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Guillen Says Rays Have Changed Since His Days Here

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Manager Ozzie Guillen finished his 16-year playing career with the Rays, playing for the club in 2000 and getting cut late in spring training the following year.

While the former shortstop's memories of that time aren't exactly warm and cuddly, he admires current Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon.

"I think the new people around here did a tremendous job of putting this team together," Guillen said. "They grew up with a guy Maddon who is a baseball man, who grew up in a great organization with the Anaheim Angels.

"You don't win games without your players, but that manager has a lot to do with this organization."

Asked how the Rays were different in 2000-2001, Guillen said, "I don't want to get in trouble, but I think they didn't know what direction they wanted to go. They'd sign a couple of kids, or they'd sign veterans. Obviously, they signed me, the wrong guy.

"They wanted to win right away and spent a lot of money on a lot of my friends. Meanwhile, they weren't mixing the right people at the right time."

ROTATION SET: Like the Rays, the White Sox will go with a four-man rotation.

Right-hander Javier Vazquez will be followed by lefty Mark Buehrle (15-12) and lefty John Danks (12-9), who pitched an eight-inning two-hitter in the Sox's 1-0 playoff victory against Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Righty Gavin Floyd (17-8) will be available in the bullpen for the first two games and would start Game 4.

Vazquez got pounded in his last three outings, all in big games. In starts against the Yankees, Twins and Indians, he gave up 18 earned runs in 12 innings.

Asked Wednesday if his reputation is suffering, Vazquez said he doesn't pay attention to "what the media says" and feels "it's been a blessing" to pitch in Game 1.

BACK AT LAST: DH Jim Thome and CF Ken Griffey Jr., both 38, are in the playoffs for the first time in a long while.

Thome was a mainstay in the postseason from 1995 through 2001 with Cleveland, and he played in two World Series. Griffey made the playoffs in 1995 and 1997 with Seattle.

"It's almost surreal," said Thome, whose 461-foot home run off Nick Blackburn on Tuesday night won the AL Central Division for the Sox.

Griffey didn't want to talk much about baseball as he was taking the field for practice Wednesday, but with his 14-year-old son, Trey, in tow, he didn't mind showing off a video of his 6-year-old son Tevin's football game on his iPhone.

Said teammate Jermaine Dye of Thome and Griffey, "They're two good guys; two guys that are going to be in the Hall of Fame. They're good people who come from good families. You especially want to win a championship for them."

HAPPY FOR THEM: Reserve C Toby Hall of Odessa knew the Rays' pitchers when they were, well, not playoff-caliber pitchers. That's because he caught them until being traded to the Dodgers in 2006.

"I was fortunate enough to catch a young Scott Kazmir, a young James Shields," Hall said. "They're still young, but at that time, I was honored to be able to catch those guys. Even Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel and Dan Wheeler.

"Wheeler went through one of the worst parts of Devil Ray history. Trever Miller, too. It's neat to see those guys excited now. Watching Jonny Gomes with the Mohawk, it's good to see."

Tony Fabrizio

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