A great manager can steal a half-dozen games a season, tops, but he gets to hold court before and after each and every one. That’s when Ozzie Guillen’s genius really shines, and why he’s the rare skipper who can write his own ticket.
Guillen carries on like a man being paid by the word, which explains how he apparently suckered the Florida Marlins to move him to Miami at double the pay — all of it part of a scheme the Oz just hatched to buy himself a 62-foot yacht someday.
Before we get into Guillen’s grand plan, the success of which we won’t know for several weeks, here’s a quick tribute: All hail the return of the manager-as-superstar.
A return to the days when the oldest guy in uniform also happens to be the most entertaining, not to mention the feistiest.
Think Billy Martin coming and going in New York, battling with his players, bickering with The Boss, and still finding time to fill up the tabloids. Or Leo Durocher, Casey Stengel, Connie Mack and John McGraw. They provided a reason to go the ballpark beyond wins and losses, a chance to see in person what stunt they might try next.
Cementing his place
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