money, and he could not of said a worse statement to the demographic that is supposed to help fund this team. He said pro-Castro remarks in 2008, but nobody cared because how many Cuban-Americans support the Sox? Say that in Little Havana, and there is going to be a problem. Ozzie is an employee of the Miami Marlins, and (even though it's probably impossible for him) he needs to act in a professional manner. I can't wait for the next thing he says/does that embarrasses that sham of an organization.

[GameUsedGR61]

I am not sure where I read this, but apparently the Marlins were second to last in terms of attendance last year

An incident like this is definitely not going to help put people in the seats (in regards to a segment of the community)

[coxfan]

I've personally known a number of folks who had to flee Castro, and none of them would say a kind word about him. Plus, I lived through the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. All us kids went to high school during the crisis, thinking that nuclear war might break out that day.

So I've studied historical accounts that have been put together about that crisis years later (when some of the people involved, including both Americans and Russians, could talk), and they indicated that Castro came close to igniting a nuclear war. The facts are that JFK resisted military demands that he launch a preemptive invasion to prevent the USSR from bringing in nuclear weapons. But JFK sensed that there might already be some nuclear weapons in Cuba, so he refused to invade. Instead, he gambled on issuing a public statement that he would give a "full retaliatory response" against the USSR if anything was launched from Cuba.

Krushchev knew that there were some nuclear missiles in Cuba, and that Castro was raging to be allowed to use them. That caused Krushchev to to work behind the scenes to defuse the crisis, while having to restrain the emotional Castro from doing anything foolish.

As for Guillen, he's been popping off for years. But his next strike may be "out" so he needs to learn some restraint like most other public figures.

[EurekaDave]

Imagine what would happen if the manager of the Industriales of Havana said the same thing about Barack Obama. You'd never see him again.

That said, the media is culpable in all this. And I can say that because I am media. We get outrageous people to say outrageous things because they make news--ratings, sell papers, etc. Ignore them and -- curiously --they go away.

Ironic that the very people who champion free-speech (we the media) use it in such inconsequential ways.

Dave Silverbrand
das1721@att.net

[coxfan]

General comments about the media are right on target. I've had some dealings with the media in my long life, and I've learned:

1) Beware the reporter who smiles in an ingratiating way; he's just looking to gain your confidence so you'll "trust" him and say something stupid.

2) Don't trust the reporter not to "edit" what you say, supposedly for space. In fact, he may edit away most of your paragraph, thereby leaving a sentence out of its full context, and changing its meaning. But he'll swear you really said that, ignoring the fact that his editing changed the context and thus the meaning. And "editing" gives broad leeway to the reporter to express his own political views (whether left or right).

3) Beware the vengeful reporter, especially if you're a manager with frequent contact. Some of them will punish you if you don't give them enough "good" material.

In general, press conferences are safer than individual interviews. More witnesses are at the conference, making it harder for one reporter to distort and get away with it.