Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Modern Management
I'm going to push the limits of "fair use" and quote from an article from the Chicago Tribune, 2/29/2000:
"LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla -- Ozzie Guillen wanted Frank Thomas to become more than just the best right-handed hitter in the major leagues. He and others on the White Sox tried to make him understand the importance of also being a complete player and a caring teammate."
"'He's not the kind of guy to be around young talent,' said Guillen,... Guillen continued, 'To be "the man" you have to move runners over; run the bases hard. He's not going to hit a ground ball and run down the line hard to show a kid how it's done. That's not Frank.'"
"'Frank let Ozzie and Robin do the dirty jobs, and he took at all the credit,' Guillen said."
While the thrust of the article, that Frank Thomas isn't a good role model for younger players, may or may not be true, it's the examples that Guillen uses that disturb me. He goes for the classics - moving the runners over, running the bases hard. Somebody ought to send Ozzie a copy of Moneyball. He's got one of the best hitters in baseball on his roster, and it would be a tragedy if he used the wrong elements to judge him. Hustle is great, but I'll take OBP any day over hustle.
Betweeen Guillen and Baker, statheads in Chicago might be in for some very long seasons.
posted by David 11:40 AM
