pp2

When the Sox hired Ozzie Guillen a couple years ago I about choked. I mean, I was glad they didn't hire Cito Gaston but come on...why always do things on the cheap? I was hoping for a Bobby Valentine or someone who had won before because of his managing, not in spite of it (I am NO Gaston fan, never was).

Ok, so I was wrong. Obviously Guillen is very much the right guy for the job here. The guy not only knows baseball but he respects the game as well, and he has made no secret about who is in charge on that team. No Sammy Sosas on the South Side, thank you.

Anyway, I know that as a fan I will continue to second guess moves he makes over the coming years, and wonder what he was thinking when he did this, or why the heck didn't he do that instead...I think its part of being a fan.

But if he EVER puts Damaso Marte in another game I will question his sanity.

Marte hasn't been good since 2003. In 2004 he started the season off by blowing his first couple save opportunities and surrendering 9th inning leads to, of all teams, the Royals. Not a good way to start the season and 2004 was filled with him dumping gasoline on fires instead of putting them out.

So now its 2005, and its been a great year. I won't lie, I cried when the Sox won the pennant the other night. Those of you who are baseball fans should completely understand that. Not boo-hoo sobbing, but there were tears running down my face.

Anyway...

So this year the pitching has been solid and the bullpen has been good...except for Marte and Vizcaino, both of whom are just horrid. If Marte wasn't walking guys he was hitting them. My biggest beef with Marte is that 6 weeks ago Guillen actually threw Marte off the team! The story was, as Guillen told it, that Marte didn't respect him as a manager or his teammates (showing up late and whatnot) so he was done as a White Sox. Then suddenly Guillen does a 180 and says he is letting the team vote on whether or not Marte would be allowed back, and of course these guys allowed him back.

So game 3 against Boston, we're going for the sweep (Hi, Simon!) and Guillen puts Marte in. I was screaming at the tv...NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And sure enough, 3 batters later the bases were loaded with nobody out. It took incredible pitching from El Duque to get out of that inning giving up nothing.

So my point? Er...not sure. Ok, how about this? Do you think its acceptable to, as a fan, second-guess a manager and criticize even if overall you think he's doing a good job? Isn't that part of being a fan?