Posted on 04/10/2006 4:11:11 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
After snapping a four-game losing streak, the Chicago White Sox head to Detroit on Monday to begin a three-game series with a team that reminds the world champions of themselves at this time last season.
The Tigers started 5-0 before losing 5-3 to Texas on Sunday, but have hit 17 home runs and are tied with Cleveland atop the Central Division standings.
Detroit has posted 12 consecutive losing seasons and hasn't made the playoffs since 1987.
"The worst thing you can do is call them a fluke," Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko said. "That's what people were calling us a year ago.
"They have the talent to win. They will be there. There are no pushovers in this division. It's not going to be an easy road."
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From one year ago:
"He's a piece of (expletive)," Guillen told White Sox beat writers after learning of Ordoñez's contempt for Guillen and alleging his manager steered him away from the Sox and to Detroit. "He's a (expletive), that's what he is," Guillen continued. "He's another Venezuelan (expletive). (Expletive) him." "He has an enemy. Now he has a big one. He knows I can (expletive) him a lot of different ways. He better shut the (expletive) up and play for the Detroit Tigers."
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"We never clicked, even when we played together," Ordoñez said. "I don't consider him my friend. I have nothing to say. I don't want to see him or talk to him. He's my enemy. "If he comes to me and wants to apologize, I wouldn't accept it." "I don't talk bad about people when people are hurt," said Ordoñez, who is on the disabled list and will be examined Monday in Philadelphia by a hernia specialist. "I'm very straightforward. There are a lot of people who try to push you down and do the opposite, and not try to help you."
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"Why do I have to apologize to him?" Guillen responded while sitting in his office chair and tapping his right foot frequently. "Who the (expletive) is Magglio Ordoñez? Why ever talk about me. He doesn't do (expletive) for me. But if he thinks I'm his enemy, he has a big enemy. He knows me. "I just take it the way he wants to take it."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0424alplugger0424.html
CHICAGOLAND PING
They are a fluke and they will be a push over in that division.
Go get em, Tigers! grrrrrrowl!
All the action has been on the North Side this year...
Very unprofessional of both of them. Konerko said the right things, though.
Meanwhile, the Cubs SWEPT the Cards...
It is going to take a lot more than 6 games to put the last 15 years of being the most miserable team in MLB behind them. If the Tigers are at least 10 games over .500 at the All-Star break it will be a miracle and maybe then people can start talking about them seriously.
Of course, Ozzie sucks up to Hugo Chavez so I kind of lean Mags' way on this one.
The White Sox will get themselves sorted out very quickly. The Tigers will fade into mediocrity. It's the first week of the new season--the old cliche holds true, it's a marathon, not a sprint. If one went by the first week folks would believe that the Cubs are better than the Cards. I doubt that anyone seriously believes that.
That is not accurate as regards Chavez.
Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR) co-director Mark Weisbrot writes: "Viva Chavez," shouted Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, as the team celebrated its World Series sweep last week.
Guillen is Venezuelan, and a national hero in this country of 25 million people who seem to believe that they too, along with Chicagoans, have won the World Series.
His cheer for the country's leftist President Hugo Chavez might have caused some reaction just a year or two ago ... but these days it went largely unnoticed, despite the continuing hostility between the Chavez government and the Bush administration.
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=46648
Another recent Guillen comment that gave fellow Venezuelans the shivers was in response to his appearance on the weekly radio program of President Hugo Chavez. Afterward, Guillen talked about how he admired Chavez but that "not too many people like the president" and that his mother was going to be mad at him for expressing his support.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0510240242oct24,0,1894713.story
If not sucking, it's rubbing his fanny at the very least.
Got to see my Tigers play yesterday against the stRangers.
It sucked having to root for Kenny Rogers though, I hope his stint with the Tigers is a short one. And judging by his pitching yesterday, it will be.
The Tigers are going to hang in there, Jim Leyland is a heckuva manager.
I don't think the Tribune is going to say anything positive about Ozzie.
Same quote in Sun-Times yesterday:
"Not too many people like the president. I do. My mom will kill me, but it's an honor to talk to the president."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sundaydrive/cst-spt-drive09.html
The "Viva Chavez" occurs a couple of times; here's another from a lefty blog:
"Maybe it's a response to Ozzie Guillen, manager of the Chicago White Sox. When his team finished off the Houston Astros, at that very moment he shouted, "Viva Chavez." You will have to look hard to find any media reports of this in the United States. I was in Caracas at the time. Most of what I thought were fireworks were actually guns being fired into the air. I knew some were guns, but I talked to a guy that said he made sure he stayed inside too, avoiding stray bullets."
http://chrisfootetravels.blogspot.com/2005/11/whole-story.html
I don't for ONE second believe he shouted that. Not one.
Here's one from a righty blog:
"I am a venezuelan and I can say this: this son of a bitch is a Chavez's supporter as it was clearly seen when, he and his family, chanted "Viva Chavez" during the celebration following the world series."
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=142350&D=2006-02-11&HC=3
and a bad translation of a Spanish language site:
"Oct 28, 2005. - Shortly after the forceful victory of the Average White of Chicago in the World-wide Series of the 2005, manager Venezuelan Oswaldo Guillén celebrated in the land of game next to members of its family and showing of prominent way the flag of Venezuela.
When putting for photographies of the press and fanaticos, the dear Guillén and members of its family gritarón "the alive Venezuela" and soon "lives Chávez".
Although, some codfish of the opposition have been trying to reduce importance to him to the appearance of Guillén in Aló President for several weeks, the video of Guillén shouting "alive Chávez" only speaks by himself."
http://www.aporrea.org/dameverbo.php?docid=67903
http://66.218.71.231/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//www.aporrea.org/dameverbo.php%3fdocid=67903&lp=es_en&.intl=us&fr=FP-tab-web-t
LoL boy is that convincing.
Yeah, the translation's hilarious - nonetheless it's there.
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