I Love Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie in the dugout in Port Charlotte Florida this spring appears to holding up the peace sign? He needs it now. (Photo US Presswire/Kim Klement)

Breaking News: Baseball fans, especially in the Miami area are ultra-sensitive. I’ve never seen anything like this, Ozzie Guillen, the skipper of the Miami Marlins was suspended for saying he respected Fidel Castro. No really, he just said he respected a man that has stuck to his beliefs for 60 years. I might not agree with what Castro does, how he runs his island or how he looks but I can agree that he has stuck to his guns on how he does things. Heck,  Hitler was one of the most evil people in the history of the world but I always give credit where it’s due. Hitler was one heck of a public speaker and no matter what you say you can’t take that away from him.

Let’s get back to the Ozzie situation, because we are here to talk sports. Ozzie has always been a brash, in your face type of guy and the Marlins owner, Jeffrey Loria, knew this when he hired Guillen,  so for him not stands up for Ozzie on this shows he has no backbone. Jeffrey Loria should be mad at the group of designers that talked him into those hideous uniforms, not mad at Ozzie for talking about an almost dead dictator that has nothing to do with American baseball.

If the Cuban residents were upset at Ozzie for saying this, I say to them, GROW UP. You live in America and we have the right to speak freely and to openly say what is on our minds and if you don’t like you can find your way to a place that suits you better. Maybe it’s the media’s fault for blowing this out of proportion or maybe it’s the fault of the Cuban community, either way the suspension of Ozzie Guillen is wrong. Taking away the right of free speech is what just happened. Some say his words were insensitive to a large, local community, well it’s insensitive to me for a person to not to able to speak freely. I served in the military to protect the same folks that are crying about a little remark. It’s insensitive to me to see Veterans coming home without work. I could care less about who Ozzie Guillen likes, admires, hates or wants to bed down with.

What’s next for Ozzie? He will be under the microscope and the first sign of the Marlins struggling could lead to his termination. The local community and the ownership have already shown that they could do without him, Bud Selig has shown his is still, at best,  a man with half a brain and poor Ozzie is left looking like a man without a voice. If I were Ozzie I would speak my mind  and push the limits, let Loria fire me, I could go to just about any team in Major League Baseball and manage, but to really spite the cry babies I would ask Fidel Castro if I could manage the Cuban National team.