Tagged: Brent Lillibridge
I want to see The Cell packed this week
Wow, we won a series at home! Feels very, very good before a day off. I get to enjoy a nice relaxing day today; having a BBQ tonight before we get ready for those Indians tomorrow. They have been playing some great ball, so we need to be ready.
Everybody knows that Kansas City plays us so tough, so to beat them and to swing the bats the way we did was awesome. Oh, I almost forgot to mention how much Bruce Chen dominates us. But that’s just baseball. The one thing I always look forward to is when we play our division. We have a bunch of games left in the division, and that’s probably a good thing. We take care of our own business, we should be there at the end.
If a couple of guys keep helping us out like they have, our offense can be very dangerous. Great job this weekend by Brent Lillibridge playing first base and swinging the bat like a big man (haha). Don’t let that kid fool you, he is a very strong man. But most importantly, his defense has helped us out a ton all year long.
On another note, I would really like to see The Cell sold out for the Indians series. These games are huge, and we need all the support we can get. We are right in the middle of the race, so we need everyone to come out and yell. I know we get their best with Fausto Carmona, Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson (but not in that order). If we want to win this division, we are going to have to beat the best. There is no other way to do it. And even though we have some tough pitchers coming our way, as long as none of them are named Chen, I will take my chances.
And lastly, a little surprise — I think I will be doing some Q&A on Twitter tonight. So bring you’re “A” game!
— Ozzie
That Twins sweep put me in a better mood
Hey, everyone, are you starting to feel like it’s easier for me to write these blogs and talk to you guys when we win games? Well, it definitely is. I’m in a great mood this morning in Baltimore and decided to write one of these up. Actually, my room here is right over Candem Yards. I can actually see the field right now.
Anyways, it was a great sweep of the Twins this weekend because, as you all know, they are always a huge pain for us. Those guys always play so well against us; we finally got them. I’m not going to lie, it’s a pretty good feeling. I just hope this starts a trend of us playing better and more consistently, and this series against the Orioles would be a good way to continue it.
Jake Peavy did a great job yesterday and got some help from Brent Lillibridge, and the defense definitely threw some leather around this 
weekend. The new kid with all the hair, Zach Stewart, did an awesome job as well this weekend. I hope he continues to throw the ball like that. Anytime you sweep a team, especially on the road, it seems like everyone needs to contribute, and we got that. Alex Rios was crushing he ball, and of course, “Q” (Carlos Quentin) continues to swing a hot bat.
I will have time to write you guys after this series with Baltimore and hopefully answer some more of your questions. I had a great time this past Saturday at the TriStar National Memorabilia Convention thanks to Bobby and all the guys that worked there; it was a lot of fun. I will have pictures up for you guys here soon on the website. My son and I had a great time, and I hope to be back doing that every year.
Thank you all for the support and talk to you guys soon!
— Ozzie
Things are starting to look a little better
Well, 3 out of 4 against the A’s this weekend wasn’t too bad. I’m very happy with the job we did against both Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez — those guys are tough! Overall, it was a pretty positive homestand. It was good to be back in Chicago for a while and very good to see Adam Dunn start to swing the bat. Also, Alex Rios has started to look better taking the ball up the middle, so hopefully this will be the start of something good for those guys. I really can’t say enough about the starting pitching and Brent Lillibridge. Wow, this kid has been a ball of energy, and I’m very happy for him because he works so hard. I told the guys winning is the best medicine for anything, and it feels good that we are winning right now.
Now we head out to what might be the nicest ballpark in the American League — Target Field. It’s a tough place to play, and the Twins are playing very good right now. I hope we are ready to go and can cool them off against my boy Carl Pavano and start the road trip off right. I’m enjoying the day off here in Minnesota after staying in Chicago last night. Did a little BBQing and watched the NBA Finals. Congrats to Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban. They did it right, with hard work and class. It goes to show you that winning a championship in any sport isn’t as easy as it looks.
— Ozzie
Q&A: On Texas, favorite memories & “Macho Man”
Helloooo, Texas. I love the Las Colinas Hotel that we stay at when we are down here; it has a great spa and nice golf course. That’s the good part. On the other side, we have a tough road trip ahead of us with Texas, Toronto and Boston, but it’s the American League and it’s always tough. I think we have won something like 4 straight series and it feels good when the team is playing better. There is a lot less panic when the you are winning. So we are here in Texas looking to start this trip off right and hoping to play well against them. On another note, we need to stick with the Bulls. I am with them all the way. The Heat are a tough team because all those stars decided to get together, but hey, believe in yourself and bring it back to Chicago. We are all with you guys!
I answered more of your questions …
Q: Ozzie, I’ve been a White Sox fan for a very long time. I admire that your team participates in a lot of charitable events. I was wondering, how do you pick the charities you support? — Debra D. (Aurora, Ill.)
A: I personally like dealing with kids because they usually are innocent, but my wife and I just like helping anyone in need who appreciates it.
Q: Ozzie, you rock! Out of curiosity, what was your overall feeling of feedback (positive or negative) from current or former players throughout the league after you made the statement asking that the “steroid list” be released for the sake of baseball? — Marc V. (Fort Collins, Col.)
A: I’m a big believer that feedback is always good either way. It can’t hurt.
Q: So, since we all know your English isn’t the best (haha), do you write your own blogs or does someone write ’em up for you? Go Sox!! –Brittany S. (Streamwood, Ill.)
A: Brittany, I write my own blogs, but before they go up on the website, let’s just say people correct my English a bit. But this is all me!
Q: Ozzie, no question here, just wanted to say that I think baseball (and the world, quite frankly) needs more people like you — open, honest, passionate and real; no BS. I follow you on Twitter and always look forward to what you have to say. Keep on being you! Yankee fans love Ozzie Guillen … FACT! — David S. (Bronx, N.Y.)
A: Thank you, David, and I love New York, too.
Q: Ozzie, what is your best baseball moment as a player and manager? — Matt Z. (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.)
A: As a player, it would have to be Game 6 when I was playing for the Atlanta Braves in the 1999 NLCS. I tied the game against Armanda Benitez and we won in extra innings. As a manager, it’s gotta be getting that ring in ’05, although I was just as proud of the ’08 team because they battled so hard.
Q: What is your favorite “Macho Man” memory? — Jason S. (St. Paul Park, Minn.)
A: Anytime he came out with Miss Elizabeth (haha); just kidding. I remember when I took my kids to see Hulk Hogan vs. Macho Man at the Rosemont Horizon way back, and they put on a great show and my kids loved it.
Q: Hey, Ozzie, why don’t you trade John Danks for a good starter? — Angel V. (Bell, Ill.)
A: Well, Danks is a good starter, for one, and I am the manager, not the general manager.
Q: How about starting Brent Lillibridge as leadoff man and playing outfield? He always gives his all. — Angel R. (Chicago)
A: Hope you have been watching, Angel; Brent has been in there.
— Ozzie
Not the start we wanted, but plenty of games left
Wow, I might have a couple grey hairs growing already (haha). Listen, I think it’s important to say that everyone goes through slumps. I’m not saying I’m entirely happy with our performance on the last road trip. All I will say is that I hope we snap out of it. And I hope we snap out of it in time to do something! I also am noticing that some other teams that were predicted to do well are struggling, too. It goes to show you that baseball is probably the hardest sport to predict who is going to win. It’s not like other sports where you get a couple good players and your team is great. In our sport, you need to compete every day for a chance to win. That’s why I love this game so much. You need to grind.
As I said, the road trip wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be. But I do like New York a lot. I have a ton of friends there, and the weather we got was awesome. I had a chance to have dinner with my very good friends, Ruben Blades and Bobby Allende. The dinner was great because not once did anyone bring up baseball. This game is such a marathon, it’s good to get out for a night and forget about it. As I am sure you have all heard by now, I did get kicked out of one of those games in the first inning, and I’ll be watching the next few games from home. Lesson learned, and I’ll be rooting for my guys like everyone else. CC Sabathia was very tough on us last night, and we were out of it very fast. First two games of the series were very nice, and Brent Lillibridge made these two great catches to win us a game. We had some timely hitting and good pitching, and it wasn’t all great, but we were able to get the wins.
Now the Orioles come into town, and they are no longer surprising anyone. Everyone knows they have good players. My hope is that our fans stick behind us, even though we know we aren’t playing as well as we want to. There are still a lot of games left, and hopefully this weekend we start the homestand in the right direction. Or else … more grey hairs.
— Ozzie
Ozzie Speaks 