A Little Too True

Ozzie Guillen did it again.

Ozzie went on a rant Tuesday, calling Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti a "fag."

I agree - along with the majority of Chicagoans who read Mariotti's column - with the gist of what Ozzie was saying.

Mariotti is an ass. He is a moron.

The man flip-flops on issues like a porn star on a mattress.

He never has anything good to say about anything going on in Chicago sports. When the White Sox are winning it's, "They're a great team, but [fill in the blank: Reinsdorf or Guillen or even TV play-by-play announcer Hawk Harrellson] is an idiot."

"Ya, the Bulls made the playoffs but Tyson Chandler is a joke and John Paxson was a fool to give him such a large contract."

He conveniently glosses over all the good and hammers on the rare bad.

Three years ago it was, "The Cubs need Dusty Baker!" Now it's, "Dusty Baker is an idiot and everybody who hired him should lose their job."

His bombast hasn't gone unnoticed by Chicago fans. 95% of the Letters to the Editor in the Sunday Sun-Times read something like: "Mariotti, you're an idiot. STFU."

When you think about it, it's a wonder Mariotti doesn't need a bodyguard surrounding him 24/7.

So really, Ozzie said absolutely nothing that the majority in this town haven't said repeatedly to themselves.

The problem is Ozzie said it in a very public setting.

He is the manager of the defending World Champion White Sox. He represents the organization and the City of Chicago. The world is not a baseball clubhouse. It's really quite the opposite. There is freedom of speech, so Ozzie can say whatever the hell he wants but at the same time he has to accept the consequences of his words.

He should be suspended this time.

...and the guy says, "Rectum!? It damn near killed him!!"

He made a similiar gaffe last season in a press conference. They were jesting remarks made to a couple friendly reporters, so there wasn't a lot of noise about it. (Well, of course, Mariotti wrote a column on it.)

Whether or not "fag" has different connotations in his homeland of Venezuela is beside the point. He has lived in the United States long enough to know what the word means here. He's also been here long enough, and has had to take enough abuse from, the incredibly PC atmosphere here in the United States.

He should know better.

A suspension and a fine may just be the thing that needs to be done to drive that point home to Guillen.

The biggest crime of this whole thing is that over the last ten days the White Sox are playing their best baseball since their 12-1 run through the postseason last year.

But now, the attention will be on Ozzie and what he might possibly say.

He's a brilliant manager, whether he wants to admit it or not.

He was a huge factor in the White Sox winning their first World Series in 88 years last season, whether he wants to take any credit for it or not.

This time, though, he's gonna have to take the credit for what he said and accept his punishment.

Whether we agree with him wholeheartedly or not.