Profession

Aug. 22, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen reacts prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

It appears that the current buzz is that our guys have thrown in the towel.  We’re ROADies (Retired On Active Duty).  Mid-season quitters. Just put up some hard-earned and start reading what ESPN’s Buster Olney has been spewing.

Feh.

Ozzie lit up Buster Olney on Twitter tonight, snapping a cap on the idea that the Marlins have decided to coast into the off-season. Sniping from the sidelines, Buster fired at Ozzie, intimating that Ozzie’s April gaffe about Fidel Castro set the tone for the year, and that the weight of the Marlins season rested squarely on his shoulders.

Fresh from a three-month Twitter hiatus, Ozzie displayed the brevity that suits not only his managerial style, but the level of response necessary to straighten Olney out.  I mean, seriously?  Yes, Miami is facing a losing season in the face of inflated expectations and high-profile roster moves. How’s that working out?  Mark Buehrle just squashed the contending Reds with a 7 2/3 outing, and Jose Reyes is still in line to nab the MLB stolen base title this year. Never mind Giancarlo Stanton knocking on the door of a 40-HR season.

Olney took a fill-in quote from Samson and turned it into a statement of intrigue meant to do no more than keep the paywall clicks flowing., and Ozzie called him on it in less than 140 characters.

Really, Buster?  Do you actually mean to imply that the Marlins roster is dogging it because the schedule says they’re out of…the pennant race?  The wild-card race?  The .500 mark?  The cellar?

Buster, we get it.  The Marlins aren’t one of those “special” teams that are either North of the Mason-Dixon line or East of the Mississippi river, so they’re not in the approved ESPN pantheon.  However, don’t take a cheap shot at a bunch of guys that have been busting their asses all year long and have come up short.  You should save your vitriol for the winter meetings, and save it for the front office.

I’ll give you a little leeway here, because as a stringer for ESPN, you’re in and out of various clubhouses all year long. But please don’t call the Marlins a “colossal failure” any more. If you think that some or all of the Marlins are dogging it into late September, spend some time, dig up the proof, and that lay it out for review.

Don’t lay down some unsubstantiated innuendo and tell me I’m about to eat steak.  Ever.