Ozzie Guillen Apologizes, Draws 5-Game Suspension

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'The Full Nelson' Pins The Protesters In Miami

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Ben McGrath: Ozzie Being Ozzie, Marlins Being Marlins

Last month, Ben McGrath spent a lot of time with the Marlins and wrote this piece for The New Yorker. Which gives him a unique perspective on Ozzie Guillen's latest adventures. McGrath, today:

Some political context, if you could call it that: Guillen is Venezuelan, and has said nice things in the past about Hugo Chávez, even calling him a "friend." And yet he also called Sean Penn a "loser" and a "clown" for Penn’s own support of Chávez. During spring training, when I spoke to Guillen for The New Yorker, he insisted that his only rule was that players be on time for the singing of the national anthem—"especially if you come from another goddamn country," he said. "Lot of people been killed trying to make this country free for us."

--snip--

Tuesday morning, while the Marlins were in Philadelphia, Guillen returned to Little Havana and held an emergency press conference to try to save his job. "They hired me to manage the ballclub, not to talk about politics," Guillen said, in Spanish, and yet talk about politics he did, for much of the next forty-five minutes, in an attempt to convince Miami’s Cuban population not to boycott the Marlins. "I prefer to die before voting for Hugo Chávez," he now said. "I will never vote for Hugo Chávez." And: "Everybody in the world hates Fidel Castro, including myself." Miami, you are now free to go back to being baffled by the Marlins.

Jeffrey Loria wanted a circus, and he's got a circus. Maybe he really had to suspend Ozzie Guillen. But it would seem impolite for Loria to actually complain about any of it.

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Ozzie Guillen Apologizes At Miami News Conference

At Ozzie Guillen’s news conference in Miami, conducted for the most part in his native language of Spanish, the Marlins manager apologized to almost everyone he could think of:

“I’m sorry that I have hurt a city, a country, a community, without any intention. But I did it. … I feel like I’ve betrayed my Latin community. I feel like I betrayed to my Latin community. I'm here to say I'm sorry, with my heart in my hands. I want to say sorry to all those people who were hurt directly or indirectly. Especially to the Cuban-Americans in Miami.”

Guillen then went on a rambling talk about what Hugo Chavez is doing to hurt Guillen’s native Venezuela, and also said he was “very embarrassed” and would do everything he could to help the Cuban-American community in Miami. He said he did not “admire” Fidel Castro, in an attempt to explain the remarks he made to TIME magazine; he said Castro has hurt many people and that his comments were misinterpreted because he was “thinking in Spanish, but speaking in English”. He blames himself, not the TIME reporter.

He said he’d show the Cuban-American community that this isn’t just for one day, but the way he’ll conduct himself in the future; he’ll speak with his actions, not his words.

His suspension for five games will be without pay, but Guillen said that’s the last thing he’s worried about right now. He said he’ll talk to Marlins players on Wednesday and hopes the team will play hard while he’s under suspension. According to Ken Rosenthal, bench coach Joey Cora will manage the Marlins while Guillen is under suspension.

For more on Ozzie and the Marlins, please visit FishStripes.

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Ozzie Guillen Suspended By Marlins; News Conference Scheduled

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen will be holding a news conference shortly in Miami, now scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET, but there is already news this morning about him:

Guillen suspended 5 games immediately team just announced

— Amy K. Nelson (@AmyKNelson) April 10, 2012

Guillen is in trouble because of remarks he made to a TIME magazine reporter regarding Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Guillen has apologized for the comments, but they created a firestorm among some community groups and leaders in Miami, which has a large expatriate Cuban-American population.

Guillen has a long history of making comments that have gotten him in some sort of trouble, as you can see in the Ozzie Guillen Rant Timeline, posted at Baseball Nation on Monday.

But all of that was while he was managing the White Sox; Jerry Reinsdorf, the chairman of the White Sox, was very protective of Guillen, whom he regarded as something of a son. Ozzie might not have as much protection in Miami, where he’s just five games into his first season.

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Ozzie Guillen Will Return To Miami, Have News Conference About Fidel Castro Comments

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen reportedly angered many in Miami's Cuban-American community when he made comments to TIME magazine that praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Monday morning, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal said the Marlins should suspend Guillen for those remarks.

Now, Guillen is going to make some further remarks, this time to assembled members of the media. Jayson Stark:

He planned to return to Miami after Monday’s game.

“I want to make everything clear what’s going on. Then people can see me and know what I think,” Guillen said.

“I think it’s the proper thing so people can see my eyes and ask every question they want to ask.”

A news conference with Guillen is expected to be held Tuesday in Miami, at a time and place to be determined.

Guillen has been in trouble before for various things he said while White Sox manager, including calling a reporter by a homosexual slur in 2006; he was fined, and required to apologize and attend a sensitivity-training class for that gaffe.

For more on Ozzie and the Marlins, please visit FishStripes.