Ozzie To Sox: I Want You To Want Me
As the 2010 season winds down, Ozzie Guillen is craving validation.
He has a year remaining on his deal, and a provision that extends him one more year if the Sox win the division in 2011. That's not the situation he wants, but it's the contract he signed.
He says he plans to be back, if he's wanted. And this is starting to look like a negotiation.
Guillen and Ken Williams have been clashing all year -- two crazy alphas scrapping like brothers under the roof of poppa Jerry Reinsdorf's house. The tension is real, denied by none.
Both do a decent job, however, and both are loved by Reinsdorf personally and professionally.
So the best bet is that the upcoming cooling-off period settles the environment. Reinsdorf has them hug it out, and Ozzie gets a couple guaranteed years tacked on. Williams could also be Paxsonated to a grander executive tier, leaving Rick Hahn in charge of the day-to-day GM duties and providing a demilitarized zone on the Ozzie border.
Or it blows up in a flurry of Spanglish tweets, hallway staredowns and profane machismo.
Sox/A's at 2:00 today, so you get us for an hour. We'll cover what we can in the short time, including the Bulls' signing of Brian Scalabrine. They must have identified a need at the "bad, slow, out-of-shape guy" position.
Tomorrow, it's "Who You Crappin?" at 5:00, and the Bud Light "Who Needs Two?" Tavern Tour stops in Mokena on Friday. Join us at Morgan's Thunder Bowl in Mokena to get your weekend started.
