Ozzie curses blue streak before fifth straight loss
BLUE JAYS 4, WHITE SOX | Before 5th straight loss, Guillen rips media slant toward Cubs with obscenity-laced rant
TORONTO -- Five consecutive losses, something had to give.
It was manager Ozzie Guillen.
(AP)
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Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3
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Tired of ''all the managers in the press box and at home, watching the game on TV and spilling food on themselves,'' Guillen became the story before a 4-3 loss Sunday to the Toronto Blue Jays. In what never rose to the emotional level of some of his previous rants, Guillen made his feelings known about the perceived treatment he and his organization get in the Windy City.
''Right now, everyone in Chicago is making lineups, 'Call up this guy, call up that guy,''' Guillen said. ''If we had 50 people allowed on the roster, we could do that. That's what ticks me off about Chicago fans and Chicago media -- they forget pretty quick. A couple of days ago, we were the [bleep]ing best [bleep] in town, now we're [bleep].''
Asked why that is, Guillen pulled no punches.
''Because maybe the manager is an ass[bleep],'' he replied.
Guillen said that the only way the perception of the Sox ever would change is by winning, but even after they did in 2005, it hasn't taken long for it to wear off.
''We won it a couple years ago, and we're horse[bleep],'' Guillen said. ''The Cubs haven't won in 120 years, and they're the [bleep]ing best. [Bleep] it, we're good. [Bleep] everybody. We're horse[bleep], and we're going to be horse[bleep] the rest of our lives, no matter how many World Series we win. We are the bitch of Chicago. We're the Chicago bitch. We have the worst owner -- the guy's got seven [bleep]ing rings, and he's the [bleep]ing horse[bleep] owner.''
Second-base umpire Dale Scott didn't help matters, blowing a call in the Blue Jays' three-run third inning that could have changed the game.
With the Sox trailing 1-0, starter Jose Contreras had runners on second and third with no outs. David Eckstein hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who collided with Alex Rios after he fielded the ball and appeared to tag him on the knee before making the throw. Scott, however, may have been out of position and didn't see the tag. Rather than a double play, it was one out. Two batters later, Matt Stairs made the Sox pay with a two-run double.
Contreras, who pitched his fifth-career complete game, called it a ''key moment of the game.''
''Of course it would have impacted the game,'' Contreras said. ''We just have to keep fighting, keep pushing.''
Having dropped below .500 for the first time since April 3, the Sox (14-15) face their first real test.
''When you're struggling, crazy stuff doesn't go your way,'' Guillen said. ''[Scott] said he never touched him with the glove, and he was wrong. But there was a lot of fight. This was the best game we played all week, so hopefully we build on it.''
As for the growing collection of doubters, well ...
''I mean, I don't know what we should do in order to make people excited or believe,'' Guillen said. ''In 2006, we had a good year, a great year. Last year was a bad year, and we never denied it.
''People are panicking. Did we play a real bad week? Yes, we did, we stunk. But it wasn't too long ago that we were, 'The biggest surprise in baseball. Wow, look at the White Sox.'''
