The latest from the Oz-man ...

[Padres]

Scott Linebrink has been unable to pitch for several days because of migraine headaches.

''I believe him because he's a real religious guy,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. ''Someone else tells me they have a migraine, I know they are hung over.''

[Mets]

funny but true....I'll never admit a hangover at work...but I get at least one migraine a week.

Still haven't used a sick day since 1998!

[Padres]

Ozzie vs. Morgan

DETROIT ñ It was vintage Ozzie Guillen before Sunday nightís game, as he didnít take kindly to ESPN broadcaster Joe Morgan questioning the fact that Guillen told reporters on Saturday that he felt Ivan Rodriguez, not Roberto Clemente, was the greatest player to come out of Puerto Rico.

Morgan told Guillen he was ìcrazy,íí starting a series of ìFUísíí from Guillen.

What Morgan didnít know was Guillen is a huge collector of Clemente memorabilia, as well as gave his son, Oney, the middle name of Roberto.
ìThe problem is these old guys think that none of the players now are better than back then,íí Guillen said.

He then sighted an example, bringing up how Babe Ruth was fat and out of shape, but yet was a dominant hitter and pitcher back in "the old days.''
ìBabe Ruth couldnít even play now,íí Guillen insisted.

Morgan was trying to laugh it off, but Guillen sure wasnít.

For the record, Guillenís order of great Puerto Rican players is Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar and then Clemente.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/whitesox/2008 ... organ.html

[Mets]

Guillen is 100% correct.

I often look at guys like Pujols, Vlad, Johan & wonder why they will never be considered as good as Mantle, Mays & Gibson.

Is it because it's a different era of the game, or is it that most people (baby boomers generation) in the media wants to immortalize their heroes, who were more impressive when they were a wide-eyed 12 year old.

[Giants]

I once saw Len Koppett, one of the great baseball writers of all time, and for those unfamiliar with his work track some of it down, its awesome, speak on a panel about baseball at Stanford. First up came an economics professor who explained how an ace pitcher was in fact worth $15,000,000, then came one of the Stanford baseball coaches, an old crusty type who bemoaned how the designated hitter and the aluminum bat "weren't baseball" and all that fun stuff got all the traditionalists in the crowd going. Then Koppett got up to speak, he was in his late 70's at the time and I assumed he would echo the baseball coach's sentiments. Instead he said this: "The game of baseball fundamentally changes [he was referring both to new rules like the DH/divisional play and new strategies like Moneyball] every 20 years or so, so that by the time you've reached adulthood you're watching a different game than you did when you were a kid, and the game that you saw as a kid is so ingrained in your mind that you can't imagine that anything could measure up."

So John I think the answer to your question is that Pujols, Vlad, and Johan will be considered as good Mantle, Mays and Gibson when we're the crotchety old men remembering the game of our younger days and we won't consider the next generation's Pujols, Vlad, and Johan the equal of those hallowed names. I would also add that if Johan pitches the first no-hitter in Mets history and leads them to a couple of World Series his legacy will be right up there with any pitcher in history.