Ozzie Wants Back On The Crazy Train

I don't know if much is going to be different for the White Sox this season compared to last year. I really don't see them competing with the Indians and Tigers and I'm not sure they're going to finish over .500.

Now I have proof my fears are well-founded. Baseball Prospectus released their PECOTA projections last week, and they predict that the White Sox are going to finish in third place in the division with a 77-85.

I realize that a lot of you are probably thinking that it doesn't matter what a bunch of nerds and their computers say, the teams still have to play the games.

I thought the same exact thing last season. After a World Series title in 2005, and a 90-win season in 2006, I figured the Sox were going to win the AL Central again last year. When I saw BP's PECOTA projection for the team last season, I laughed when they said the White Sox would go 72-90.

Then six months later, one of the most frustrating seasons I ever had as a White Sox fan came to a conclusion, and their record was 72-90.

Needless to say, I respect the nerds and their computers a bit more this season.

There is good news, though. Over the weekend at FanHouse, I wrote about Ozzie's pledge to get back to being the Guillen of old, and not be so laid back and concerned about the negative media attention.

He wasn't lying either. The next day, Oz had this to say to the Sun-Times Chris DeLuca.

"I don't give a [expletive] what people think about me,'' Guillen said. ''I win 200 games in two years, and nobody ever mentions that. Well, if you're not going to give me credit when the team wins ... that made me think, 'Wow, what kind of life are we living?' My team wins 200 games, I didn't have a losing season, and they treat me that way.

''Then if you're a nice guy, they are going to treat you the same way. [Expletive] it, be an asshole then. I would rather be an asshole winning than be a nice guy [expletive] losing. Give me an asshole who can win, don't give me a nice guy who can [expletive] lose.''

In picking apart the 2007 White Sox, plenty of things went wrong. A popular knock among the critics is this team that had been known for thriving with a chip on its shoulder suddenly was too nice.

''They're right,'' Guillen said. ''You cover this ballclub last year, you say, 'Wow, what a nice team to cover.' No, it's not fun to cover a team like that. Well, it's not fun to [expletive] manage a team like that, either.

''We stunk last year.''

...

''You know what's funny? When you're on the hot seat and you tell your boss how horse [crap] you are,'' Guillen recalled of his private chats with Williams. ''And you tell your boss, 'Hey, man, I should do this different. It's my fault, I let this team go too far.'

''I let stuff go too far. And then when I put my foot down, it was like, whoa, it's the end of the world. People were saying, 'Aw, that's just Ozzie being Ozzie.' Bull [crap]. I hate the phrase. That's exactly the way I am.''

...

'I go to other cities and I have [reporters] coming over just to see what Stupid is going to say,'' Guillen said. ''You don't think I don't know that? I know that. We go to someplace like Anaheim or Seattle or even in Chicago, they want to know what he is going to say. Hey, at least you're there. If you want to know something about me, [expletive] ask me.

''Do you know how many times I've gotten in trouble with Kenny because I'm honest with people? But, meanwhile, Kenny has to understand I have to face [the media] every day.

''If my [stuff] sells papers every day and we win, well, I want to be on the front page every day,'' Guillen said. ''As long as I don't rape anybody, as long a I pay my taxes, I don't beat my wife ... if I am going to be on the front page of the newspaper because of [expletive] baseball, I will take that.

''If more people treat baseball the way I treat baseball, this [expletive] game will be better.''

They haven't even played a spring training game yet! What's going to happen come the first week in April when Gavin Floyd is giving up 8 earned runs in 1.2 innings of work?

I know a lot of people can't stand Ozzie and the way he acts, but I'm not one of them. I love it. I'm tired of hearing the same crap from managers and players all the time. To hear Guillen opine on things is refreshing. Now that doesn't mean I agree with everything Ozzie says. In truth, we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. (For instance, I don't think Jay Mariotti is gay, I just think he's a douchebag.)

Still, it's because of Ozzie that I'm actually looking forward to this season on the south side. After all, I get paid by the post over at FanHouse, and I get the feeling Ozzie is going to buy me a whole lot of things this season.

Foul Balls

Ryan Newman Won The Daytona 500 - It's a bit of a February tradition for me. There is no more football being played, and baseball is still over a month away, so I find myself watching NASCAR on Sundays. In particular, the Daytona 500.

I can't help it. My dad has been a NASCAR fan since way before it was cool to be one (though you could argue it still isn't cool to be one), and I used to watch the races with him as a kid. So yesterday I found myself watching the sports premier event for four hours.

I enjoyed it too. I always do.

Ryan Newman won, which pissed me off because I placed a $10 bet before the race on Kyle Busch, which was paying 15/1 odds. Busch led 86 of the 200 laps, more than twice as many laps as any other driver, but he didn't win the damn thing. Newman led only 8 laps, but of course, he led the most important one.

I'll be watching next week too, and every Sunday until baseball season starts. Then, like every year, I'll forget all about it until next February when it starts all over again.

LeBron's Monster Dunk - Earlier in The Basketball Diaries, I mentioned LeBron James' dunk over the entire Western Conference in last night's All-Star Game. I may have embellished a bit. He didn't dunk over the entire Western Conference, but he did dunk over four of the five players they had on the court at the time, with Dirk Nowitzki getting the worst of it.

Anyway, here's video proof of it. I know how you kids like the moving pictures more than the halcyon word.

The Basketball Diaries

East 134 West 128

You know, I don't much care about the NBA All Star game. The only part of the festivities I ever really enjoy are the dunk and (to a lesser degree) three-point contests. After witnessing Dwight Howard's performance in the dunk contest on Saturday night, I knew nothing could happen in the actual All-Star Game that would compare, so I didn't watch. Still, I bet I can tell you what happened. The best basketball players in the country did a whole bunch of crazy shit. There were a lot of alley-oops, highlight dunks, and no defense whatsoever. Am I right? I know that LeBron scored 27 points for the East, two of which came in the final minute when he dunked on the entire Western Conference, and was named MVP. James also had 8 rebounds and 9 assists.

And none of it was as cool as this.

It's Black Rhino Over Seabiscuit by a Length!

Honestly, for pure giggles, this is one of the more entertaining ten minutes I've seen in a long while.

Charles Barkley backed up his fighting words last night when he defeated Dick Bavetta in a footrace during NBA All-Star Saturday Night.

Huh, you say?

Well, the contest was planned after his "Inside the NBA" co-workers questioned whether the 44-year-old, 325-pound Barkley had the stamina to outrun the spry 67-year-old NBA ref.

The best line of the night was after the race when Barkley, looking at the oversized $50,000 check donated by the NBA to the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club, proclaimed: "We're giving two blackjack hands to charity!"

Unfortunately, this clip doesn't include the video from earlier in the evening which showed Barkley "training" for the event by doing situps lifting only his head and eating Krispy Kremes. Classic.

All-Stars, you have a long way to go tonight to be as entertaining as these two.

Black Running Backs Can't Jump

WARNING: This isn't really about basketball. (Although the skin on Wayne Newton's face was stretched like one. And about the same color.)

It was NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Basketball!!! In Vegas!!!

The excitement was barely discernable as B and C-Listers displayed their mediocre skillz, so that they could get comped for the rest of the weekend.

It was such a dazzling affair, I'm sorry I didn't watch.

Starting for the East were "Scrubs" star Donald Faison, LaDainian Tomlinson, Nelly and WNBA player Katie Smith (nothing like a professional player from the same sport playing Carrot Top to engender respect). The starters for the West were Reggie Bush, That Guy from Desparate Housewives Who Keeps Showing Up on Sports Shows, and some other WNBA chick.

The highlight of the game, maybe even the best play of the game, was Reggie Bush going out with a sprained ankle. Note to New Orleans Saint football players: you should really stop with the extracurricular activities.

In the end, the West Squad dominated over the East in a barn-burner.

Final score: West 40, East 21.

(Though in fairness, the East also scored 3 high-end hookers, 2 new signed agents, 1 Taiwanese Liza Minnelli impersonator, and a handful of green pills from some guy named Lou.)