I agree with White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen.
What is the big deal about a big league manager having a life away from the diamond and interacting with the masses via a popular social networking website?
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is a regular presence on the evil Internet forum known as Twitter. So is Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal. Sadly, both seem to be more productive on Twitter than they have been on the field or court as of late.
Aside from these two, there is a host of athletes and Hollywood celebrities tweeting away to their loyal followers on a daily basis without their careers grinding to a halt. The eccentric Sox manager should be able to do the same, while sharing a few Ozzie-isms with us each day. How could tweeting really hurt Guillen or the White Sox?
Guillen has not done anything wrong by signing up for a Twitter account. If anything, I think this could actually help the team. White Sox marketing guru Brooks Boyer should be out promoting Guillen as the game's most cyber-savvy manager.
The first 10,000 fans in attendance at the home opener should receive a free Ozzie Gullien emoticon download!
Just imagine: One minute Guillen visits hurler Jake Peavy on the mound in the middle of an inning. Upon returning to the dugout, Guillen could whip out his mobile device and tweet about the conversation.
His first few tweets have already been quite entertaining.
Oh god I jinxed kobe...time for mlb network
3 day of Spring Training and im already boreddddddd
what I saw on the field today was a lot of grass...
You think White Sox fans would hate that? That can't be the issue. More likely, the prospect of a uncensored Guillen drives general manager Kenny Williams a little crazy, but he appears to hesitant to even disclose what time city his club plays in.
Guillen's bright personality is a gem in a game whose hallmarks are repetition and monotony. The former Gold Glove shortstop is fearless when it comes to dealing with the fans and media. Nor is he shy about tearing into his players, screaming at wayward umpires or talking to front-row dwellers at U.S. Cellular Field as the action on the diamond is under way.
Guillen has already made public his personal e-mail address and has a Facebook page that resulted in his inbox being stuffed with several hundred messages a day. Gullien even admitted he used lineup suggestions submitted by fans in games.
In an age where almost all coaches and mangers rely on cliches and ready-made responses, Gullien's rebel-with-an-attitude attitude is refreshing and could even draw casual spectators back to baseball that may have been lost to the bone-crushing NFL and fast-paced NBA. Fans who are tired of hearing and reading about the latest slugger admitting injecting designer performance enhancing drugs may find Guillen refreshing.
"This has nothing to do with the organization or baseball. It's my life," Gullien told the assembled media at White Sox Spring Training earlier this week. "I don't know why people are making a big deal of it. All of a sudden it's Ozzie Guillen. I didn't know how famous I was. That's pretty interesting. I thought people hate me."
"I feel like I was doing something wrong. People are treating me like I was a murderer or something, or stealing someone's money or didn't pay my taxes. Believe me, a lot of people must like me out there. I thought it was the opposite.''
Ozzie really should do the best thing and just tweet it.
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