Announcer-Manager Fight Between Joe Morgan And Ozzie Guillen (Who Ya Got?)

Monday, April 07, 2008


During the White Sox-Tigers last night Joe Morgan alluded to a conversation that he and White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen had about who the best player from Puerto Rico was. Morgan relayed that Guillen said Ivan Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar, and Roberto Clemente and said that he thought the Manager was out of his mind for not picking Clemente first.

Of course the reasoning that Morgan used was because he "played with Clemente" and I just chalked it up to the curmudgeon not accepting that any player he didn't play with or against just isn't good. Well apparently Joe Morgan didn't share all of the conversation....

It was vintage Ozzie Guillen before Sunday night’s game, as he didn’t take kindly to ESPN broadcaster Joe Morgan questioning the fact that Guillen told reporters on Saturday that he felt Ivan Rodriguez, not Roberto Clemente, was the greatest player to come out of Puerto Rico.

Morgan told Guillen he was “crazy,’’ starting a series of “FU’s’’ from Guillen.
What Morgan didn’t know was Guillen is a huge collector of Clemente memorabilia, as well as gave his son, Oney, the middle name of Roberto.

“The problem is these old guys think that none of the players now are better than back then,’’ Guillen said.

He then sighted an example, bringing up how Babe Ruth was fat and out of shape, but yet was a dominant hitter and pitcher back in "the old days." “Babe Ruth couldn’t even play now,’’ Guillen insisted. Morgan was trying to laugh it off, but Guillen sure wasn’t.
I think Guillen hit the nail on the head with that last quote. If Joe Morgan hasn't seen it happen then it's not possible. He's very Carl Everett in that way. Current odds sit at Morgan 500 to 1.

Ozzie vs. Morgan (Inside the White Sox)
Retard Fight! (With Leather)

16 Comments:

morgan is right: clemente was one of the greatest players to ever play. i-rod isn't even the best player at his position.

and guillen has done a litany of things over the past couple of years to prove he's not playing with a full deck. this is just another example.

i still like him though; crazy as he is.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 2:42:00 PM  

Gullen would crush Morgan if the 2 fought. It would not even be a contest.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 2:45:00 PM  

Hate to agree with Morgan, but he's right - both are comparable offensively but Clemente was unparalled for his defense.

But remember that Morgan believes that no one played 2B as well as he did; and that Sandberg sucked big - time during his playing days. That opinion has been well - expressed throughout his announcing career, and speaking as a lifelong Cub fan I hate his guts for it.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 2:48:00 PM  

I-Rod was also without peers defensively for quite a while.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 2:53:00 PM  

I thought people weren't allowed to talk about players from specific countries being good at certain things.

Guess it's just some people.

E Buzz said...
Apr 7, 2008, 2:54:00 PM  

I wasn't necessarily disagreeing with Morgan just with his reasoning. All three were great players but you have to factor in steroids and Clemente's career being cut short.

Apr 7, 2008, 2:59:00 PM  

A guy who was a humanitarian and played at Forbes and Three Rivers in the deadball era or a guy who took steroids or a guy who spat on an umpire?

I love how this became a controversy. Gammons ever got involved.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 3:07:00 PM  

Anon said...
...i-rod isn't even the best player at his position.


Well, that's great if that's your opinion, but this debate was the best players from Puerto Rico. Now, if you can name a better Puerto Rican catcher, by all means, have at it. If not, and you can't, then stick to the arguement at hand and don't try to make this about something it isn't.

/rant about people who can't pay attention.

Apr 7, 2008, 3:14:00 PM  

Where's the quote from? An article from ESPN? Because it should most definitely be "cited an example" not "sighted". come on.

Anonymous said...
Apr 7, 2008, 3:25:00 PM  

Did you not click the link Nick? It's from the Chicago Sun-Times...is that good enough for you or does it have to be ESPN? Because they're always reliable.

Apr 7, 2008, 3:27:00 PM  

Joe Morgan is an absolute fucking turd, and should be removed from TV permanently. That said; I have to agree with him on this(ouch, that really hurt).
Roberto Clemente was the best RF I've ever seen(yes, I saw him play; I'm in my mid-50s), and no one, no one, had a better arm.

UnHoly Diver said...
Apr 7, 2008, 3:50:00 PM  

You've got to love the childish behavior from Ozzie. No matter what the argument is about, you better believe he's going to tell you to go fuck yourself at some point.

GMoney said...
Apr 7, 2008, 4:12:00 PM  

"See, when he told me to fuck off, he wasn't really telling me to fuck off, but more like telling me to go screw myself, which I couldn't do anyway, or maybe go off into a corner or something...he meant it as a complement, and I take that from Ozzie, cuz I respect him as a plur."

E Buzz said...
Apr 7, 2008, 4:30:00 PM  

There's no right or wrong, Morgan asked Guillen his opinion, he gave it, then Morgan essentially called him a fool for saying something Morgan didn't agree with.

Who in their right mind is going to defend Morgan? The guy is absolutely oblivious to *anything* that isn't what he agrees with, and his hatred of sabremetrics and 'Moneyball' in general is disturbing. I wish Morgan would just go away...fantastic player but an absolute loon in the booth.

Unknown said...
Apr 7, 2008, 6:06:00 PM  

Joe Morgan is atrocious.

I find it interesting that America's sportswriters criticize Summerall, Enberg, etc. for every minor flub, but Morgan gets a free pass for mangling the English language each week.

repoob said...
Apr 7, 2008, 10:01:00 PM  

Now what does steroids got to do with it. You cant disminish or question what Pudge did because he play in the so called "steriod era".

Anonymous said...
Apr 8, 2008, 4:01:00 AM  

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