Ozzie Guillen: Dumb Luck or Just Plain Dumb?
There are thirty teams competing in Major League Baseball, but only one has just inaugurated a state-of-the-art, taxpayer-funded ballpark in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. There are thirty Major League managers leading those thirty teams, but only one was dumb enough to recently offer fawning praise of Fidel Castro to a Time reporter. If I told you that the man who said such things has to field a team for 81 home games in front of an audience of escapees from Fidel’s Caribbean gulag and their children, you probably wouldn’t believe anyone could possibly be that dumb. And yet it happened.
In Ball Four, his groundbreaking memoir about life in the big leagues, Jim Bouton explains what it’s like to be a thinking man in a sport that has a dearth of them. And that explains Ozzie Guillen, the Miami Marlins manager, and why he’s now public enemy number one among many Cuban Americans: he’s old school dumb.
The furor began when Time magazine quoted Guillen as claiming to “love” and “respect” Fidel Castro because of his longevity, in spite of the fact that there are many who wish him dead. The piece in Time was about Ozzie’s outlandish personality, and I’m sure that he got carried away trying to live up to his well-earned reputation, except that this time it was really, really dumb.
In the same piece, Ozzie asserts that he gets drunk after every game, win or lose. It’s probably not true and it’s kind of a dumb thing to say, but praising a brutal dictator who has repressed, imprisoned, tortured, and exiled more than a million of your neighbors breaks the dumb-o-meter.
No doubt that many who hear about this episode will wonder what the big deal is. But as ESPN’s Dan Le Batard, the son of Cuban exiles himself, said, Guillen could not have said anything worse given the fan base of the Marlins, because “he’s our Hitler. … Just understand that. Let that marinate for a second. For Cuban Americans, Fidel Castro is our Hitler.”
Most people know little or nothing about the dictatorship that is just 90 miles from our shores. And that’s not Ozzie Guillen’s fault. For that we can thank a biased and, yes, dumb media that has made a Faustian bargain with the Castro regime. Cuban-Americans are patriotic, hard working, and — for the most part — politically conservative, which naturally makes them the only ethnic minority the American left feels comfortable ridiculing; Cuban-Americans’ feelings on such matters are routinely discounted by those in the media and those on the left.
No doubt it’s difficult to be an athlete or coach nowadays. Say too little and you’re branded as stiff and boring, but say too much and you can end up in hot water. Ozzie Guillen is for the most part the type of manager that fans love. He’s outspoken, passionate, funny, enthusiastic, and he can make a losing team entertaining. As a Marlins fan, I have fond memories of him as a coach on the club’s 2003 world championship squad. But I knew when he was named manager that his mouth would get him into trouble in Miami as it did in Chicago, where he managed the White Sox until last season. In the past, Guillen, who is Venezuelan, has offered schizophrenic praise and criticism of his country’s president-cum-dictator, Hugo Chavez. It’s notable because Chavez became the benefactor to the Castro regime when he came to power in 1998. Venezuela provides 100,000 barrels of oil to Cuba daily, most of which is sold on the world market to keep the repressive government in business. So Guillen was already on a short leash when it comes to dumb statements that affect Cuban-Americans.
The problem in this case is that Ozzie Guillen was, in my view, making a joke about a matter that is deadly serious to many of the fans of his team. Ozzie should know better by now. He has Cuban-Americans on his coaching staff, there are Cuban-Americans on the broadcast team, and he’s even managed Cuban defectors like Jose Contreras. Did he stop to think about them before he blurted out his dumb comment? Probably not.
Guillen has since apologized for the remark and is flying down to Miami on the Marlins’ off-day to address the controversy head-on. This is admirable. As a Cuban-American and a fan of the Marlins, I’ve personally chosen to accept his apology. I never expected my team’s manager to be a diplomat. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson and can concentrate on helping his 2-3 club win.
Let me be clear about one thing. In our country Ozzie Guillen has the right to say whatever he wants, no matter how dumb. What he doesn’t have is a right to be popular. If you make unpopular statements or jokes that are in poor taste, you can’t expect to be loved. If you repeatedly make such statements and alienate your boss’s customers, you can’t expect to keep your job for long. That would be just plain dumb.
Hitler? I remember Cuban Americans comparing him to Stalin. The fact is he’s neither. He’s just Fidel. A megalomaniac that turned one of the most prosperous countries in Latin American into one of the poorest.
The ironic thing is that it’s the Cuban Americans who help keep his nasty regime going. 250,000 “exiles” travel from Miami to Cuba annually. Calling Cuba from the US is a buck a minute. Now add the remittances. It’s a financial lifeline to Cuba from Miami.
At least your pseudonym is honest.
Yes, but redundant.
I think you are correct here. Our policies towards Cuba for the past 40 years have served only to perpetuate Castro’s regime. We should have flooded them with American capitalism from the start, Fidel would never have lasted. I chuckle thinking about the craziness which ensue and all those Miami Cubans start trying to reclaim their properties in Cuba after the regime falls. Whoo boy, what a food fight! We might have to invade Cuba to enforce the property rights of all those Floridians.
Mr. Gomez,
If you’re a Marlin’s fan and you’re relatively unacquainted with your team’s new manager, here’s some advice: don’t pay too much attention to anything Ozzie Guillen says. He says a lot of dumb things. And he tweets a lot of dumb things. Just take him and everything that comes out of his mouth or that he posts on the internet with a big ol’ grain of salt.
There’s a reason (or maybe a few reasons) the White Sox finally parted ways with him. He’d been a part of that ball club–both as a player and as a manager–since 1984. As you noted, he once heaped praise on Hugo Chavez, even though he said his mom would be angry with him for doing so. He even went on Hugo Chavez’ radio show in Venezuela (yes, the el presidente has his own radio show — just be glad the idea hasn’t [yet] occurred to our prez).
But then he slammed Chavez and ridiculed American celebrities who praise Presidente Chavez. He singled out Sean Penn, calling Penn a stupid leftist and a clown. Then he took his broken English to twitter and challenged Mr. Penn: “Sean Penn defended Chavez is easy when you have money, and no leave in out country. Shame on you, Mr. Penn”
More:
“Sean Penn, if you love Venezuela please move to Venezuela for a yea”
Ozzie Guillen talks all the time. He loves the limelight and he doesn’t have the best filter. Some of the time, he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. He often appears to speak before thinking. Sometimes he gets himself into trouble. But most people who are familiar with his schtick just quit paying attention to the things he says.
Gotta admit this though, taking the Miami job and subsequently praising Castro is one of the dumbest thing Ozzie has ever done (and he’s said/done many a dumb thing). It’s also worth mentioning that Ozzie Guillen recently admitted to struggling with a drinking problem for the last 25 years. He said that every night for the last 24 years, he’s consumed alcohol until he’s fallen asleep or passed out. That’s not rumor or hearsay — it’s something Guillen has admitted to (and it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to a lot of people who have seen the guy out and about).
The ownership of The Marlins are at the root of this travesty. Thy hired him because he was Latino, knew he was a source of ridiculous comments, and built the ballpark in an area that would insure a large Latino fan base. Who did they think they were hiring? Thomas Jefferson?
Uh…no. The Marlins didn’t hire Ozzie because he’s a Latino. They hired him because he knows how to manage a baseball team. Managers with championship credentials (Ozzie managed the World Series winning Chicago White Sox in 2005) aren’t that easy to find.
Uh…no yourself. There are plenty of excellent managers who are actual Americans and speak fluent English. The Marlins could have hired any one of them. Instead they hired a Spanglish-speaking Latino solely to pander to the Cubans — who are now calling for his head. As William Shatner once said, “Irony can be pretty ironic.”
In addition, the new stadium was built in crime-plagued Little Havana (where the Orange Bowl once stood) for further pandering. The running joke in the rest of Florida before the demolition was “If you’re going to the Orange Bowl, be sure to bring your AK-47.” It’s unlikely conditions have improved since then. So for the owners sucking up to the Cubans trumps even fan safety.
Ozzie Guillen is an American citizen. Naturalized in 2006. Or is that not “actual” enough for you?
Name the manager you think the Marlins should have hired. Because Tony LaRussa wasn’t coming through that door.
If life were just, a Communist official would come and take Ozzies money and car and give him a pittance to live on.
What were they thinking, hiring a Pro-Communist to run a team in MIAMI?!? Did yoy WANT people to stay away from games?
Leaving the massive executions and tortures aside, Cuba was, according to the UN’s study of middle class penetration among its member states, Second best in the world in 1959.
In the same report last year it was classed in a group of four at the bottom of the list — the group that includes Zimbabwe.
Social engineering always fails, since humans are an organic lot. When it fails, the few pseudo-intellectuals that coerced their brainy solutions on the population turn to violent force to bring the hoi polloi to heel.
I’ve sojourned in Cuba before, during and after Fidel. Today’s Cuba is a disaster of hollow-headed people queueing for pathetic handouts when they’re not conniving for some petty favor.
Keep in mind it wasn’t as though he was showering unqualified praise upon Castro, all he really said was a macho joke that amounted to “That dude has cajones for surviving this long.” That isn’t anything near what the media is portraying.
He likes Castro, but he hates Chavez?!! Maybe he just appreciates the original asshole instead of the wannabe?
Didn’t the Marlins impose a 5 day suspension on Guillen today?
He’s lucky I’m not running the team. I would have fired him before he even had a chance to apologize. One of those Cuban-Americans on his staff would now be managing the team.
I’m sure someone will say I don’t respect freedom of speech, but here’s a clue for the constitutionally ignorant: the First Amendment restricts government, not me. It doesn’t restrict a major league baseball franchise, either.
I don’t know what the big deal is. Ozzie Guillen is just a good Democrat. Is there a problem here?
Although there is NO CRYING IN BASEBALL” There apparently is STUPIDITY. “OZ” you need to become a clam! Geezzzz
“Idiot in love with the sound of his own voice” would get my vote.
I think the Cuban Americans should NOT accept his BS apology, and demand his firing! If they don’t get it, stay away from the Marlins’ games.
Refer to Roger Kimball’s piece “Things You Cannot Say.” The difference between this and Derb’s little screed is…?
This is all so stupid. First off, the “claims” about Castro being a “brutal dictator” are far-fetched, at best. Nobody wants to talk about how Castro’s policies have led to one of the finest medical systems in the world. Cuba’s medical system is so good that even Hugo Chavez choose to be treated for his cancer in Cuba. Not Venezuela, not America, not France, not Brazil, not Honduras….but Cuba! Also, Cuba produces the finest, grade-A, top-shelf sugar in the world. Cuba is like the Vermont of the south, except Castro doesn’t produce maple syrup. He produces cane sugar. But that’s not far off from a lot of the so-called “maple syrup” being produced today by imperialistic American corporations, like Aunt Jemima and that whore Betty Crocker. All they produce is a sugar cane based maple syrup product, not a “real” maple syrup from real maple trees. And where do you neocons think that Aunt Jemima gets her sugar cane? THAT’S RIGHT! From Fidel! So go ahead, you dirty Cheneyites! Keep consuming your filthy pancakes with your phony “maple syrup” made from REAL CUBAN SUGAR. Kind of makes you start to see Fidel in a different light, heh?
LovelyEarth: what mental asylum did you escape from? I see that you are very “sweet” on sugars from Cuba; perhaps, you can find your way into a gigantic Snickers bar, place a one way stamp to Havana and live there happily ever after………
And … WHOOOOOOSHHHHH.
Allright – Take some deep breaths and relax. Maybe a valium or two as well. I appreciate a good rant as much as the next guy but please don’t insult the noble pancake with your wildly misdirected shotgun blasts. (I prefer mine with blueberry syrup but that’s a personal choice.) What did they ever do to you? I must confess that being depicted as a “dirty Cheneyite” (and in connection with an attack on Aunt Jemima no less) is something new in the realm of ad hominem attacks. I hate to admit it but I kind of like being described that way. (Who doesn’t want to be Dick Cheyney?) And I must ask you Sir! What proof can you offer that Ms. Crocker is a “whore.” This is a monstrous defamation of all baked goods and those who love them.
As for Fidelcare and Hugo Chavez – What choice did Senor Chavez have? You can’t be a rip-roaring, capitalist-baiting, red-as-a-fresh-beet Commie all your life and then go to such swanky venues as Paris, London or Brussels for your health care. The more trenchant question here is why didn’t Chavez have his operation at home in Carraccas? Why did he have to decamp to Havanna for life-saving surgery? Chavez has been running the show in Venezuela long enough to have a competent health system hitting on all cylinders. What’s the holdup?
Finally – Let’s take it as read that Cuba’s health care system is just superduper awesome and wonderful. Fine – I’ll play along. Let me ask you what price you are willing to pay for it? Are you willing to sacrifice a meaningful vote, freedom of speech, due process in court, a right to hold private property, a multi-party political system, a free press and checks-and-balances against overmighty central power (to name a few) to obtain it? Cuba was willing or at least they had to knuckle under while these conditions were thrust on them. How many basic freedoms are you willing to throw out the window in order to qualify for state-supplied Viagra and a government tummy-tuck? You might want to consider this between soothing breaths in your paper bag. Oh – And leave Aunt Jemima out of it!
BLUEBERRY SYRUP?! What a disgrace! What an awful disgrace you commit!
Blueberry syrup? THAT’S what gets you cranked up?
I gave up on caring about “professional” sports as a late teenager….
The thrill wearing off one by one as they all went on strike, and I became a Man….with more important Man stuff to do than worry about those primadonna’s, their corrupt bosses, and their hollow “competition”
Our Brothers Sons and Cousins are off fighting wars…players, coaches and those who CARE about players and coaches can drop dead for all I care.
They need Our Tax Money to build a “factory” where all the “employees” are “multi-millionaires”?
And they STILL have the nerve to attach River Crossing Tolls to The Stadium Coffers? (Philly)
Whether you go to the game or NOT, you have to pay them?
And 50 dollar tickets, with out-freaking-rageous food/snack/drink prices if you DO show up?
Seriosly?
I HATE professional sports…
And baseball isnt even a sport, its a GAME.
Dumb, overpaid egomaniacs playing a F*cking GAME…
Standing around, scratching their balls, waiting for “something” to happen…
thats 95% of every Baseball Players life in Uniform.
Yawn.
Christ, at least those Euro-dweeb Soccer guys MOVE a little.
I’ll watch paint dry before I suffer a televised Baseball game.
Designated Hitter?
You get paid millions to BAT ONLY?
And youre NOT a .350-.400 hitter?
Seriously?
Who CARES what this ignorant jerk says about Castro.
The fact that this guy isnt doing something economically productive, he’s living off the taxpayers,
while managing an inconsequential GAME, and people CARE what he says, is the real outrage.
Celebs and Sports figures are whats WRONG with this country.
Avoid them like plague. Ignore them, and (maybe) they’ll go away
The answer to Ozzie’s current problems is for the Marlins to start playing consistent winning baseball. They spent a whole lot of money on free agents this off-season, they’ve got the new ball park, they need to deliver a good product, give the fans something to cheer about. Ozzie keeps his mouth shut and they start winning, this doesn’t have to be a continuing story.
Politics and sports, it’s never a good mix. Hopefully Ozzie has learned that lesson and hopefully it’s sent a message to everyone else in sports. Keep your mouth shut about stuff you don’t know anything about and that doesn’t have to do with your sport.
Obviously a brain is not a requirement for a baseball coach.
Two things: Why can’t Ozzie have a positive opinion about Fidelito? It may not be good PR in Miami, but he should be able to say, “I think [whoever] is a good guy,” without getting five days off.
Secondly, Fidelito has proven that the very best way to neutralize a vital, capable, dynamic people is to simply make them communists. Since 1957, Cuba has been a zero on the world scene; no impact, no mark. Without Fidel and communism, Cuba might have been a major player and US competitor, at least in this hemisphere.
If you owned a business, and your customers stopped coming to your establishment because your employee felt compelled to express their political opinions to your customers, what would you do?
Look at the boycotts Miami fans of Cuban descent have organized against the Marlins and then put yourself in the owner’s place.
Old-style Florida Dems such as Bob Graham simply did/do not want to see a free Cuba as a tourism and agricultural competitor. Hence the sandbag job with Bay of Pigs and why so much as a Guard Unit from SW Dade County hasnt been dedicated to a military operation since.
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