Be Careful What You Wish For, Ozzie Guillen

The Minnesota Twins have won four of six from the hated Chicago White Sox in the last week-plus. They have three games left together later in September.

After Thursday's 11-0 White Sox win that allowed them to avoid a sweep and a six-game hole in the American League Central, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen -- not known for ever really filtering his thoughts -- was very clear.

He wants more from the Twins.

He can't wait to see them again.

"Give me a shot against them late in the season," Guillen said. "I predict this thing is going to be all the way to the wire. We stay healthy, we are going to compete and see what happens."

Hey, Ozzie: You're 5-10 against the Twins this season. That's five three-game series, at least on average, and you win one of three each time.

Do you really want to play them again?

Doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Instead, the White Sox are better off setting the Twins up with more dates against the Yankees, who they can't seem to beat under any circumstances.

Give Minnesota credit, because the White Sox have played some awesome baseball this season, but still can't seem to solve the puzzle when it comes time to play the Twins.

Let's hope it stays that way, so Ozzie can relive more of his personal nightmares Sept. 14-16 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Ozzie Guillen Rips Overzealous Umpire

So much for that mundane getaway day game in Cleveland Wednesday.

Before the Chicago White Sox held on for dear life to defeat the Indians 5-4, the game was already headline-worthy.

In the third inning, White Sox starter Mark Buehrle and manager Ozzie Guillen were ejected from the game after a dustup with veteran umpire Joe West, who was manning first base for the game.

Buehrle was called for two balks in the third inning. Neither of them were balks, based on virtually anyone's understanding of the balk rule. After the first call, Guillen came out to argue and was eventually ejected. Buehrle then got the gate after the second balk, when he flipped his glove to the ground in anger.

Apparently, a mundane act of frustration is now considered to be a blatant show-up of the umpire.

Here is the video, which includes White Sox television voice Hawk Harrelson -- probably my least favorite baseball broadcaster -- speaking the truth.



I don't get the "stick it right up his behind" theory, but Harrelson is right. West was out of line, deserves a suspension (remember, he was fined by baseball for his comments in April about the pace of Yankees-Red Sox games), and was obviously interjecting himself into this otherwise innocent afternoon baseball game.

After the game, Ozzie was, um, not happy.

"Because he's a f---ing a--hole, that's what he is. I just went out to ask him ... I wasn't asking about the balk because you're not allowed, anytime you go out there to ask about balk or whatever. The thing I went out to ask him about was why he was embarrassing Buehrle. I'm not going out to argue about the balk because the rule, but I went out to ask him why he's embarrassing Buehrle and he give me one of this [dismissing him with his hands]. When you're a professional and you have to respect the managers, the way we're supposed to respect the umpires, they are supposed to respect back. Obviously they have more power than we have and we have to wear it every time that happens. That's the reason I got tossed. I don't think he has the right and the power to let people know who is the chief on the field. We know he has to control the game, we know he has to control all the s---, but in the meanwhile, I don't think it was the right thing to do, like we balked him while we were on the field. Joe has been like that for a lot of years, and he's always going to be like this. I'm not going to change it, nobody is going to change it, but sometimes he thinks f---ing people pay to watch him f---ing umpire. He's the type of guy that wants to control the game, it's good for the game, and to me one of the best umpires in the game, no doubt. But in the meanwhile, those years are on his shoulders and kind of heavy and showing people who he is. I deserve respect and the players here deserve respect here, too. When you tell the manager to get the f--- off the field, I don't think that's a good way to handle situations. No matter what you say, what you do, how long you talk here, Major League Baseball doesn't do s--- for anything. I'll be waiting for my fine, get 'em the next day."

"I said why are you embarrassing Buehrle? He said, 'Well Buehrle was doing ...' well, you got two choices, the second choice he has, and he was wrong the first time or the second time, either one was wrong. Because you don't like what Buehrle did the first time you should toss him. You shouldn't embarrass him. That's the way he is."

Did you see the second one that got Buehrle ejected?

"It's not about balk. It's all different. Buehrle has been doing the same stuff, what? Seven years, eight years? All of a sudden [West] just gets up today and says, 'Well, I'm going to call a balk on Buehrle no matter what.' He's got the right, I don't know if it was a balk or not, you couldn't tell. In the meanwhile, I was kind of upset with the reaction. He thinks he's the s--- in the field. People pay to watch f---ing players play, not to see umpires and managers. I don't see any people say, 'I'm going to see Ozzie Guillen manage or Joe West f---ing umpire.'"

Hard to blame him. West's ego is out of control. Obviously, he's a bit set on making a name for himself, and he's done that already. Perhaps he should consider this singing career idea full-time, because he's burning quite a few bridges in baseball right about now.

There is something ironic about Guillen -- as guilty of attention-grabbing behavior as any manager in baseball -- talking about West being out to get noticed. But at least the manager in this case has a job. Guillen's gig there is to take the bullet so Buehrle doesn't get tossed.

West isn't sticking up for wronged umpires around the sport when he acts like an egomaniac. Instead, he's out for himself and only himself.

Guillen may be, too, but at least he has a viable excuse.

Twins Hope To Be On Target: 2010 American League Central Preview

Not too long ago, the American League Central was a laughingstock. It was in a position where it simply didn't appear that anyone in the division was worthy of a playoff spot, and it housed some of the worst teams in the sport.

They've come a long way since then. Detroit made the World Series in 2006, and though they bowed out meekly to St. Louis, the Tigers served notice that this division wasn't going to be a punch line anymore.

Now, we get to see one of the more competitive races the Central has had. That's saying something, because the last two division championships have been decided by a one-game playoff (White Sox over Twins in 2008, Twins over Tigers in 2009).

If all goes well in the Central this year, three and maybe four teams will be improved and perhaps worthy of at least playoff consideration.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
1. Minnesota
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Kansas City
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland

The ballpark. The Twins move into Target Field this season. It opens with a visit from the Red Sox April 12, and the state is excited. But are the Twins suited for a move outside? Statistically, the Metrodome tended to rate as a hitter's park, but not as overwhelmingly as a nickname like "Homerdome" might make you think. With that in mind, Target Field could end up being a bit of a hindrance to the Twins offense, but it will have the same effect on opponents. The newly-signed Joe Mauer leads the offense, which has some serious pop with the returning Justin Morneau, veteran free agent Jim Thome, and holdovers Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer. Don't forget that shortstop J.J. Hardy -- brought in from the Brewers in the Carlos Gomez deal -- popped 50 home runs over 2007 and 2008 before falling off the map last year. He should be able to recapture some of that with his change of scenery.

The pitchers. No one has a more dynamic starting rotation than the White Sox. Jake Peavy looked good once healthy last year, and he is joined by the more-than-capable John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Mark Buehrle, who threw that perfect game last year, but didn't do much after it. Veteran Freddy Garcia serves as the fifth starter as long as he's healthy. If the Sox hit at all, which is a reasonable doubt about this team, they're dangerous. Can Carlos Quentin bounce back? Will Andruw Jones get it together? How good is Gordon Beckham? Will they get anything near their money's worth out of Alex Rios? There are a lot of questions about the offense, and it's tough to imagine the Sox will figure out all the answers.

The rest. Both Kansas City and Detroit stand to be better teams. The Royals were a darkhorse pick of many a year ago, only to flop badly and threaten 100 losses. They somehow finished the season with a 4.83 team ERA despite a full season out of Cy Young winner Zack Greinke. That won't happen again. What they need are Luke Hochevar and Gil Meche to hold up their end of the rotation, and Alex Gordon and Mike Aviles to get healthy and start hitting. They need more power out of Jose Guillen. They need continued development from Billy Butler. Detroit has a rotation -- led by Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello -- but questions with the offense. Is Austin Jackson ready? If not, the Tigers have a huge hole in the leadoff spot. That's a bad place to have a huge hole. Manny Acta takes over in Cleveland, and he should be able to boost player morale. A healthy Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner would probably boost a moribound offense. The team hopes Matt LaPorta -- the prize of the C.C. Sabathia deal two years ago -- can play every day and make an impact.

Word Up, Thome!

UDPATE: Thome has signed with the Twins. It's a one-year deal for $1.5 million.

Thanks to our FanHouse colleagues at The Dugout, Jim Thome's name has a whole different meaning.

The playful chat room simulations regularly feature Thome's character, WordUpThome, a takeoff of the phrase "Word Up, Homey."

For Minnesota Twins fans, the phrase could take on a new life this season, as the veteran slugger is possibly on his way.

The longtime American League slugger spent last season with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, who acquired him in a trade because the White Sox sucked.

Now, as a free agent, it appears Thome could end up in Minnesota, as the White Sox have told him they will not be re-signing him.

The deal in Chicago is that Thome, who hasn't played in the field since 2007, would be on the bench too much, as Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants to give DH at-bats to regulars like Mark Kotsay, Paul Konerko, and Carlos Quentin as a means of keeping them fresh. A full-time DH doesn't appear to interest Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Twins have struggled mightily to consistently fill that spot with a power hitter.

While Thome's batting average has slipped into the .240s the last two years, he has continued to draw walks, hit for power, and drive in runs. Thome drove in 77 runs in 362 at-bats between the Sox and Dodgers a year ago, with Los Angeles using him almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter. Thome's life-time OBP is .404, and even with his average falling, he still posted OBPs in the .360s the last two years.

This is on par with what the Twins got out of the DH spot in 2009. With Jason Kubel serving as the primary DH (97 games), they got a .367 OBP out of their designated hitters. Where the Twins lacked at DH was run production. In 596 at-bats, Twins designated hitters only hit 22 home runs and drove in under 100 runs, both middle-of-the-pack numbers in the American League. An effective Thome gives them a bigger power threat in the middle of the order to compliment Justin Morneau.

The big drawback, should Thome sign, is that he is left-handed. So are Kubel, Morneau, and Joe Mauer. Kubel isn't much of a defensive threat, so he will still DH regularly, and you also have to question if Thome will get at-bats in Minnesota.

With Target Field set to open in April, the Twins do have more revenue coming in. This makes them a bigger threat in free agency, but more importantly makes them a better bet to be able to keep their own stars in the fold. Last year, the Twins had a payroll of under $70 million. If the economic model they eventually follow comes close to that of the Brewers, you can expect the Twins to be able -- in a much larger media market -- to push $90 million in the near future.

(Milwaukee will be around $80-85 million this year.)

Whether it's smart to spend some of this newfound money on an aging left-handed hitter like Thome remains to be seen. While he's been a super ambassador for the game and a character in the clubhouses he's been a part of, Thome doesn't bring anything to the table that the Twins don't already possess.

Not only that, but outside of Michael Cuddyer, their best hitters are already all left-handed, and adding Thome only increases the need for left-handed pitching in the American League Central. If the plan is to DH Kubel for 100 or so games, there's no point in signing Thome. Yes, he would give the Twins a big left-handed bat off the bench, but you already have three big left-handed everyday players, and there really isn't an option to use Thome in the field should you run short on bench guys in a long game.

With spring training approaching, it will be interesting to see where Thome lands, or if he lands at all.