Ozzie suspended five games; Parcells to Saints unlikely

By Sean Napfel, on April 10th, 2012%

There once was a tale about two very big and very different fish. One fish was on Marlin  who recently moved from Chicago to Miami while the other one is  affectionately known as the “big tuna”. While each fish is very different, they both carry a high-profile.

Okay, so not really talking about fish. Of course, I’m talking about Ozzie Guillen and NFL coaching legend and soon to be Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.

They have more in common than you may think. Well, besides the fact that they’ve both been in the news a lot lately albeit for two very different reasons.

Let’s start with Ozzie.

The Florida I mean Miami Marlins – Ozzie’s new team - suspended the outspoken manager for five games for comments he made in which he expressed admiration for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.  Last week Guillen told Time magazine that he loves Castro and respects him for staying in power for so long.

Those comments started a firestorm of criticism and backlash towards Guillen that ultimately led to his apology and subsequent suspension. Here is a portion of his apology originally spoken in Spanish but later translated in English by ESPN:

“I’m sorry for what I said and for putting people in a position they don’t need to be in. And for all the Cuban families, I’m sorry,” he said, according to ESPN’s translation. “I hope that when I get out of here, they will understand who Ozzie Guillen is. How I feel for them. And how I feel about the Fidel Castro dictatorship. I’m here to face you, person to person. It’s going to be a very difficult time for me.”

“The interpretation didn’t come out as I wanted,” Guillen said in Spanish, according to ESPN’s translation. “I was thinking in Spanish and I said the wrong thing in English.”

Guillen was then asked  how this statement “I love Fidel Castro” can be misinterpreted and he followed with this response:

“Everybody in the world hates Fidel Castro, including myself,” Guillen said. “I was surprised that he’s still in power. That’s what I was trying to say to the journalist. And that’s the first thing that came out of my mouth. I admit it. It was the wrong words.”

Showing admiration for Fidel Castro is nothing new for Ozzie. In fact, Ozzie was asked in a 2008 interview with Men’s Journal who was the toughest man he knew. Without hesitation he answered the question… I’ll give you one guess who he said it was.

Obviously, Ozzie is no stranger to controversy especially when it comes to him opening his mouth and saying something he probably shouldn’t have. This is  his first season at the managerial helm of the Marlins after a handful of tumultuous seasons as manager of the Chicago White Sox. If he doesn’t change his ways or at least think before he says something he may regret, Ozzie may find himself on the outs in Miami just as quick as he got there.

 

Parcells to Saints unlikely

From one big fish to another. Bill “big tuna” Parcells seems highly unlikely to coach the New Orleans Saints this upcoming season. Suspended Saints coach Sean Payton had hoped to bring in Parcells to help fill the void while Peyton serves his season-long suspension for his role in the bounty scandal.

While there has been minimal communication between the Saints and Parcells in the past week, a source said that Parcells indicated to Payton in a recent conversation that he preferred to remain retired.

T

here are growing indications that the Saints will turn to Joe Vitt, the assistant head coach/linebackers, as the interim coach when the Saints begin their offseason program Monday, the day Payton begins serving his one-year suspension.

Vitt will serve a six-game suspension, but will be available to oversee the team’s offseason program. If he is asked to become the interim head coach, other assistants will manage the team when the season opens until Vitt returns after the sixth game.

The Saints still could ask other candidates on staff to fill the interim position, but Vitt is the strongest candidate. Other candidates on the Saints’ staff include offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Last season, Vitt and Carmichael took on significant additional responsibilities when Payton was rehabilitating for weeks from a broken leg.

Vitt took on many of the broader responsibilities, including handling the head coach’s media availability. Carmichael began calling plays, something Payton had done before his injury. Payton allowed Carmichael to continue calling plays through the final 10 regular season games of 2011 as the Saints went 9-1 and broke numerous NFL offensive records.

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With Yu Darvish off the board, it’s time for Yoennis Cespedes

By Sean Napfel, on December 21st, 2011%

Now that Yu Darvish’s negotiating rights have been won by the Texas Rangers, that leaves one more notable international free agent still up for grabs: Cuban outfielder Yoennis Cespedes.

According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, Cespedes is close to establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, the first step toward making him eligible for MLB free agency. That would make Cespedes ready to accept bids from interested teams sometime in mid-January, about a month before the start of spring training.

About a half-dozen teams are most interested in the outfielder, but with speculation centered on a $50 million price tag — in the form of a major-league deal –that number may dwindle down to the larger market clubs. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Florida – I mean - Miami Marlins seem to be the most aggressive suitors for Cespedes.

Cuba's Yoennis Cespedes watches his third hit of the game as he drives in his fourth run of the game iagainst Mexico during their World Baseball Classic in March 2009. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Thanks to the good people at Bleacher Report, we’re able to find out more about Yoennis Cespedes who has become a YouTube sensation of sorts. Rick Weiner, a featured columnist for Bleacher Report covering the New York Yankees, does a great job breaking down the latest video featuring Cespedes.

Just over six minutes into the video, we get to see Cespedes in the field. After almost two minutes of warming up, he unleashes his throwing arm, which looks to be both strong and accurate.

Around the 13-minute mark, we see Cespedes taking batting practice. He knocks the ball all over the field, hitting two balls out of the stadium and then apparently just because he can, he drives a ball into the stands from the left side of the plate. Note, Cespedes is naturally a right-handed batter and is not known to be a switch hitter.

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Reyes, Marlins agree to 6 year pact

By Sean Napfel, on December 4th, 2011%

Jose Reyes has every reason to smile. The 28 year old shortstop agreed on a six-year, $106 million deal with the Miami Marlins on Sunday night.

The Florida Miami Marlins have made the first big splash of the Winter Meetings as they have agreed to a six-year, $106MM deal with Jose Reyes, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Reyes, 28, is coming off the best year in his career. He hit .337 for the New York Mets to win his first batting title. In nine years, all with the Mets, he has batted .292 with 370 steals and 740 runs scored.

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Baseball notes: Posada, Ramos, Pujols, Marlins, Cards

By Sean Napfel, on November 14th, 2011%

Last week, while speaking at an event for his foundation, longtime New York Yankee Jorge Posada publicly acknowledged the end to his tenure with the only organization he’s ever known.

“I don’t think there’s even a percentage of a chance that I can come back, … It’s not going to happen.”

Posada doesn’t exactly know what he wants to do next season. Right now he’s trying to decide to retire or play for another team. He began working out on November 1 – as he always does – and said that 5 or 6 teams have contacted him.

“I will always be a Yankee, The Yankees for me is my second family. It would be tough to put on another uniform for real and learn another set of rules and all that stuff, but that’s one of those things. I have to see if I want to keep playing… Do I want to do it for somebody else? Do I want to leave home? Do I want to do it all over again without knowing anybody? It would be tough. I’ve got great people, great friends and great teammates and it would be tough to learn new people again.”

Posada said he’s not upset with the Yankees. He understands what’s happening, and he understands why it’s happening. He called his relationship with the organization, “a great partnership” and said the first check that came into his foundation for last week’s event was from the team.

Posada has found common ground with his former teammate and longtime friend Bernie Williams who went through a similar situation with the Yankees back in 2006.

If Posada decides to play next season, he guesses that he won’t make up his mind until closer to February but says he won’t let the decision linger.

“I’m not one of those guys that’s going to linger around and wait. I’ll tell you.”

 

  • Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped at gunpoint in his native Venezuela outside his mother’s home and in captivity for 48 hours. The gang who kidnapped Ramos had carefully planned the abduction and told him they were going to demand a large ransom.

As part of the rescue mission, once nce investigators thought they had found the general area where Ramos might be, President Hugo Chávez personally authorised an aerial search mission and teams also set out on foot in the mountainous area. Teams searched most of the day on Friday and finally came upon the remote house where Ramos was being held.

Ramos said he was thankful to be alive and described his “hair-raising” final moments as a prisoner during the rescue on Saturday, when soldiers exchanged heavy gunfire with the kidnappers in the remote area where he was being held.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get out of it alive, It was very hard for me. It was very hard for my family.”

  • The Florida  Miami Marlins are wasting no time and are trying to make some noise in the free agent market this winter. The team has already made ‘substantial offers’ to both Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes and have also offered a contract to Mark Buehrle.  The team met with Pujols on Friday, Reyes on Wednesday and Buehrle on Tuesday.  They’re also showing interest in Carlos Beltran.
  • Albert Pujols’ former team, the St. Louis Cardinals have named former catcher Mike Matheny manager. The Cardinals will hold a press conference tomorrow morning to officially announce the move. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Matheny received a two-year deal with a club option for 2014.

    Matheny, 41, doesn’t have managerial experience but is no stranger to the game. His Major League career spanned 13 seasons, including five with the Cardinals from 2000-2004. Several candidates interviewed for the job, with former Red Sox manager Terry Francona presenting Matheny’s most notable competition. Others included Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg and Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo.

    The move figures to be a popular one for many in the organization,the Cardinals players and pitching coach Dave Duncan “love Matheny” and that they view him as the “ultimate leader.” That likely includes pending free agent Albert Pujols, who has “a ton of respect” for Matheny. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact, if any, this decision has on Pujols’ decision.

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