Vaya Con Dios Ozzie

Well that was one crazy ride.  For those of you that haven’t heard, Ozzie Guillen has been traded to the Florida Marlins for two minor leaguers, ending the most entertaining managerial reign in Chicago baseball history.  I’m pretty sure that is an indisputable fact.  He gave us 2 division titles, 1 AL Pennant, 1 World Series title, about 100 crazy news stories, and about 1,000 insane unintelligible quotes.  I don’t know another manager that put up numbers like that.

Even though the Ozzie era was so damn fun, it needed to end, and it ended poorly.  The constant fighting between Kenny Williams and Ozzie was just getting ridiculous.  I guess their differences in baseball philosophy and the size of their egos, just were not going to let it work.  Put that on top of the bad, bad, oh so bad baseball being played on the south side this year, and something had to give.

So where does this leave Ozzie and the White Sox?  I think after a few years everybody will forget all of this ugliness at the end and just remember Ozzie as an outspoken manager who brought Chicago its first World Series title in 88 years.  Basically Latin baseball Ditka. Well that’s if they will be able to get over seeing Ozzie in whatever inevitably ugly Marlins uniforms are sporting this heinous new logo…

As for the White Sox, they will move on.  It’s not like they have been lighting the world on fire these last couple years, so it is probably a good time for a change.  But who will the new manager be?  Most likely it will be someone who has never managed in the big leagues before, since Jerry Reinsdorf has only ever hired one manager/head coach with top level experience in baseball or basketball (Scott Skiles).  The leading candidates I have heard being thrown around are Joe McEwing, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Dave Martinez.  I’m personally hoping for Martinez.  He has been the bench coach for the Rays since the 2008 season where he has worked closely with Joe Madden, who is one of the best managers in the game, and Martinez was rocking a huge beard this season, which is awesome. 

Of course there is another name being thrown around for manager, and I don’t want to even say his name. I mean he has had a lot of success, but he is a terrible human being, a drunk and an steroid enabler, oh and he is good friends with the Chairman of the Board, Jerry Reinsdorf.  Fucking Tony LaRussa.

If the Sox hire LaRussa my entire baseball world will be shaken to its core.  I don’t know if I can root for a team with that demon manager running it.  What would I do?  Root for a LaRussa led team, stop watching baseball and become a WNBA fan, or even worse…become a Cubs fan (oh god I just threw up all over my keyboard).  I would probably have to go on baseball sabbatical until he was gone, but you never know.  Hopefully for the sanity of White Sox fans everywhere, Kenny Williams’s giant ego keeps LaRussa away from the team, and nobody is forced to make that terrible decision.

All I know is that whoever they hire won’t be as entertaining as Ozzie Guillen.

Ozzie, I love you mang.  We will always have 2005.

PS – I am really pissed that youtube won't let me embed any videos from Point Break of Johnny Utah saying, "Vaya con Dios".  It really would have pulled this all together nicely.