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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 4, 2007

Ozzie Guillen

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Q. Can you just talk about the look of your team right now with some of the moves you've made already?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Make really important one. I think we missing a pretty good pitcher and did a tremendous job for us when I was managing him. I think it was a big part of this ball club or this organization for good, but meanwhile we bring quality ballplayer, something we was looking forward because, you know, we need a player like Cabrera, a guy can be a leader in the field. He can do a lot of things besides catching the ball and throwing the ball and hitting the ball. I think it's a great teacher, and I think I was real excited about getting this kid, get a chance to play for us.
We got Quentin, I think is -- I only see this kid in Spring Training. I don't know much about him. Playing leftfield up to right now and, you know, I think it's too early. I think he be in real tough off-season for Kenny. Like I said in Chicago, in September, going to be a real, real, real hard winter for Kenny Williams. The thing going right now in baseball, make it tough information, every General Manager in general and right now, I think with the ball club, it's a couple questions about Joe.
Joe should be ready for Spring Training. Last night we talked about his health. We going to go to Spring Training. It's good. Our ball club right now almost have the same players. I think before Spring Training start, we got to take a look and got to be a different ball club we have right now. Maybe later on they have plans to work on them. We got a couple guys in Minors. Hopefully before I leave, we got something set for good, for the season.

Q. With Jon Garland, do you feel like he kind of reached his peak with you guys, had the back-to-back 18-win seasons? Do you feel you saw the best of him so that's why he was a piece that you guys can move?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Not really. Not in my point. I think Garland got a year like everybody on the White Sox did. You talk about the 30, 35 players we have, I don't think anybody has a year -- maybe Vazquez, off the group about a great year they have. I think what the best guy we have out there to trade for something we need. That's all I think about.
I talked to Mike Scioscia last night. We exchanged a couple words about Garland, about Cabrera's right arm, and I told Mike, "You don't have to talk about Cabrera's right arm in the past. I think Jon, he's going to do a hell of a job with them and they're going to help that team to win some games.

Q. Speed is so important to you. How do you feel about the lead-off spot right now?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Right now we think about it. Last night I saw the board and tried to figure out the lineup. The odd thing we got to get something -- I try to play games, Cabrera lead off. I believe in speed, but to me it's more important to be on base to use your speed. No matter how fast you are, you're not on base, we can't use it.
But I think last night we looking for a piece who we can lead off. Last year I think Jerry Owens did a real good job and we put a piece together around him. I think it's something that we can go through it, and I think Jerry, he played pretty good outfield and did -- I don't say a great job but good enough job to earn -- try to get back and make a spot.

Q. If you can't get a lead-off guy, is there a chance Cabrera can lead off for you the majority of the time?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Old baseball saying it's good enough, I will do that. It's ideal lineup to have Cabrera batting 2nd. If we can't replace the lead-off guy, I have Cabrera in a couple lineups last night.

Q. Right now you probably have him lead off against tough lefties?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Yes. Cabrera will hit anywhere in the spot. You be surprised. He'll be batting third. I've seen him before. I don't mind putting him batting first or second all year long. It's something we have to deal with who is pitching, how are we going to deal -- how we playing and see what it can do.

Q. Kenny seemed pretty disappointed with the whole Torii Hunter thing. How big of a setback was that not getting him?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I think it was.
We were so positive about the conversation with Torii. We really didn't have a Plan B right away. We had a Plan B, but we feel comfortable when I talk to him and stuff. I don't blame Torii. I mean, I don't blame him. I talked to him, "Listen, kid. You got to go where your feelings are, with the money, your family. When you get in that position, so many things go through your mind.
You talk to one team and you sign with and you feel guilty about it. This is baseball. We have to move on. I think Kenny, he got everybody by surprise. Then little by little we take over Plan B. Plan B we had a few people in mind. I don't think -- I don't say I don't have the right, I think Kenny will have better information than what he had in mind. They talking about some Japanese players, talking about Andruw Jones. So many people playing centerfield. I can't give you the answer because it might be the wrong answer. Everybody have different way to build a ball club. I think Kenny maybe tonight or tomorrow morning, we have better idea where we are with -- as free agency people.
I'm the type of manager I don't get involved with budget. I just told them what I need. If they have to make any move to move one of the players to play for me, then they ask me about it. Kenny know what he's doing and what we need. He got to get you better information right now. We can't get the information because I might come up with something later in two hours. I wasting your guy's times. Maybe when I meet you guys later on, we got better idea where we really are not dreaming, just be realistic where we're going to be.
Lot of dreams, but when you make deals, when you put a team together, you always shooting for the moon, hopefully the best come up. Kenny is really open about with the scouts, myself, all the staff about just be realistic about what -- Kenny don't put this team by himself.
Kenny talk to Jerry about what he need to put this team together, then everybody get involved, everybody get involved and everybody made the decision and whether we make the right or wrong decision is not a Kenny decision. Obviously, he's the one that pull the trigger, but in the meanwhile I think we lucky now to work with people we can talk. Kenny is so far open to everyone to hurt his feelings about some players.
Kenny say, "What do you think? We can win with this?"
I said, "I don't know about that."
He leaves it to you. Everybody gives different ideas. His idea what we're going to bring, I think it's too early today to say we're going to do this or that. Hopefully later on we got the better deal.

Q. You just mentioned Andruw Jones. You played with him. You know him pretty well. What's your take on him after coming off, you know, what people consider kind of a down season for him last year?
OZZIE GUILLEN: He just got a bad year and the wrong time for him. No matter what, because when you're good, you're always going to have bad months or years. I think Andruw Jones is going to bounce back and have a pretty good year whoever he play for. I just talked to Jim Fergosi a couple minutes ago. He asked me about it. I seen him play. I don't see anybody better. We all -- I never see anybody than that kid when I was playing with him.
He's in the mix, I guess. It's just about cash. It's all about years. It's all about something I not get involved. And whoever is going to be there, got to fit real well because the way we played last year, I don't think this ball club is going to be worse than last year. Please don't because it was hard for everyone -- you guys to cover and to manage, fans to watch and Jerry to own. It was bad year overall. Our expectation I don't think we want to have -- we don't want to have the same feeling as a person that we had last year.
A real bad feeling. I just talked to Dusty Baker. Now I think I start feeling like what a real manager is. I have a better idea about managing now than in the last three years because I deal with a lot of things I never deal with before is.

Q. You brought up Andruw Jones' name. Do you as an organization, have you guys gotten past the Scott Boras agent-type thing, that you want to talk to him, or is it still who he's represented makes things impossible?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Got to ask Kenny. Lot of people say Scott Boras was the best agent. He is. When you have all the players, I be a good agent, too. That's easy. Scott Boras not going to give Pablo Ozuna $20 million. It's easy to give A-Rod 130. He's the best player in the game.
In the meanwhile, agent's got a job to do and General Manager have job to do. We have to respect that. I come to the point to represent that, he's to the point of how much value the guy got in the market. Obviously the agent going to shoot for the best, not for the best interest of the players. The agent get their cut, too. The best interest for them, too. I don't blame him. I be an agent. That's what I do. I don't want to manage the White Sox. I told Miguel Cabrera and Santana I'm done with the game. Wait to be somebody's agent to be home and watching them play and see what happens. When you have good players, you got the power to do what you want to do.
Between Andruw Jones and Scott Boras, we need Andruw Jones. We think really need that bad, he's what he is.

Q. Ozzie, yesterday Kenny described Quentin as Chicago tough. How would you describe him?
OZZIE GUILLEN: It's one thing I got to talk about this guy I never seen him play, only in Spring Training. The only thing I remember him in the box. He gets a homerun every time we play him in Tucson. I hear a lot of great stuff about him. Were happy about the trade we make. I got to wait to see what kind player he is when I see him every day. Playing in Chicago is not easy. Lot people say about the media. Lot of people think about the fans. Lot of people say the media in Chicago is tough. The fans are more tough than the media. You play there, you better put everything together.

Q. Ozzie, the bullpen, MacDougal and Thornton, have to pitch better.
OZZIE GUILLEN: I don't think those guys are going to be worse than what they was last year. Oh, my God. No way. It's impossible. The thing was we put MacDougal in the spot he should be because our number 8 guy was doing the job. All of a sudden, everything went crazy. I tried to match up hitters and never happen.
I think with this kid, you got to pitch in the 8th no matter what he is, left or right. No, Linebrink. That makes it easier for us. I was using four, five guys to get one out. Now him to be the setup man, I think we solved that problem. I just talked to Kenny and the White Sox. Look at our bullpen. If you release any of those guys in the bullpen, I guarantee you then I spend -- they wouldn't spend two minutes without a job. They're that good. That is how you're going to perform, how you're going to be prepared, how you're going to come out of the last year.
I think I feel comfortable and I feel confidence where we are right now in the bullpen, but there's another thing people talk about bullpen. I worry more about my starting rotation than the bullpen.
It's like you're a golfer and all a sudden you're putting, and you practice your putting when you're on the green. You already shoot eight putts. You got to practice your driver first. If all rotations pitch the way they're going to pitch, I don't see we're going to have any problem having Linebrink back with the team.

Q. Stronger rotation will help the bullpen?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Everyone.

Q. You talked about things can't be as bad as they were last year. You've got all that talent in the middle of the lineup and the offense didn't click. How do you avoid a repeat of that?
OZZIE GUILLEN: We start the season not hitting, one thing I worry about the players start looking at each other's faces and battling each other. That's my worry. I think our ball club have to forget what they did last year and just think about what they're going to do this year. I think we did -- we bring a guy we need. We need somebody to be a leader on the bench. We need to bring a guy to just lose and have fun. That's the reason we bring Cabrera.

Q. You talked about a starting rotation. In your eyes right now, is it obviously the big three and then you're thinking Danks and Gavin Floyd?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Gavin Floyd, I think, turned the corner. I think this kid has got great stuff and confidence. The expectation was going to be pretty high. Right now the job is not his, but he's the one I think throw the ball better besides Vazquez at the end of the season. Hopefully we can grab that and have it. That's why I think we have to have a great bullpen, good enough bullpen, because those two guys we don't know what we're going to get. The bullpen works out pretty good, then everything is put together in the right time.

Q. What gives you the confidence that Jose Contreras can bounce back and pitch closer to what you saw in 2006?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I don't think he wants to be embarrassed, Jose. He don't want to go through season -- he's got a lot of problems off the field and stuff. We do a couple things with him. He starts throwing the ball better. We did up to the last game of the season, we expect him to bounce back and do good.
It's one thing I'm pretty sure we're going to monitor early in Spring Training, how many innings he's going to throw and take care of innings early in the season, make sure he can keep it out longer. Everything else, I just came from Puerto Rico, Javy is ready. Did you look -- you look at the White Sox, they should have more wins than they had last year and hopefully one year stronger, more mature. I think it should be better.

Q. Ozzie, how is Toby Hall? Do you worry about his shoulder?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I worry about Toby's weight, not shoulder. I think Toby got to get more playing time this year. Unfortunately, he got hurt last year. I think Toby now he knows the ball club better. I think his rehabbing, it should be -- I'm not going to say a hundred percent, it should be 95 percent Spring Training ready to go. He can do a regular thing every day, day in and day out.

Q. Ozzie, if a trade for Santana goes through, be it the Red Sox or the Yankees, do you think -- is that a thing that's harmful to baseball when the big powerhouse franchises like the Yankees and the Sox go to an organization like the Twins and take one of the premiere players, even if it's by a trade?
OZZIE GUILLEN: This is business. God bless them. I don't think -- you can build a team like that, you better win. Yeah, this is a good team, but it's about how they perform on the field. I think when the game start, you never know what's going to happen, and you have the opportunity and the players, I hope Santana go to National League. That's my hopes. Every time we face this kid, I think I got like 15 less wins because of him, and then that's -- when -- I feel proud this year.
First time ever come to this Winter Meeting, of course, I don't like it, just because the two top people they talk about is from my country and they're my friends. I just so happy my country come out in the top and talk about the two best players they have this year, 2008, they're from Venezuela and should be proud.

Q. What kind of scouting on Japanese free agent outfielder did you receive on them?
OZZIE GUILLEN: He's a great player. Some people say he's between Ichiro and one from the New York Yankees, Matsui. That's pretty good combo. One thing about Japanese players, they only send the good types. Every time you sign, they make homerun, base hit. Don't make no mistakes. I love to manage the Japanese player. I did. I got two great guys. They go about their business the right way. They play hard. They proud. They play the game right. I don't have any problem doing that.

Q. What about 2nd base right now?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Well, 2nd base right now I looking to Richar to get a shot. I have Uribe to compete with him for a position.

Q. Who?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Uribe. Right now. I think they got to compete and whoever plays better. I think Richar did a good job. I think Uribe can get you a lot of thing out of there. We need Cabrera to make this ball club better. That's the only reason we did it. We don't need a shortstop. We have one, a real good one. We just need a player like Cabrera, complete player, a complete package to help us to do what we want to do. Look at Uribe, we don't see any better shortstop than him, Cabby, Cabrera, and maybe Derek Jeter.

Q. How about the new kid?
OZZIE GUILLEN: He's a good 2nd baseman. He's not a great 2nd baseman. Last year did he a good job. I think this kid got the right people around him. He got a chance to be a good player.

Q. You talked about the team needing more leadership. Paul Konerko is not a vocal leader and not the rah-rah guy. Are you disappointed he isn't that way? He's still the captain.
OZZIE GUILLEN: Everybody is what they is. Robin Ventura was a leader. Harold Baines was a leader. Everybody have different way to lead. When things are going good, you're a leader. When they're bad, you're not. You got to stay equal and stay the same way. I think a lot of people put a lot of weight to Paul because he's the captain. Well, to be a leader, you don't have to be a captain. But to be a captain, you don't have to be a leader. I think the push, talk about -- if you look out to California Angels, you see Cabrera talking to the guys, that's what I miss. I miss somebody to get involved with everyone. I don't want anybody to see one thing and not something else. I need someone to get things going. I need A.J. Pierzynski to step up and do what you got to do. Time to take charge and push each other to get better.

Q. So you basically saying you guys lack some leadership in the field?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Yes, we do. We got the right guy. Like I say before, we don't need a shortstop. We have real good one. But the one we got, he got to resolve a lot of problems with the White Sox.

Q. Ozzie, a guy you've had now is Jim Thome, do you think the fact that he's a DH and not out on the field sort of takes away from him as a leader and that's where Cabrera can help you?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Yeah. It's funny. Somebody was talking about Jim Thome is a Hall of Famer. Jim Thome was only DH one year. No, not really. I think Jim Thome has his own way to lead. He's like a father to all those guys. Lot of people have respect for him. Lot of people love him to death. Like everyone have different way to lead, and, like I say, you're not going to change one guy from one day to another.
I told Kenny I don't need leaders in the clubhouse. I need leaders in the field, and that's more important to our leaders in the clubhouse. Lead on the field is when the people look at them. Things what we're missing last couple years.

Q. Even though Paul is a great person and individual, in retrospect it is a mistake that you just had one captain and that maybe there was too much emphasis on him?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I don't need Paul a captain to be a leader. I named him a captain because you earn it. The respect I have for him and the players have for him. Having a "C" or having a title in your uniform in the media guide, whatever it is, you don't have to be the rah-rah guy.
I think you just got to go out there and do your job and take care of yourself and be who you are. We need a leader. He's the captain. I named him the captain, not the not the leader. Everyone lead their own way.

Q. Have you talked to Cabrera and Santana lately?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I talked to Cabrera, not Johan. Great spot. Great spot for him. Johan is a little maturer and Cabrera is kind of worried about the manager want to get rid of him. I talked to him about it. It's a position. He's in great position. He understands. Whoever get this kid, they're going to have a hell of a ballplayer.

Q. If Kenny said to you we have to trade our four top young players in the whole organization to get him, we might not have enough left to go on after this year, what would you say?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Well, yes. We want to win. Our division we playing right now we got to go out there and compete. To compete you've got to bring some players, and I don't know how much players -- I talked to a couple guys last night. I don't give up my seven best players for one guy. I never do that as a General Manager. This is what we want to do, is win. I go for it.

Q. How would you project him homerun-wise at your ballpark?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Cabrera? It's hard because the pitching in his division in the National League is little bit different than what we are. Every day you got to face a pretty good pitching staff no matter what team come in town. This kid is a natural hitter. This kid, I'll say will hit about 50. I think going to bring another leadership to the ball club, but whoever this kid play for earnings, he's going to be fine. With all my respect with Cabby, I don't think Cabby worth seven prospects for one guy. They want to do it, that's fine.

Q. Do you really think he could be a leader? You know how he was perceived on the Marlins clubhouse.
OZZIE GUILLEN: He played with kids. Lot of people look at Cabrera like he's Derek Jeter. Half the team was older than him. People sometimes don't understand his attitude and the way he play. Miguel Cabrera played with a team that have a couple leaders, couple people older than him, he got to be a way better player and way better person and everything. He played with kids.
He's the man, but meanwhile people forgot how young he is. He's younger than Josh, I think. He just start so early, some people think he's a veteran guy. He's only 24 years old. He's only one year younger than Ozzie. Ozzie is in the bars everyday. He's not playing baseball.
But people -- you look at Cabrera, he's playing Nintendo. He's a baby. People misunderstand his attitude on the field and off the field because people think he's been in the league for 20 years.

Q. Are you talking about how tough your division is? Do you really feel at this point if you were going to start the season today, you have enough starting pitching to win the division?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I think we got starting pitchers. I don't know if we have a good enough lineup, to be honest. Yes, we have a good starting pitchers. It's one thing about it, last year, our offense was horrible. Everyone. They no give the pitching the support they need. Then we got to go out there and pitch perfect every inning. Hopefully this year our offense got better.

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