In continuing the trend set by guys like Detroit Lions GM Matt Millen, Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley, and Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, Ozzie Guillen has been rewarded for his poor performance.
CHICAGO -- The White Sox's miserable season won't cost manager Ozzie Guillen his job. Instead, the outspoken manager received a multiyear extension.
Guillen and the team agreed Tuesday to a contract extension through the 2012 season.
Guillen managed Chicago to a World Series title in 2005 and was voted AL Manager of the Year, but the White Sox slid from contention early this season and were 61-83 entering Tuesday, tied with Florida and Tampa Bay for the poorest record in the major leagues.
Have fun, White Sox fans! You're gonna get FIVE MORE YEARS of Ozzie's antics!
Yeesh, I would have understood giving him the extension after winning the World Series, or even after coming close to making the playoffs last year. But shelling out the extension weeks before finishing with one of the worst records in the league just makes the Chicago White Sox organization look incompetent.
It can't be blamed on him, we regressed last year and did nothing outside of signing Darin Erstad to help the team.....what the hell can you expect out of the guy?
Co-Winner of the 2006 Time Magazine Person of the Year Award
I personally wouldn't have extended him at this time (I have issues with his game management skills, but that's another story) but this season is Ozzie Guillen's fault about as much as its my fault. Half the team has been injured, and the other half has been terrible. The bullpen has been the biggest collection of stiffs I've ever seen assembled by one team, the supposedly good prospects we had on the farm have all been exposed one by one as terrible to one-dimensional (Anderson, Owens, Sweeney, Fields, Richar, Floyd, Danks, Haeger, Masset).
Lou Piniella, Jim Leyland, Connie Mack, Sparky Anderson and Whitey Herzog could have all gotten together and managed this team and they still would be in last place.
If anything I like the fact they kept Guillen since it seems like players want to stay in the organization with him around. Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye (who has looked better at the plate since getting healthy) both signed extensions with only months to go before free agency, and in the case of Buehrle signing for likely well below market value, mainly because they like it here. If the Sox are going to try to retool quickly via free agency, Guillen will be an asset, and showing the stability of keeping him around for years to come will be helpful in trying to sell players on coming here.
And really, firing a guy who has won 189 games the previous two years would be kind of a knee-jerk move.
No surprise here, as Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been extraordinarily loyal to his front office types over the years. I think he may have been able to keep Jordan's Bulls together for at least one more run if he gave them the head of Jerry Krause - but it didn't work out that way..
Ozzie certainly deserves to come back after just one clunker of a season, but I'm not sure that they needed to extend him all the way through '12. I think it's almost like the Charlie Weis deal, in that the team fears a rebuilding period, and so feels the need to make their man bulletproof via sheer size/length of contract.
After Ozzie himself, the second happiest person to hear this news must be Sun-Times hack Jay "My whole shtick is feuding with someone from every Chicago team" Mariotti.
Originally posted by TheOldManNo surprise here, as Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been extraordinarily loyal to his front office types over the years. I think he may have been able to keep Jordan's Bulls together for at least one more run if he gave them the head of Jerry Krause - but it didn't work out that way..
Ozzie certainly deserves to come back after just one clunker of a season, but I'm not sure that they needed to extend him all the way through '12. I think it's almost like the Charlie Weis deal, in that the team fears a rebuilding period, and so feels the need to make their man bulletproof via sheer size/length of contract.
After Ozzie himself, the second happiest person to hear this news must be Sun-Times hack Jay "My whole shtick is feuding with someone from every Chicago team" Mariotti.
Supposedly the contract has a relatively small buyout clause, so while they get to send the message of committing to Ozzie for the long-term, if things don't turn around in a year or two he can be sent packing without much damage.
And yeah, the Windsock is already pitching a fit over the resigning of Ozzie. He's worked himself into a fine righteous lather once more.
I wouldn't blame the season on him, but some of his tirades have been insulting, demeaning, and obscene. That's the prime reason I'd be happy to let him walk.