TORONTO (AP)-Ozzie Guillen was still talking about his job status Thursday, one day after saying the Chicago White Sox might be better off if he became the first manager to be fired this season.
“Obviously we’re not playing the way we should be playing and I blame myself,” Guillen said before his team played the Blue Jays.
Chicago (24-24) had lost four straight entering the game and blew a 6-1 lead in Wednesday’s 7-6 loss at Minnesota.
“I just wanted to send a message,” Guillen said of his postgame tirade. “If a change is made, that’s up to Kenny (general manager Kenny Williams).
“If Kenny and Jerry (owner Jerry Reinsdorf) don’t believe I handle this team or we don’t win the way we should, I’ve got to be fired. You’re hired to be fired. If they think I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do, they have the right to do that.
Wednesday’s loss dropped Chicago into fourth place in the American League Central. The White Sox entered play Thursday 6 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the division lead.
“We have a good enough ballclub to compete,” Guillen said. “It’s up to them how far we’re going to go. The talent is there. The people Kenny put together give us a chance to win this division but we’re not playing up to our level. There’s no doubt about it, we’ve got better talent than we’ve shown.”
Guillen wants to see more aggression from his players.
“They’re playing hard but I don’t think they’re playing hard enough to win,” he said. “I don’t see the hunger, I don’t see the killer instinct.”
Chicago, who won the 2005 World Series 19 months ago, needed to win Thursday to avoid a losing record in May for the first time since going 11-16 in 2003. The White Sox are 12-13 so far this month.
“It’s not fair for me to say this thing is wrong, that thing is wrong because overall, when you’re losing, that means nothing is working,” Guillen said. “We haven’t put everything together yet. You’re talking about players, coaches, manager, everybody not doing their job.”
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