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In 1985, Chicago White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen was considered the “best” at his position in the American League.

That is, at least, if you asked Vern McKee, who scouted Guillen and the rest of the White Sox for the Minnesota Twins that September.

Guillen, who won the AL Rookie of the Year, was very good, but McKee’s assessment that he was the “best in league” missed the mark.

To be sure, Guillen was the top defender at his position in the AL during the 1985 season. He led the league in fielding percentage (.980) and committed the fewest errors (12) among shortstops with at least 600 defensive chances, but he wasn’t better than future Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, if overall statistics and WAR are considered.

Ripken had a .282/.347/.469 slash line, hit 26 home runs, collected 110 RBI and had a 5.6 WAR for the Baltimore Orioles in 1985. Guillen, on the other hand, slashed out at .273/.291/.358, went yard once, scored 71 runs and had a 2.3 WAR in his rookie year.

The report is courtesy of Diamond Mines of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Gathering information on other teams is common prior to the offseason as clubs look to improve at each position, and the Twins needed to do something about the makeup of their team.

They were in the midst of a fourth-place finish in the old AL West and would go on to score the fourth fewest runs (705) in the league, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Likely, the Twins were looking to replace shortstop Greg Gagne, who went on to finish the 1985 season with a .225 batting average and a .968 fielding percentage.

There is no accounting for the enthusiasm some scouts have for certain players, though, as Guillen—who was acquired by the White Sox in 1984 in a trade with the San Diego Padres—would have made little difference offensively.

He went on to manage the White Sox from 2004-2011, leading them to a World Series title in 2005 before being traded to the Miami Marlins in advance of the 2012 season. With 678 victories, he ranks third behind Jimmy Dykes (899) and Al Lopez (840) for the most wins in franchise history, per MLB.com.

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Ozzie Guillen frequently makes controversial comments, but his thoughts on Dwyane Wade are completely unnecessary and have nothing to do with him.

According to ESPN, the Marlin’s manager had this to say on Wade’s altercation with coach Eric Spoelstra during Game 3 of the Miami Heat’s playoff series.

I will kick his ass. Well, I won’t say I’ll kick his ass. They’ll kick my ass because they’re bigger than me, and I’m older. But I will take my chances. Some people have to understand our job.

That’s disrespectful. Why he’s saying it, when he said it, that’s none of my business, but the player come out and say something (like that to me), he will guarantee a fight.

After his comments about Fidel Castro offended the Cuban community and earned him a five-game suspension, Guillen would have been smart to keep his mouth shut for a little while. Instead, he chose to suggest a willingness to engage in a physical confrontation with one of basketball’s biggest stars.

Why did Guillen chose to say these things? As is the case with many of the manager’s comments, it remains unclear. 

He even seems to recognize how ridiculous his own words are midway through the statement and admits that the confrontation is none of his business.

As a matter of professional courtesy to Spoelstra, Guillen could have easily deflected the topic, and like most coach/player run-ins, the story would have faded in a few days.

But Guillen struggles to stay out of the spotlight, and anything that he can say to put himself at the center of attention seems to be worth saying. By doing this, he continues to make this story a bigger deal than it actually is.

In all likelihood, Wade and Spoelstra have both moved on and are ready to regain control of their playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. And in all certainty, both men would probably appreciate it if Guillen would and stay out of it.

These comments were foolish and completely unwarranted.

Guillen needs to continue to work on thinking about what he says before the words come out of his mouth. He is an excellent manager and can often be very entertaining, but sports fan everywhere could do with a little less Ozzie right now.

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Ok, Ozzie, you made your outlandish statement for the year, now it’s time to focus on the Miami Marlins.

The city of Miami and thousands of other Cuban-Americans across the country were enraged when Guillen praised dictator Fidel Castro for staying in power despite many attempts to get rid of him. He was suspended for five games and will be returning tonight against the Chicago Cubs.

While the team is prepared for protesters, all three home games this season sold over 30,000 tickets, so it’s not like the outrage will be altering the checkbook of the Marlins’ front office. It’s time to move on from one ill-advised quote and concentrate on the new-look franchise.

It’s a new era in Miami and the fanbase needs to focus on the production on the field and not the manager that holds controversial opinions. Marlins broadcaster Cookie Rojas has been around the game for years after coming over to America from Havana. He is ready to forgive, and hopes others will as well (via latino.foxnews.com):

I’ll tell you something about Ozzie. As long as I’ve known him, he never before felt sorry saying, ‘Please forgive me.’ This is the first time really that he had to admit he was wrong and made a mistake. Let’s get over with it and play ball. I hope they realize this is done with.

Guillen has stuck his foot in his mouth on multiple occasions over the years, but making controversial comments like that when your stadium is located in Little Havana did cross a line.

But after a heart-felt apology that seemed incredibly genuine…what else do you want? He has learned a hard lesson and will surely never utter positive words about Castro again. It was a mistake, but fans shouldn’t look at this as a deal-breaker.

And they won’t.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that winning cures all that ails. Right now the Marlins are a disappointing 4-6, but the have 152 games to change that. As long as Ozzie is able to successfully turn the ship around and make the Marlins a contender for the National League East title, all will be forgotten.

Well maybe not forgotten, but swept under the rug.

Fans don’t ask a whole lot from their managers, but winning is at the top. So if the Marlins are in the bottom of the division come August, then we’ll have some real problems.

For now, fans need to forget about the comments and focus on their resurrected franchise and a first World Series title since 2003. 

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.

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After the Ozzie Guillen uproar last week, are you ready to see him and the Miami Marlins in the new season of Showtime’s The Franchise?

A sneak preview of the new season will be shown this coming Saturday at 9 p.m. ET. The series will premiere on July 11.

And yes, the Guillen-Fidel Castro situation is part of the show. How could it not be, right? Drama! Oh, that’s another network, isn’t it?

Sun-Sentinel beat writer Juan C. Rodriguez has provided clips from the show on his blog. Here is a trailer for the show.

Who knew Hanley Ramirez could be such a sore video game loser?

But I like that the show will apparently give us a behind-the-scenes look at the final construction and rollout of the new Marlins Park. Have we really seen that sort of thing before? Plus, maybe we’ll get some more in-depth stuff on the home run sculpture and the choice to go with a lime-green interior.

Judging from the trailer, we’ll also get some insight on the decision to include Muhammad Ali in Opening Night pregame festivities. (Though it’s probably too much to hope for some genuine candor on the matter.) 

The dynamic between Guillen and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria also looks like it could make for some good TV moments. But do we really want to follow Loria around while he’s acquiring art?

I know that’s how he made his money, but let’s just keep those cameras rolling around South Beach instead. That’s an off-field environment unlike any other in baseball. 

You know, if Showtime really wanted to juice things up, it could have a crossover with Miami’s fictional righteous serial killer. Ozzie and Dexter out on the town would be must-see TV. 

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The Miami Marlins have officially gone overboard with their spending and have overpaid for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes in what will hurt the team in the short-term.

Cespedes, the 26-year-old Cuban player looking to sign with an MLB squad, was reportedly offered a six-year, $40 million deal by the Marlins earlier this week.  

Cespedes is said to have good speed and excellent power. It is no wonder he is being chased by several MLB teams with deep pockets.

The freewheeling Marlins have had a huge offseason, signing Jose Reyes and Carlos Zambrano, and now plan to add the star Cespedes to their roster, barring any setbacks.

However, the risk involved in this type of situation, as well as the amount of money offered, is far too great for the Marlins.

Even manager Ozzie Guillen is not convinced, saying that Cespedes is no sure thing. Just the words an incoming player wants to hear from his potential manager.

But Guillen is right. The Marlins have money to spend and they have not been shy about spending it. But throwing nearly $7 million per year on an unknown player from Cuba is far from normal.

There are so many obstacles set before this deal, and possible move to Miami for Cespedes, that it is unlikely this move will benefit the club in any aspect in the near future.

Do we even know how his game will translate to the talent in the MLB?

He hit .143 for Cuba in the club’s winter league as a designated hitter, most recently. He also struck out in 10 of his 35 plate appearances there.

Is that enough to warrant nearly $7 million per year?

Credit to the Marlins for being at the forefront of this deal, though. They obviously are in charge of their own fate this season. Bringing in players like Reyes this offseason is exactly what this ball club has been searching for.

If the Marlins strike it rich with Cespedes, then they will be the toast of the MLB for years to come. If not, they are simply just another team fighting for a playoff spot in the NL East.

The amount of money reportedly being thrown at Cespedes is simply not worth that risk.

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It’s safe to say the new ballpark. In doing so, the Marlins ownership spent close to $200 million dollars on marquee free-agents such as Jose Reyes, Heath Bell.

The team also traded for Carlos Zambrano and are making a hard run at Cuban defector and Youtube sensation, Yoenis Cespedes.

After a whirlwind of an offseason, here are five bold predictions for these new-look Marlins.

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Ozzie Guillen has always been a little bit crazy, but he has finally snapped and gone insane.

Can you keep a receipt for a manager? The Marlins may want their money back after his latest episode.

He is psycho, he is nuts, he’s got a few screw loose in his head.

The man’s a lunatic, and I am severely questioning whether or not he is psychologically fit to manage a professional baseball team.

Something is wrong with Guillen, and that may be a very big understatement.

Twitter is a dangerous place for public figures, especially in the athletic world. We see it play out time and time again—athletes spouting off on their Twitter handles and usually making a fool of themselves.

At this point it’s not a surprising thing. In fact, I dare say it’s expected. I’ve never seen a coach do it though and actually—I’ve never seen anything quite like this.

Guillen apparently got pretty upset about the fact that his former pitcher Jake Peavy called him out on quitting the White Sox last season in a local radio interview, according to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune:

Saturday, he said, “I know he had a hard time, saying I quit on him, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Peavy said. “I would never quit on a team. … Ozzie didn’t finish the season with us the last (two) games. So I don’t know who quit on who.”

I can see how that would be upsetting to a former coach, so I don’t blame Guillen there. That being said, his response on Twitter was borderline psychopathic. 

D.J. Short of NBC Sports captures the Tweets with the help of Angie Wiatrowski of CSNChicago.com:

I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to get a straitjacket and call it a day with this guy.

What in the name of all that is good in this world is he thinking?

Okay, I can see where he’s coming from. He thinks people want him to look bad, so he tells us to buckle up and he’s going to spit some truth.

Buckled.

After that though he takes a nose dive straight from possible Twitter rant to possibly threatening people and their emotions.

Killing feelings? Is this even possible?

I’m not sure if Guillen has transported himself into The Matrix or if he’s been hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio and has learned the power of inception, but either way I think we’re looking at a guy who may have lost touch with reality.

This is not good, especially if you’re the manager of the Miami Marlins.

It’s one thing if Jim down in his mom’s basement wants to tell us all that he’s going to enter our minds and destroy our feelings, but it’s completely different when somebody in Guillen’s position does it.

Something has to be done here. Not only do my feelings feel threatened, but this guy needs to be checked out.

In a few short months he’s going to be leading a team into a MLB season, but I’m not even sure he’s capable of leading himself back to reality right now.

Somebody’s going to have to do it though, and I have all the pity in the world on that poor soul.

I don’t know who it’s going to be, but somebody has to reach deep into the mind of Guillen, grab him by the hand, and slowly walk him back to reality.

He can’t be having tea and crumpets with the Mad Hatter and Roger Rabbit anymore, because it’s starting to get a little bit over the top.

Somebody please go help Ozzie Guillen, or at least give the Marlins a refund.

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Ozzie Guillen was a terrific manager for the Chicago White Sox the last eight seasons, but the 47-year-old new skipper of the Miami Marlins is going to fall flat on his face in 2012.

A World Series champion and former AL Manager of the Year (both 2005), Guillen has already set himself up for a few struggles next season and in one of the baseball’s most unforgiving divisions, it’ll be an uphill battle.

After the Winter Meetings massive haul, expectations are immense for Guillen and the new-look Marlins next season. I don’t see how he is going to meet them.

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As this disappointing White Sox season crawls to a close, it seems that the only thing left to discuss is who will be back next season, and nothing has been discussed more than the uncertain future of manager Ozzie Guillen.

Guillen is finishing up his eighth season as the White Sox skipper and it has arguably been one of his toughest seasons thus far.

The White Sox had high expectations coming into the season, but have been as inconsistent as any team in baseball and are going to finish at or below the .500 mark for the third time in Guillen’s tenure, including two of the last three seasons.

This will also be the third consecutive season that the White Sox will miss the playoffs.

The general consensus seems to be that Ozzie should not be back next year, but I say just be careful what you wish for.

I’ve heard over and over now that people have grown tired of his act, that he has worn out his welcome, and that it is time for him to move on because he’s lost the fire he once had.

First, let’s be clear on something: it’s not an act…that’s Ozzie Guillen, like it or not.  He hasn’t changed since he has become White Sox manager in 2004; in fact he hasn’t changed since he first put on a White Sox uniform as a rookie in 1985. 

He’s always been a talker and that’s not ever going to change, no matter where he goes or what he does.  The fact is that Ozzie is going to say a lot of things that he probably shouldn’t and will no doubt continue to make people wonder why he just doesn’t shut up, but that doesn’t mean the guy can’t manage.

Sure, he has made some mistakes along the way; show me a manager who hasn’t.

He has been criticized this season for keeping guys like Adam Dunn and Alex Rios in the lineup for too long, which may be justified, but the fact remains that he isn’t the one who brought them to the South side in the first place.

That distinction belongs to Kenny Williams.

Kenny went “all in” this year and gave Ozzie a hand filled with the likes of Adam Dunn, Alex Rios and Jake Peavy.

Gee, thanks.

It may have looked good on paper, but it certainly didn’t turn out that way.  To be fair, it’s not all Williams’ fault because, in the case of Dunn at least, he had no idea things would be this bad. 

However, the bottom line is that he signed all three of those guys to long-term contracts, which can’t be undone.

You play the hand you’re dealt and Ozzie has.  This year’s team was not assembled by Ozzie, it was assembled by Kenny Williams.  Ozzie did not ask for Adam Dunn, nor did he ask for Alex Rios three years ago. 

I’ve heard several times that this is the team that Ozzie wanted and look what he did with it, but honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The truth is that the Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen saga has gone on too long and it certainly may be time for one of them to go, I’m just not so sure that it should be Ozzie, but it seems that it may be.

I certainly understand the frustration of Sox fans after three straight seasons of missing the playoffs, especially when expectations were so high. 

As a fan, it’s always a case of what have you done for me lately, but I’m beginning to wonder if anyone remembers the Sox history of actually getting to the playoffs before Ozzie arrived.

In the previous 50 years before Guillen became manager of the White Sox, they had exactly four playoff appearances and no World Series titles…that’s four appearances in 50 years.  So once every 12 to 13 years, the Sox would make the playoffs. 

In Guillen’s eight seasons as manager, they have made the playoffs twice and won a World Series.

I’ll let you do the math on that one.

Don’t get me wrong, Ozzie hasn’t always endeared himself to Sox fans.  He hasn’t exactly helped himself in the eyes of many fans recently by demanding a contract extension while the Sox were in still in the hunt, but he certainly didn’t quit on the team, as some have suggested.

He lives and breathes White Sox baseball and has always worn his heart on his sleeve, which is something you have to admire about the guy and something that will be tough to replace.

It may be time for a change on the South side, but don’t be too quick to point the finger at Ozzie.

In order to win, you still gotta have the players no matter who is managing, and someone else is in charge of that.

I think the fire is still there.  It just needs to be rekindled.

If this is indeed the end of the road, though, then there is only one thing to say.

Thanks, Oz.  It’s been a hell of a ride.

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The Chicago White Sox survived a topsy-turvy August, entering the final month of the season second in the division with a 68-66 record.  To say that Ozzie Guillen can be at ease with his White Sox above water would be to overlook both the character of Guillen and the expectations set for the White Sox at the beginning of the season when some picked them to the win the division. 

The White Sox looked like they were out of playoff contention at the beginning of the month.  At the end of August, the White Sox again looked to be out of contention.  The White Sox went on five-game winning streaks and sustained losing streaks.  Additionally, Guillen saw his White Sox hit extraordinarily well for several games at a time only to lose their hitting stroke.  In a similar vein, the White Sox had spells of strong pitching and spells of poor pitching.

Following is a look at some nuggets of wisdom to be gathered from the month of August.

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