Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie. You Had It Right The First Time!

Oh well. A man in the know speaks his mind. And then that man, manager of the World Champion Chicago White Sox, takes a step back and publicly apologises. But I know his inner feelings haven't changed about DORA a whit. But to remain "politically correct", he did say this, as reprinted from New York's The Daily News. Here it is......

Ozzie Says Sorry, A-Rod
BY ANTHONY McCARRON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

TAMPA - Ozzie Guillen made a full retreat yesterday from his comments in a Sports Illustrated interview calling Alex Rodriguez a "hypocrite," among other niceties, for waffling over playing for Team USA or the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
"I learned a lesson. I never took a first shot at anybody in my life and now I feel like I took the first shot," Guillen said at a news conference at White Sox camp in Tucson, Ariz. "I feel embarrassed, I feel guilty. I wish I had not said it the way it sounds or the way I said it."
Like the Red Sox - who last spring mocked A-Rod for hyping his own workout regimen in a newspaper article - Guillen's interview once again made the Yankees third baseman into baseball's piñata. Though as far as Derek Jeter is concerned, the barbs hardly bother the Bombers.
"Let them keep taking shots," Jeter said yesterday of A-Rod's critics. "He had a pretty good year last year."
Rodriguez, of course, won his second American League MVP award last season, batting .321 with 48 home runs and 130 RBI.
"People are entitled to their opinion," Jeter said. Asked why he thought Rodriguez is a frequent target, Jeter said, "He makes the most money, a lot of people are probably jealous of him. I don't really know. I haven't thought about it and we don't really concern ourselves with it."
Yesterday's apology was something of a departure for the Chisox's ever-outspoken skipper, who told SI that "Alex was kissing Latino people's (butts)" by even considering playing for the Dominican team.
"What I did to Alex was wrong," Guillen said. "He can do whatever he wants. If he wants to play for Japan, fine for him."
Asked for his own opinion of the WBC - and of George Steinbrenner's disdain for it - Jeter said: "I'm sure (The Boss) wouldn't be happy. There are probably a lot of owners that aren't thrilled about it, but this is something that the Players Association and Major League Baseball have come together on. I'm excited about it and looking forward to it."
***Peter here again. You know what? I agree that Ozzie did the right thing in making this statement of apology. He did take a blind shot at a guy who keeps doing his job defensively and offensively, up there at the summit. And you all know I am a non-fan of DORA. But I do have to give it to him. As much as my dislike is for him, he does produce, in the field and at the plate. That's as much as I can give him though. As a person, he's a twit. A cheap shot advantage taker. A perennial loser. Other than that I can't say anything bad about the purse snatching, slapping, cry baby fool. See...who said I couldn't be nice!