Guillen wants to come back
The more the Anaheim Angels offense sputtered in the first two games of the playoffs, the deeper the sense of remorse Jose Guillen seemed to have for his actions that led to the left fielder’s Sept. 26 suspension for the remainder of the season.
“It’s been tough to watch,” Guillen said in an interview with ESPN that aired before the Angels lost to the to the Red Sox on Friday. “They need something. I think they’re missing something.”
You think? Guillen hit .294 with 27 home runs and 104 runs batted in and clearly the Angels missed his bat against the Red Sox. His replacements, Jeff DaVanon and Adam Riggs, combined to go 2 for 11 with one run in the series.
“I think that speaks volumes on what the issues were,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “It was unfortunate what happened. It certainly took one of our better players away at a critical time.”
Those who believe the Angels were too harsh with Guillen, who was suspended for his tantrum after being pulled for a pinch-runner Sept. 25 and a verbal dispute with Scioscia after the game, think it was the Angels – and not Guillen – who suffered the heavier loss. Without Guillen, the Angels seemed short-handed against the Red Sox.
Guillen felt the Angels overreacted. “This should have been handled in a different direction,” he told ESPN. “I always believed whatever happens in the clubhouse stays between us.”
Guillen, who is under contract for $3.5 million in 2005, said he would begin anger-management classes next week.
Scioscia has maintained “the door is open” for Guillen to return next season, “but some issues need to be taken care of.” Guillen hopes to walk through that door next spring.
“I really want to play for the Angels,” he said.
Jaramillo among Mets’ candidates
The New York Mets, who have targeted Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo as one of their top managerial candidates, received permission to interview him, most likely next week at Shea Stadium, Newsday reported.
General manager Omar Minaya had Jaramillo in mind as a preferred candidate as soon as the Mets brought Minaya back to the organization during the final week of the season. Jaramillo, who just finished his 10th season in Texas, turned down a four-year, $2-million offer to stay on as hitting coach and met with Rangers officials to tell them he’ll explore other options.
The Mets formally began their managerial search Friday by interviewing longshot Carlos Tosca, who was fired as the Blue Jays’ manager in August.
Asked to explain why things didn’t work out in Toronto, Tosca said, “The one thing we couldn’t handle was injuries. Our players in the minors weren’t quite ready and financially, we couldn’t afford (to trade for replacements). Unfortunately, we had a lot of injuries to key players.”
The Blue Jays went 47-64 under Tosca this year, and in his roughly 21/2 seasons at the helm, he had a 191-191 record.
Others under consideration include Mets hitting coach Don Baylor, White Sox third-base coach Joey Cora, four-time manager Jim Fregosi, former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel, Yankees bench coach Willie Randolph and former Mets manager Bobby Valentine.
No hard feelings for Cox, Garner
Braves manager Bobby Cox said he spoke with Astros manager Phil Garner regarding the controversy in Game 2 when Garner came onto the field in the seventh inning to tell umpires that the dugout phone wasn’t working, creating a delay of several minutes as Brad Lidge warmed up in the bullpen.
“If there’s one guy in this profession of managing that I would believe, it would be Phil Garner,” said Cox, whose initial reaction was to play the rest of the game under protest. “Phones get slammed once in a while, especially in bullpens and dugouts. It was probably off the hook. … It was legit.”