There goes Ozzie, putting personal goals (making the HoF) ahead of team goals (winning the WS). :-)

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to find "stunning" about that statement. While perhaps my first option would be to make enough money to retire early, I certainly began my career with the hope of it being long and successful. Fair enough it was already clear I was no HoFer but still I don't think many employers are attracted by "I'm just hoping to be here for three years, then go fishing."

In case anyone else is curious about this:

Hopefully I got the current managers... was Acta the only one hired this offseason? Numbers include the 2010 season, and partial years are rounded up.

CLE Acta, Manny 1
ARI Hinch, AJ 2
COL Tracy, Jim 2
HOU Clark, Dave 2
MIL Macha, Ken 2
SEA Wakamatsu, Don 2
WSN Riggleman, Jim 2
CIN Baker, Dusty 3
KCR Hillman, Trey 3
LAD Torre, Joe 3
NYM Manuel, Jerry 3
NYY Girardi, Joe 3
PIT Russell, John 3
TOR Gaston, Cito 3*
BAL Trembley, David 4
CHC Piniella, Lou 4
FLA Gonzalez, Fredi 4
OAK Geren, Bob 4
SDP Black, Buddy 4
SFG Bochy, Bruce 4
TEX Washington, Ron 4
DET Leyland, Jim 5
TBR Maddon, Joe 5
PHI Manuel, Charlie 6
BOS Francona, Terry 7
CHW Guillen, Ozzie 7
MIN Gardenhire, Ron 9
LAA Scoscia, Mike 11
STL LaRussa, Tony 15
ATL Cox, Bobby 21*

* Gaston has 13 years total with the Jays
* Cox has 26 years total with the Braves

The article states that Guillen is the third-longest continuously tenured manager in the AL, which is true. He beats Francona by about a month. Despite this, he's still in the top 20% of both leagues. Anyone know the average duration of employment for a major league manager? (I have no idea, I'm just curious if anyone else does.)

Houston hired Brad Mills.

I didn't realize what a big deal Guillen is in the Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean and Central America until I watched the their World Series last year. There was a big picture of Ozzie's face on a billboard in CF advertising something. If he were to get fired by the White Sox, and couldn't get another managerial job in MLB because of his eccentric and erratic ways, I'm sure he'd quickly find a position somewhere else in international baseball.

If Ozzie manages 20 years total and wins another WS with the Sox or elsewhere after turning a bad team around he has a legit case. He certainly has a Billy-Martin comp in the Hall of Notoriety, so if Martin ever gets in the HOF...and if he never gets in Ozzie probably won't either. Without looking it up I imagine their playing careers being comparable also.

He certainly has a Billy-Martin comp in the Hall of Notoriety, so if Martin ever gets in the HOF...and if he never gets in Ozzie probably won't either.

Guillen seems to be much better at handling a pitching staff than Martin was.

In fact, in terms of his actual managerial skills, handling a pitching staff seems to be his biggest strength. I rarely take issue with his pitching changes. I sometimes wish he would get off the "every five games" rotation, where he doesn't take advantage of days off or rainouts to get his best pitchers more work, but the system seems to work out well - he gets a lot out of his pitchers.

His biggest shortcoming is his love of guys who can steal bases, and his emphasis on "personality" guys. He likes having guys around whom he gets along with personally, and once a player gets into his doghouse, it's tough for that player to get out. It's an open secret that he was the driving force behind getting Nick Swisher out of town for a bag of peanuts.

This has been an interesting winter. It became glaringly obvious that he and Ken Williams had very different philosophies on what constitutes a winning offense. Guillen wants guys who can bunt, who can steal bases, who have the right attitude, all that stuff. He was never happy with guys who could hit but didn't provide much else. Williams seems to be embarking on a grand experiment wherein he gives Guillen the team that Guillen wants, and see how it goes.

I didn't realize what a big deal Guillen is in the Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean and Central America until I watched the their World Series last year. There was a big picture of Ozzie's face on a billboard in CF advertising something. If he were to get fired by the White Sox, and couldn't get another managerial job in MLB because of his eccentric and erratic ways, I'm sure he'd quickly find a position somewhere else in international baseball.


JoPo once had a really great column way back when Tony Pena was hired about going down to the DR and finding out that Pena is a huge celebrity there.

Guillen seems to be much better at handling a pitching staff than Martin was.

Depends on what your goals are. Martin's record with pitchers is broadly similar to Ted Williams' with hitters. An awful lot of career years but zero sustained success.

Given that he expected to be fired, overusing his core talent and getting pitchers to pitch while injured (Les Cain won a worker's comp. claim based on Martin's handling) makes perfect sense.