Guillen's Foot and Mouth Know Each Other Quite Well

So today Ozzie Guillen apologized to the Cuban community for remarks he made about Fidel Castro.  For those who missed the story Guillen, in broad terms, expressed great admiration for the dictator and in doing so, managed to offend half the Spanish speaking public in the United States.  Throughout Guillen's career he has always gotten himself in trouble with brash statements and survived but I think he has gotten himself in too deep this time. There are a lot of people lined up against Ozzie and this has all the hallmarks of a forced resignation in the making. 

Remember the off-the-cuff remark that Don Imus made about the Rutgers women's basketball team a few years ago? He referred to them as "nappy-headed ho's" because it seemed like the funny thing to say. It was smarmy and he thought he could say it because it was within the context of his show. After all he was the original shock jock who had gotten away with so much worse over the years. And yet in the end, it cost him his job. Al Sharpton and his band of race baiters sunk their teeth into him and Imus never had a chance. Although Imus apologized and was genuinely contrite, it didn't matter because they wanted their pound of flesh and they got it. Why? Because of what else? The money. We live in a society where money is king. In Imus' case, the advertisers were scared to death of Big Al and his minions. They feared the bad publicity or threat of a boycott and so Imus had to go. He has to take it for everyone else. In the end, the advertisers were bigger than him.

So the prevailing feeling here is that Guillen will suffer the same fate. The circumstances are very similar and while he has already apologized a few times, there are still enough powerful people in the community to force him out. Remember that baseball is a business operation just like any other enterprise. The team is its product and the fans are their consumers and it's all about selling the product and generating enough revenues to turn a profit for the owners.  Toward that end, the Marlins have put forth a tremendous effort this off-season to create a new buzz about the organization, in hope of attracting new fans and boosting attendance. They revamped themselves with new uniforms and changed the team logo. They moved into a brand new carnival-like ball park representative of the Spanish/Cuban American culture.  Ownership spent hundreds of millions of dollars by signing marquee free agents (Jose Reyes to name just one).  If all this bad publicity brought on by Guillen keeps the fans away and attendance is truly affected by it, ownership can argue that his public comments have alienated the team's fan base and as a result, can no longer effectively manage the team. Personally, I think that would be a reach, a really, really big reach. While Guillen often puts his foot in his mouth, I never thought of him as a malicious or divisive person. And while sometimes he can be polarizing, I find it very hard to believe that he intended to offend an entire community. Really, what would be his motivation?. I just think Guillen is lacking in sensitivity and very un-informed.  But that is just my opinion. 

No doubt, this is a sensitive matter in the Latin community and with emotions high right now, it must be dealt with delicately and swiftly.  Ownership needs to find a balance and make the right decision so as not to inflame the matter and detract from the team. Perhaps a sufficient fine and suspension might settle it. We'll just have to wait and see.