If you thought that the drama surrounding the Miami Marlins ended when the Showtime series ended, you were dead wrong. In fact, constant, idiotic drama has been the only consistent thing going for the Marlins in this 2012 season.
Monday was no different, as Heath Bell stirred up the drama in Miami once again in an interview with The Dan Sileo Show on 560 WQAM in Miami. Bell, who has had a few run-ins already with manager Ozzie Guillen already this season, took another shot at the manager, who is already sitting on the hot seat with recent rumors that he could be fired.
Bell, like Michael pointed out earlier today, has not painted himself as a likeable figure in the eyes of the Miami media and fanbase. His comments on Monday did not help his cause either.
"It’s hard to respect a guy that doesn’t tell you the truth or doesn’t tell you face to face,’’ Bell said Monday during an interview on The Dan Sileo Show on 560 WQAM in Miami.
"There’s probably reasons why. It’s probably one of those things, like you said, if I said something or I did something, I’m going to own up to it. What you see is what you get.’’"We need a guy that leads us that everybody respects and looks up to," Bell said. "That’s what we need."
Bell is already on shaky ground with the Marlins fanbase, but on Twitter, we learned that it might be the same with his Marlins teammates.
This is ridiculous.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-o…
— Justin Ruggiano (@justinruggiano) September 24, 2012
Ruggiano was then asked to clarify if there is a divide in the locker room over Ozzie Guillen and his management.
@fadedwight this is one persons opinion. We have a very close locker room.
— Justin Ruggiano (@justinruggiano) September 24, 2012
Ruggiano is adamant in that Ozzie Guillen has the support from Marlins players. Which makes sense, as he has always been seen as a player's manager. There were notable stories of him sticking up for his players in Chicago.
Brett Hayes was quick to back Ruggiano and his defense of Ozzie up:
Hahaha the irony. absolutely rediculous RT "@justinruggiano: This is ridiculous.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-o…"
— Brett Hayes (@bretthayes9) September 24, 2012
The irony to which Hayes is probably referring to might be what Michael pointed out earlier today, in that Ozzie Guillen was always supportive of Bell, even when he was at his low point in April. Ozzie gave Bell as many chances as he could to earn his closer role back.
Of course, there came a point when Ozzie had no choice but to remove Bell as the closer, as it was obvious he was not getting the job done and the Marlins had a better option in Steve Cishek.
As Michael also pointed out this morning, Bell has pitched much better in the second half, and as well as Cishek has at that, too. Bell feels that is enough for him to merit his closer role back, but obviously Ozzie does not agree with that.
Should the Marlins Punish Bell?
David Hyde, of the Sun-Sentinel made an excellent point in his blog today:
4. The Marlins should suspend Heath Bell for the rest of the year. OK, so that's just a week. But you can't allow your manager to be ripped like that publicly by a player. What's more, Bell is more responsible for this awful season than Guillen is.
Yes, I know the Marlins are not exactly happy with Ozzie Guillen, especially after the comments he made about owner Jeffrey Loria. Guillen is clearly on the hot seat and in danger of losing his job. But the Marlins need to send a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated by the team.
Of course, then the argument could be made that Guillen should be suspended for the comment he made that Loria found derogatory.
The Marlins Firing Ozzie Looks Less Smart
I was talking to Michael on Saturday and I pointed out that what was interesting was that, with all the Ozzie Guillen hot seat rumors out there, there had been no players coming out to support him. In fact, all season long, I could only recall a Marlins player sticking up for him after the Fidel Castro fiasco.
The Heath Bell comments added fuel to the fire that I believed that the players were not supportive of the loud-mouthed manager.
Luckily for Guillen, two Marlins players stepped up to his defense on Twitter. As Ruggiano pointed out, the Marlins clubhouse is 100 percent behind Guillen, minus Heath Bell, of course.
That was the only point that I believed gave the Marlins front office a justifiable reason to fire Guillen; if the players were not behind him, there was no point in keeping the manager. But with the players seemingly behind Guillen, I cannot see a way that the Marlins firing him can end well.
The Miami Marlins continue to be a joke in a season that was supposed to begin a new era for the team. The Marlins can really thank the NFL and their replacement referees for taking much of the spotlight off of them right now. The Marlins are a complete mess right now and the offseason could not come any quicker for the Marlins at this point.