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Monday, September 27, 2004
More on Guillen
I had a few more thoughts on this whole Jose Guillen situation, but thanks to a veterinary emergency this morning, everyone has beaten me to the punch (be sure to check out Rob, Sean, and Chronicles' takes on this. UPDATE: Oh, and Josh too.). It's all been discussed to death, so I only have a few things to add:
- First of all, questioning the manager's judgment is a problem. It's one of the bigger problems a team can have, and can lead to clubhouse chaos. But this wasn't the first time a player has questioned Mike Sciosica's judgment (Ramon Ortiz, anyone?), and it certainly won't be the last. If both Guillen and Scioscia were willing to put this episode behind them, and Guillen was willing to accept some sort of lesser punishment quietly (perhaps a couple days' suspension and a fine), it would have been much better for everyone involved.
By suspending him for the season and getting a media fire-storm started, Angels management has doubly shot themselves in the foot. Not only are they now without one of their best hitters, they are now stuck with an un-tradable clubhouse cancer. Not smart. Unless Guillen was such a distraction that you couldn't wait another moment without destroying the team (which I don't believe he was, as I will cover in a bit), they should have waited until the end of the season, when they could have traded him for something of value.
- Which leads to my second point: I think we're all jumping the gun by discussing Guillen's replacement, and I don't mean Adam Riggs. Everybody is starting to spend Arte Moreno's money without asking themselves the most glaring question: is whatever we get to replace Guillen (whether it be a starting pitcher or a bat) going to have the same value?
Jose Guillen was a damn fine corner outfielder this season, despite playing with injuries that sapped his power throughout. Not only that- he was cheap. Bill Stoneman had him locked-up for $3 million next season, an absolute steal. Now that the Angels have made him virtually worthless as trade-bait, will they find a replacement of comparable ability without taking on salary (or worse yet, another team's clubhouse cancer)?
- Personally, I feel that suspensions like this should be reserved for the most heinous of sports-related crimes- I'm talking Latrell Spreewell territory here. "Putting yourself ahead of the team" is not that kind of crime. I suppose that if someone is intent on being a distraction, you need to get rid him. But was that really the case here? Was Guillen really a distraction that would have effected the Angels down the stretch?
Judging from some of the player's quotes, I would say no. Bengie Molina was quoted as saying "he's a good teammate, I would be more than glad to have him back." More than glad? It sounds like Bengie is a little less than glad that he was suspended in the first place. Later he was quoted as saying "I didn't realize anything was going on..." and "It's a huge loss for the team, a huge loss." It almost sounds as though the loss of Guillen is more of a distraction than having him in the dugout, at least in Bengie's case.
You may now commence with calling me an idiot.
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