As the weather in South Florida is starting to sizzle just a little bit hotter, so are things off the diamond at Marlins Park. From one interesting figure saying he's done on Twitter to one player having to deal with a family member with cancer, there was a lot to talk about this past week.
Even though the Fish went 4-3 on the week against the Pirates, Braves and Indians, there were plenty of off-the-field chatter to be had. One of the chattiest men on the Marlins is manager Ozzie Guillen, and on this week he proclaimed he was pulling the plug on Twitter, which is also our Tweet of the Week:
my last tweet. me ultimo tweet good luck buena suerte.
— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) May 17, 2012
In this video, Ozzie explains why: Ozzie will keep his blog, ozzie.mlblogs.com, open.
Meanwhile, closer Heath Bell has been quiet as of late. Until Dan Le Batard came along. In an interview on The Dan Le Batard Show on Thursday, the host thought it was fair game to ask of his frustrations. Bell hasn't been the same pitcher he had been with the Padres, but baseball is the last thing on his mind right now.
Hey all. I know I've been quiet lately.Things haven't been going my way. Asking for prayers for my dad. He's in the hospital w/pneumonia.
— Heath Bell (@HeathBell21) May 16, 2012
More details:
I can honestly say that I hate lung cancer. And I don't really hate that many things. #lungcancersucks
— Heath Bell (@HeathBell21) May 16, 2012
So on Thursday, Le Batard asked Bell about his recent struggles. One of them was that the host pointed out that Bell has produced two swings-and-misses with pitches in the strike zone. Things went downhill from there. Listen to the interview here. (It should be the third interview listed from the top.)
There hasn't been much talk of Showtime's "The Franchise" around the Marlins'-based blogs, so here's a sample:
One more Ozzie tidbit for the week: The Marlins aren't the only one's heating up -- the Heat are deep in a playoff run against the Indiana Pacers. Over the weekend, Dwyane Wade and Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra got into a little argument during a timeout during a Game 3 loss. Ozzie was asked how he could have handled that, and here's what he had to say:
"First of all, I'm never going to disrespect my players," Guillen said. "I did it once, and I apologized before everyone. I'm not going to tell you who. ... I said, 'Listen, I apologize as a man, because I will respect you as a man. I will respect you as a man. I will apologize in front of all of your teammates.'" - May 18
While the Heat continue their run, the Marlins will focus on keeping up in the NL East by facing the Rockies and Giants on the week.