Ozzie Guillen reaction: Marlins make Ozzie their scapegoat

Michael Jong of Fish Stripes believes that ousted manager Ozzie Guillen has become the official scapegoat for the Marlins' disappointing season this past year. Given that the Marlins president of baseball operations, Larry Beinfest said in his press release that it was a complete evaluation of Guillen's work as manager as the reason why he was fired after the Marlins won 69 games this season.

Jong is quick to point out that while the media has said things about how the team reacted when things were going bad, he points out that there is a difference between what is being reported and what is being interpreted. Jong then goes into detail about how disappointing some of the individual players were this season, starting with closer Heath Bell:

Consider this: the Marlins would not release Heath Bell after one of the worst relief season in Marlins history. The team eventually "released" him via a small trade return for $8 million. Was Guillen worse at managing than Bell was at closing? This seems difficult to imagine, but essentially this is akin to what the Marlins are saying.

Jong also brought up the disappointment of former third baseman Hanley Ramirez as part of the Marlins' struggles. What he seems to be the most concerned about is the fact that the Marlins may be overestimating how many more wins a manager could bring to a team:

If the team believes that Guillen was so epically bad at the managerial position, then it is likely the team is either overestimating his effects on the players or underestimating his true talent. Either way, while it is not indefensible, it certainly does not sound right.