Ozzie Guillen, “The Franchise”

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Miami’s latest hurricane didn’t blow in from the Atlantic–it came from Chicago. Marlins fans will know exactly what that sentence means very soon, especially when they get to see their team and their new manager on Showtime’s “The Franchise.” Ozzie Guillen has been thrust into the spotlight again, and you’d better believe that he’s enjoying it right along with the fans.

If you’re a Marlins fan, an Ozzie Guillen fan, or just enjoy watching entertaining television you might want to check into home theater installation, because this is bound to be worth upgrading your current television system for.

The Marlins have earned their spot in the limelight this year; that much is certain from the big moves they have made in the off-season. With a brand new ballpark (complete with built-in aquariums and a huge statue that creates a spinning light show when a Marlins player hits a home run), several big name free agent signings and, of course, the addition of Ozzie Guillen as manager.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Ozzie experience, here are some highlights from his tenure as the manager of the Chicago White Sox:

• Guillen never had a problem throwing his players under the bus, individually or collectively. One of his more memorable condemnations of his team included the quote “I watched Little League this morning…they were playing better than we did. At least it was more fun. This is not Major League Baseball, sorry.”
• There was an ongoing feud with umpire “Country” Joe West that may or may not have cost them some calls or even some games. Ozzie once said of West, “…sometimes he thinks f—ing people pay to watch him f—ing umpire.”
• Ozzie’s sons were always a source of entertainment, whether it was Oney tweeting about the personal lives of the players or Ozzie scrambling to find jobs on the payroll for his other sons. There was always someone from the Guillen clan in the news.
• It wasn’t just umpires and players that Guillen unleashed his profanity-laden tirades on. Sportswriter Jay Mariotti got to experience a full-on profanity-filled Ozzie rant that ended with a homosexual slur that got Guillen into hot water with the league.
• Ozzie expressed an untempered hatred for everything related to the Chicago Cubs. His condemnation of Wrigley Field as a rat-infested bar and his claim that Sox fans don’t come to games because they’re not stupid like Cubs fans made him a hero on the south side and a villain on the north side of Chicago.
• There was a constant tug-of-war between Guillen and his former boss, Kenny Williams, that seemed to manifest itself in the 2011 season when Guillen continued playing players who had no business being on the field, as if he was saying “See what this guy gives me to work with?”
• Then there was this World Series victory thing in 2005.

“The Franchise” is due to air weekly immediately after the All Star break. At the moment, Showtime has not decided exactly how many episodes there will be or if the show will run 30 minutes or 60 minutes. They have committed to at least six episodes. Among the things included in the episodes will be closed door meetings between Guillen, General Manager Michael Hill, Executive Vice President Larry Beinfest, President David Samson and the team’s owner, Jeffrey Loria.