Mercy...

Blowing a seven run lead on Saturday. Losing 18-2 yesterday. Having your GM and hitting coach go at each other. Having your manager plead for a contract extension near the end of a disappointing, lackluster season. Although Ozzie's plea occurred before the Detroit series, the 2011 season reached its nadir over the weekend, when the Sox could not muster a single win against the division-leading Tigers. What was more disappointing was how the Sox lost the last two games, in perhaps the most disappointing series I have witnessed since the 2003 season.

It goes without saying that blowing a seven run lead is inexcusable during any point in the season. However, you would expect a team fighting for survival to come back and put up a good fight in the next game. That didn't happen, as the Sox just rolled over and were pronounced dead at the scene following last night's game.

Now that this season is effectively over, the biggest question is no longer whether or not Ozzie Guillen stays. He's good as gone now. I am wondering if the entire coaching staff will be axed along with Ozzie. Since Walker was nearly fired on Friday, I cannot imagine him sticking around for too long, and the only people I see that would have a remote chance of returning would be first-base coach Harold Baines and possibly pitching coach Don Cooper. "Coop" is one of the more underrated pitching coaches in the game, and it would be a real shame if the Sox were to lose him. Nonetheless, he may be an unfortunate loss if the Sox go through a full cleansing of the the coaching staff.

Another person I am curious about is bench coach Joey Cora. He interviewed for the Brewers managerial position last year, and he will eventually get scooped up by a big-league club looking for a new manager. I wonder if that club is right there in the South Side? I do not know if he will have the same approach as Ozzie, but he will certainly be a lot quieter (and sadly, less entertaining).

All I know is that the Sox on the field are no longer worth following this season. They are listless, apathetic and honestly, only a handful of players look like they actually give a damn on the team right now. The real drama will unfold after the final out is made on September 28. Stay tuned.

The Strange Case of Ozzie Guillen: Should he stay or should he go?

Dealing with the question of whether or not a franchise icon should stick around is always difficult to approach. Often times, it's because objectivity is thrown out the window, and emotions begin to take control of the decision-making process. You want to show him the door, but how do you do it? After everything he has done for the franchise? Another side of you will think that "ah, it was just a mediocre year, many other teams/players would love to trade places with us. He's worth keeping around." However, where do you draw the line for accountability?

It has reached that point for Ozzie Guillen. Before I get into whether or not he should stick around, keep in mind that Guillen is a major figure in Sox history. He played shortstop for the them from 1985-1997, garnering a Rookie of the Year award in '85, along with a Gold Glove in 1990 and three All-Star appearances. His blue-collar work ethic endeared him to many fans on the South Side, and his temperament seemed like the perfect solution for the Sox's problems following the disappointing 2003 season, when the team parted ways with the laid-back Jerry Manuel. Ozzie was the perfect choice to manage the Sox because the team needed a fiery, aggressive manager and because he was a Sox guy, through-and-through. He understood the mindset of the fanbase and he knew Chicago.

His first season saw injuries to Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez, the major catalysts in their offense, and the team limped to an 83-79 finish. However, the Sox did the improbable in 2005, going wire-to-wire and sweeping the World Series, something only two other teams had ever accomplished in major-league history (the 1927 Yankees and the 1990 Reds were the others). The 2006 season began with a considerable amount of promise, as the team stormed to a 57-31 mark by the All-Star break. Unfortunately, the pitching staff was gassed by that point, and the team crumbled to a disappointing 33-41 second half record, finishing 90-72. They would miss the postseason.

Since then, the Sox have been largely mediocre, save for a miserable 2007 campaign in which they lost 90 games. They reached the postseason again in 2008, but nobody was mistaking that team for the 2005 Sox or even the 2000 team.

The accountability that a manager should have for his team's success (or lack thereof) is always tricky to ascertain. Really, the players are the ones who make the manager look smart. Do you think Tony LaRussa has all of the wins he does because he's an exponentially better manager than say, Bruce Bochy? No. It's because Tony always seems to have top-notch talent on his teams (i.e. Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson, Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, Albert Pujols, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, etc.). If you go back to Tony's Chicago years, you will find that they are largely unimpressive (except for 1983) because...wait for it....many of his players flat out stunk.

Which brings us back to the dilemma with Ozzie this year. It's easy for people to get on him for the team's lack of success this year. However, can Ozzie make Adam Dunn bat .300? Can Ozzie make Alex Rios hit they way he did last year? Could Ozzie have made his bullpen pitch better than it did to start the season, which is a major contributor to where the team is at now in the standings? A manager cannot go out there and make his players play out of their minds, and really, he is at the mercy of their performances. Ozzie is a great manager, and an even better motivator. Do you believe that the White Sox could have made the comeback they did in 2010 had Ozzie not been a good motivator and had given up on the team?

The Sox have also played decently since the middle of May, fighting back from what could have been the start to an awful year. Unfortunately, the team has not been able to get on an extended hot streak like they did last year to move into first. Is that Ozzie's fault? While I still believe he is a great motivator, you almost have to wonder if he is still getting through to his players. Was he simply dealt a bad hand with the group he has?

Despite his puzzling lineup decisions (Dunn hitting in the middle of the order?!), if the people who were expected to be key contributors actually came through, this wouldn't be an issue. If Dunn were on pace to hit at his career norms (.244 average, 38 homers, 96 RBIs according to Baseball Reference) and if Rios were to have a similar year as last year (.284 average, 21 homers, 88 RBIs, 34 steals) the Sox wouldn't just be in first, they would be running away with the division. Instead Dunn is having a historically bad season, and Rios is reverting to his apathetic style of play he had in his final years in Toronto. Also, the bullpen has a combined 17 blown saves this season, with many of them coming in the first two months of the season (see table below). You think if that number were cut in half, things wouldn't be considerably different with the state of this team? Thankfully, the bullpen stabilized itself after the first couple of months, and they have been nailing it down since.

	BSv 6
Jesse Crain	5
Sergio Santos	4
Matt Thornton*	4
Tony Pena	2
Will Ohman*	1
Chris Sale*	1
Brian Bruney	0
Gavin Floyd	0
Jason Frasor	0
Jeff Gray	0
Lucas Harrell	0
Philip Humber	0
Josh Kinney	0
Jake Peavy	0
Hector Santiago*	0
Zach Stewart	0
League Average
Team Total	17

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/1/2011.

Nonetheless, the combination of these unfortunate events has likely led Ozzie to lose his patience, which is probably further straining his relationship with GM Kenny Williams. Ozzie is already pressuring the team into extending him beyond 2012, threatening to leave if his wish isn't granted. A public plea for an extension with the team six games back in September will not earn you many supporters. The situation appears that's Ozzie's good as gone, but I'm not so sure another manager could do a better job. The decision to get rid of him is not as easy as some think it is, nor is it a cut-and-dry issue. However, if Ozzie stays or goes, I'm fine either way.

Just let it go already.

Well, it seems as if someone just can't let bygones be bygones. Former Sox closer Bobby Jenks is continuing to disparage his former employer, saying that "a lot of the stuff with Ozzie and the front office gets old," among other things.

I've remained silent on this topic for a while, as Jenks made a statement earlier in the offseason about how he was "looking forward to playing for a manager who knows how to run a bullpen." For all of the times that Ozzie has made cringe-worthy, foot-in-mouth statements, does anybody find it interesting that he's the one who is looking better in this situation?

While I know Ozzie's son Oney called Jenks a "punk" after making his comments, Oney is no longer employed by the team, so it really shouldn't matter at this point what someone in Ozzie's family thinks about a player who is no longer on the team. However, I do not recall Ozzie even wasting all that much time to lash back at Jenks for his comments. Can you believe that Ozzie is actually taking the high road for once, and he's just trying to move on?

Jenks needs to seriously let go of whatever grudges he had with the Sox organization, and just concentrate on playing for the Red Sox. Besides, I don't necessarily agree with him criticizing the Sox, especially after Ozzie was loyal to a fault with him last year, in spite of his struggles closing out ballgames. Ozzie had plenty of other options he could have used to close out games, but he still stuck with Jenks, much to the consternation of many, myself included.

I'm not going to pretend to know what goes on inside of the clubhouse, but I can analyze and evaluate what I see Ozzie and the team doing on the field on a nightly basis. Judging from what I've seen and read since late 2005, Jenks should really be thanking the Sox organization for giving him the chance to succeed in the majors, rather than throwing barbs at them for the way they do things. Besides, if the drama with Ozzie and Kenny Williams is such a distraction, why isn't it affecting guys like Konerko, Buehrle and Pierzynski? If they are such a distraction, then why were the Sox able to lure Adam Dunn to Chicago, when he could have just as easily signed somewhere else? Why did reliever Jesse Crain leave the two-time reigning division champion Twins to join the Sox?

My point is that in spite of all of the drama surrounding this team, there is a measure of accountability that each player must live up to in the organization. If they aren't up to the task, they will easily find someone who is up to it, and they really don't care if they are hurting someone's feelings in the process. The demand for excellence is high within the Sox organization, and Jenks unfortunately was no longer living up to the standard of excellence the team has come to expect from him. It's strictly a business decision, but there's no need to criticize the organization who gave you the chance to succeed at the major league level.

He's baaaaaaccck! Well, sort of.

According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's contract option for 2012 was picked up by the White Sox today, as GM Kenny Williams announced the move at Sox Fest. This is great news, considering that the team won't have to deal with that question night in and night out during the course of this season, even if things should go sour (let's hope not).

Even though I don't necessarily agree with everything Ozzie says or does (and the same can go for GM Williams), I appreciate the amount of stability the two have brought to the team over the last seven years, and I appreciate even more their outspoken nature. Baseball has way too many stiffs giving the "company line" kind of answers, and I appreciate that whenever they offer their opinion on something, they are honest, and they do not hold back. Plus, these two have brought the Sox back to relevancy again, and I would hate to see a boring-ass manager like Jerry Manuel leading the Sox again.

I don't think anybody else could do a better job with the Sox than Guillen, and I am very happy to know that he'll be leading this team for at the very least all of next season. Hopefully.

Are you @#$#&^% kidding me?!?

Since I was working most of the day, I missed the 4 pm trade deadline, and all of the excitement (or disappointment, for some) it brings. Lance Berkman was traded from the Houston Astros to the Evil Empire, Ryan Ludwick ends up in San Diego as part of a three-team deal that also sent Jake Westbrook to St. Louis, and the Yankees also added another bullpen arm in Kerry Wood. While some of the more flashy deals did not go down, one of those in particular caught my eye.

Apparently, after the deadline passed, news emerged that the White Sox tried to land Manny Ramirez in a deal. That's right, THE Manny Ramirez. The Sox were not willing to give anyone up for him, but they were willing to pay the Dodgers $1 million of his remaining $6.7 million of his contract, which ends after this season. Ramirez is on the DL right now, and wouldn't be available until sometime in August. As you might have expected, the Dodgers said "no" to this offer.

While I cannot blame GM Kenny Williams for trying to make this team better at any cost, why would you go after someone who has as much baggage as Ramirez? He already has a reputation for not necessarily giving his full effort out on the field, and with his numbers being sub-par for his standards this year (.317 average, eight home runs and 39 RBIs), he hasn't exactly earned a free pass for that type of play. Plus, wasn't the goal at the beginning of the year for the Sox to become a more athletic, versatile team? While Ramirez would have been featured exclusively at DH if he joined the Sox, I don't think he has enough power left in him at this point in his career to justify acquiring another base-clogger on the basepaths. While Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay aren't exactly the best hitters on the team, the platoon of those two has been working out just fine so far.

Also, the mixture of Ozzie Guillen and Manny Ramirez has the potential to become very volatile, very quickly. I cannot imagine what would happen if Ozzie felt Manny was not giving his best effort out there on the field (or better yet, on the basepaths). However, the club seems to click in spite of the distractions surrounding them (like the Guillen/Williams near fist-fight over the spot Ozzie's son was selected in this year's draft). Despite that, I'm sure that Manny Ramirez is one more distraction the Sox could do without. We'll see what happens with the Sox in the next month, since the waiver deadline is on August 31.

In the meantime, let's hope that the Sox can pull one out tomorrow and take two of three from the A's heading into this week's big series against Detroit!

Big Jim heading back to the South Side?

I would like to offer my most sincere apologies to not being here with you yesterday (that's what good ol' editing homework will do to you). According to this article on the Chicago Tribune website today, Jim Thome is apparentlty still receptive to the idea of returning to the Sox in 2010. The Dodgers are not making any plans to re-sign him because he does not fit within their future. With such a young core on that team, it only makes sense. Why would you want another old, slow dinosaur on your team who cannot play first base anymore when you have James Loney, who is young and more than capable of playing first? Plus, Loney is only 25 years old, and he still has the potential to improve offensively.

So what does that make of the White Sox's plans, then? In what direction is Kenny Williams trying to go with the team? I am not trying to be snide, because Kenny has done a fantastic job with assembling the team in his tenure on the South Side. He has proven me wrong more often than not. One example this was back in 2004. Williams, trying to assemble more team speed, traded Carlos Lee to the Milwaukee Brewers for Scott Podsednik and reliever Luis Vizcaino. At the time, I thought it was the worst trade ever. "How in the hell can you trade a guy who hit 31 homers last year for a little flea who didn't even hit .300 last year, and some weak-ass reliever?" I was certain that the Sox (who finished 2004 at 83-79) were destined to have their worst season since the '90s ended. Well, I was wrong; they ended up winning the World Series that year. Williams not only proved me wrong, but a lot of baseball prognosticators wrong as well.

However, if Williams brought Thome back, it makes you wonder why they even bothered getting rid of him in the first place. They traded Thome on the final day of August to the Los Angeles Dodgers for some 26 year-old, Single-A infielder named Justin Fuller. The Sox also were kind enough to pay for the rest of Thome's contract as well. To sum it up in a more succinct fashion: they gave him away. If you just "give" someone away like that, does that basically mean you have absolutely no use for him anymore, whatsoever? It just seems puzzling to me that Williams is even entertaining this idea.

Despite the fact that I am questioning this, Jim Thome is still one of my all-time favorite players, and I cannot wait for the day he gets inducted to the Hall of Fame. He's a class act, he plays the game the right way, and he appears to not have a single conceited bone in his body. However, when Williams parted ways with Thome, that basically sent a signal to fans that he is ready to move in a different direction with the team. What that direction may be, I am not sure of. Nonetheless, it does not involve Thome. So why are you considering bringing him back?

Also, if you bring Big Jim back, you are only going to get one year out of him, at best. He will be 40 years old next year. Even though he still possesses prodigious power, his bat speed has slowed down considerably, he cannot hit lefties well and he cannot play any other position other than DH. Even though the Sox have stated that they will not have any significant jump in payroll next year (as evidenced in their lack of interest in many players, including Aroldis Chapman), would it really kill them to put their hat in the ring for Matt Holliday or Jason Bay?

All in all, if the Sox do bring back Thome at a reasonable price, I would still welcome him with open arms, as a fan. He will always be one of my favorite players, and I hope he can somehow get his 600th career home run next year, win the World Series, and ride off into the sunset as a champion with the Sox. But if you are looking to be competitive in 2010 and beyond, is bringing back a 39 year-old Thome for one last hurrah the right answer?