Lucas Giolito Weighs In On Ozzie Guillen Interviewing

Guillen is a controversial candidate. On the one hand, he is a World Series champion who is familiar with the organization and the roster. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind and will have no problem holding players accountable, which on the surface, is something the locker room desperately needs.

However, Guillen’s tenure with the White Sox ended after a disastrous 2011 campaign. He more or less orchestrated his firing so he could take a job in Miami. His stay in Miami was short-lived. After praising Fidel Castro and feuding with players, he was fired at the end of the season. He hasn’t returned to the dugout since.

Now that the White Sox have a vacancy in the dugout, Guillen’s name has surfaced once again. NBC Sports Chicago reported that the White Sox front office interviewed the 58-year-old.

Guillen has publicly lobbied for the job. During the White Sox postgame show on October 2nd, he said.

“Nobody in baseball knows this ballclub better than Ozzie Guillén.”

White Sox fans have had mixed reactions to the possibility of a reunion with Guillen on the South Side. So what do the players think?

The topic was brought up during Lucas Giolito’s appearance on the Chris Rose Rotation.

Rose asked Gioliot if he was paying attention to the White Sox managerial search.

“I’m not paying attention to any of the random Twitter talk,” Giolito responded. ” Once it starts to get more serious, it’s probably going to be after the World Series; I will start to pay closer attention.”

Rose then asked Giolito about the potential of having Ozzie Guillen as manager.

“I think Ozzie’s hilarious, man I love talking to him,” Giolito said with a chuckle.

“I love him and Chuck Garfein in the postgame show. It’s funny. But you know, that’s all I know—Ozzie in that role. I’ve never seen Ozzie Guillen except for when I watched the World Series in 2005 on television. I’ve never seen him as a manager, I’ve seen him as a TV host.

Obviously, I know he has a lot of experience. He has a lot of familiarity with the ball club. He’s won with the ball club. Yeah, that’s all good stuff, but I mean, I don’t know him super closely in that way. It’s very interesting and exciting.”

Giolito also said he wasn’t bothered by Guillen constantly ripping the ball club during the Postgame show either.

“If we suck and people talk about it, it is what it is. That’s how it is. I’m not here to worry about getting my feelings hurt. I want to play better. It’s as easy as that.”

While Giolito doesn’t speak for the entire locker room, his perspective is interesting to have. Most of the White Sox players have never seen Guillen manage. They may also not be used to having someone as outspoken. Earlier in the season, Tim Anderson told Guillen to “stfu” in a tweet that has since been deleted. The locker room dynamic would undoubtedly be interesting.

While it seems unlikely the White Sox would go in that direction, he hasn’t been ruled out yet.