CHICAGO (AP) - Ozzie Guillen’s future as manager of the Chicago White Sox was unclear Friday as the team began its final homestand of a disappointing season.
Guillen’s quest for a contract extension beyond the year he has left in 2012 and his fractured relationship with general manager Ken Williams could mean the end of his colorful eight-year run. Or maybe not.
Asked if he were the owner would he would give himself an extension, Guillen was his usual honest self:
“No,” he said.
So why seek one?
“Wait a minute, Obama asked for an extension, I should ask for one. Obama is asking right now for four more years. I think you always knock on the door to see what you get. That’s all you did. I don’t say they have to or they don’t, but my job is make sure to ask,” Guillen said.
And the talk of the extension has grown old for the always talkative manager, who first raised the issue last month.
“I’m tired of this … all day, every day. People, everywhere I go, they ask me the same questions, and they got mad at me because I answer. Right now I’m at the point like ’Hey man, whatever it is, it is.’ If I’m back here, good. If I’m not, good. That’s the way it is. Whatever happens, happens.”
Guillen said the decision by owner Jerry Reinsdorf would be the one that’s best for the White Sox.
“It’s not Ozzie. It’s not Jerry. It’s going to be for the good of this organization and that’s the way it should be,” Guillen said.
Williams said Friday he’s listening to everything that is going on. Asked if he, Reinsdorf and Guillen would sit down and hash things out, he said he preferred that all be kept out of the spotlight.
“We’d rather do it in private. Whether or not we have plans to sit down, when, where, how, what the ultimate result is going to be, that all is speculation that is dangerous and unnecessary,” Williams said.
“I know it hasn’t been exactly private, but I think everybody’s better served if it is,” he added. “It’s just a more respectful way to do business.”
Much was expected of the White Sox and their approximately $127 million payroll this season. But poor performances by players like Adam Dunn _ who got a four-year $56 million deal and is batting .164 with six games left _ and Alex Rios have dropped Chicago into third place in the AL Central.
“I wouldn’t expect that we add, I wouldn’t even expect that we stay the same. I would expect that we might have to trim a little bit,” Williams said of the payroll. “The decision hasn’t been made. I said the same thing last year.”
Guillen said there is plenty of blame to share for what has happened this season.
“People want to ask about what went wrong. Everything went wrong,” he said, adding it wasn’t the fault of just a handful of underachieving players.
“I’m a big part of that. My coaches, myself, players,’” he said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.