What a week in Soxdom, huh?
Magglio Ordonez couldn't wait to bash Sox management after he was safe and secure in Motown. Let's not forget that hefty contract, either. Ordonez was quick to praise the philosophies of Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch.
"The man wants to win. If you want to win, you've got to spend the money to win," Ordonez says.
"He has won with his hockey team [the Detroit Red Wings], and he told me he wants to win championships in baseball. He told Pudge [Ivan Rodriguez] that he would add a big piece. And now that I'm here, he told me they'll be adding big pieces. It's so different than what I'm used to."
So, Mags, what do you mean by "different" than what I'm used to'?
"I'm trying to figure out Jerry [Reinsdorf]. I don't understand. I don't know if I want to understand."
Not to break up this quote, but I agree with him. Let's go on...
"He doesn't want to pay the money to keep players who have been on his team. He will go out and get other players from other teams, but he won't pay those guys he already has and knows about. This was not all about money. I just didn't feel comfortable and wanted a change. I wasn't happy with some things going on. I never said anything. But then you see them trade Carlos Lee, and they let me go. I know Detroit wants to win. I can't wait to be a part of it."
Ordonez knows what it means to hit at the Cell. It is a power hitter's park and the White Sox, for whatever reason, decided to let all their power go elsewhere.
The team is now centered on speed, defense, and manufacturing runs, instead of blasting the ball into oblivion, as they did last season when they led the American League in home runs hit by a team.
The problem is that opposing teams, playing at U.S Cellular field, will still hit for power.
"I don't understand that. You build a park for power hitters, and you don't have as many power hitters now. I don't know about that. I believe we have the best team in the division."
Ordonez may be right. Detroit has built an extremely solid club this offseason, with the acquisition of himself and closer Troy Percival.
Ozzie Guillen isn't trying to hear any of that.
"This is bulls***. This is girl s***. Every time there are a couple of [reporters] over there with a piece of paper and a pencil in his hand, is he going to talk about the White Sox? Come on, just move on. Just play your game and forget about the White Sox," Guillen said.
The tirade surprised me a bit, considering I don't recall Ordonez having a problem with Guillen and never made mention of the Sox manager.
Still, the blizzard continued...
"I'd rather see the player say, 'Listen, I wanted out of there because I wanted more money. I respect that. When Alex Rodriguez said he wanted out of there because 'I want to win,' Seattle won 100 games with him and they won 116 without him. If you want to win, that's a winning team. You left because of the money, and Magglio left because of the money. You're going to tell me all the cities he could go to ... there is a better city than Chicago? He was a legend here with the White Sox. A lot of people wanted him to finish his career here with the White Sox, and count Ozzie Guillen in that group."
Guillen had much more to say, but I'd like to point out that when he was released by the White Sox, back in 1997, the year that the White Sox became the White Flags, he had similar things to say about Sox management.
The Sox were only 3½ games out of first place and Reinsdorf traded away his veteran players.
In 1998, Guillen was in the Baltimore Orioles training camp, sounding off on Sox management.
"I thought we had a great chance to win and [management] took it away. That's something they have to live with."
Hmm ... sounds exactly like what Ordonez was trying to say, Ozzie.
In any case, there must not have been too much damage done, if Guillen returned to the White Sox, to become the manager, but the hypocrisy must stop.
The one man who should have been quiet throughout this whole sordid mess was Guillen, who chose to defend his miserly boss, instead of letting Mags' words sink in and contemplate the truth within.
I would have thought Guillen, who is actually shaping up to be an excellent manager, would have the guts to tell Reinsdorf, that having a power team was not the problem, but we need to go out and spend some money on pitchers and key (expensive) free agent position players.
That will never happen, because that would cost the Blizzard his job.
Still, why are we kidding ourselves and buying into this petty bickering? Let's get down to the root cause.
None of this drama is the fault of Mags, Oz or even Kenny Williams, the Sox general manager.
Blame the architect: Jerry Reinsdorf.
I am still at a loss why Reinsdorf surrendered the season back in 1997, but that's over and done with. What bothers me now is the fact that he would allow Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez to get away without so much as a thank you for the brilliant years they had in Chicago.
I would be pretty pissed off, too.
Still, none of this would have happened if Jerry would open up his purse strings. I can't imagine owning a sports franchise in the third-biggest market in the United States and refuse to spend the money to bring the players in to win a championship. Well, at least compete for one.
George Steinbrenner can attest to that from last season.
It's because of all this back and forth that I decided to ask myself a few questions and, surprisingly enough, actually came up with my own answers.
Should Oz and Mags shut up?
Yes.
Will Detroit climb out of the perennial cellar and become contenders in the American League Central division?
Yes.
Will the White Sox ever win a championship with Reinsdorf calling the shots?
Should I bother to answer that?
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