Don Cooper will be the Sox manager for the two remaining games

Don Cooper will serve as White Sox interim manager for final two games of the 2011 regular season—
Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) September 27, 2011

The minor league pitcher in the compensation for releasing Ozzie Guillen from his contract will be Jhan Marinez

Sox get Double-A power arm Jahn Marinez in Guillen deal, joining infielder Ozzie Martinez—
Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) September 27, 2011

RHP Jhan Marinez‘ stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2006	17	Marlins	DOSL	FRk	FLA	2	1	.667	7.00	20	2	4	0	0	1	36.0	44	30	28	0	26		22	6	0	8	172	1.944	11.0	0.0	6.5	5.5	0.85
2007	18	2 Teams	2 Lgs	FRk-Rk	FLA	2	3	.400	5.47	8	5	0	0	0	0	26.1	19	22	16	1	23	0	29	3	0	9	126	1.595	6.5	0.3	7.9	9.9	1.26
2007	18	Marlins	GULF	Rk	FLA	0	0		10.80	3	0	0	0	0	0	3.1	5	5	4	0	4	0	4	1	0	1	19	2.700	13.5	0.0	10.8	10.8	1.00
2007	18	Marlins	DOSL	FRk	FLA	2	3	.400	4.70	5	5	0	0	0	0	23.0	14	17	12	1	19		25	2	0	8	107	1.435	5.5	0.4	7.4	9.8	1.32
2008	19	Marlins	GULF	Rk	FLA	1	1	.500	6.11	12	1	2	0	0	1	17.2	21	14	12	0	14	0	18	2	1	1	87	1.981	10.7	0.0	7.1	9.2	1.29
2009	20	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	1	1	.500	3.14	29	0	10	0	0	1	43.0	28	17	15	4	20	0	42	4	0	3	179	1.116	5.9	0.8	4.2	8.8	2.10
2010	21	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A+-AA	FLA	1	1	.500	1.71	36	1	25	0	0	10	42.0	21	9	8	2	21	1	64	1	0	8	162	1.000	4.5	0.4	4.5	13.7	3.05
2010	21	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	0	1	.000	1.42	21	1	14	0	0	4	25.1	12	4	4	1	14	1	44	1	0	6	99	1.026	4.3	0.4	5.0	15.6	3.14
2010	21	Jacksonville	SOUL	AA	FLA	1	0	1.000	2.16	15	0	11	0	0	6	16.2	9	5	4	1	7	0	20	0	0	2	63	0.960	4.9	0.5	3.8	10.8	2.86
2011	22	Jacksonville	SOUL	AA	FLA	3	8	.273	3.57	56	0	20	0	0	3	58.0	47	26	23	7	42	0	74	1	2	13	259	1.534	7.3	1.1	6.5	11.5	1.76
6 Seasons						10	15	.400	4.12	161	9	61	0	0	16	223.0	180	118	102	14	146	1	249	17	3	42	985	1.462	7.3	0.6	5.9	10.0	1.71
AA (2 seasons)				AA		4	8	.333	3.25	71	0	31	0	0	9	74.2	56	31	27	8	49	0	94	1	2	15	322	1.406	6.8	1.0	5.9	11.3	1.92
FRk (2 seasons)				FRk		4	4	.500	6.10	25	7	4	0	0	1	59.0	58	47	40	1	45		47	8	0	16	279	1.746	8.8	0.2	6.9	7.2	1.04
Rk (2 seasons)				Rk		1	1	.500	6.86	15	1	2	0	0	1	21.0	26	19	16	0	18	0	22	3	1	2	106	2.095	11.1	0.0	7.7	9.4	1.22
A+ (2 seasons)				A+		1	2	.333	2.50	50	1	24	0	0	5	68.1	40	21	19	5	34	1	86	5	0	9	278	1.083	5.3	0.7	4.5	11.3	2.53

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/27/2011.

John Sickels had this to say on his prospect review for Marinez:

10) Jhan Marinez, RHP, Grade C+:  4.27 ERA with 62/36 K/BB in 46 innings for Jacksonville, 42 hits. Outstanding K/IP ratio, strong stuff, too many walks.

The C+ grade is from the time he published his Marlins prospect list on back in January.

Compensation for Ozzie Guillen will be a minor-league pitcher and utility infielder Ozzie Martinez

Scott Merkin:

A source told MLB.com that the players coming to the White Sox figure to be utility infielder Ozzie Martinez and a Minor League pitcher, after Guillen was released from the one year remaining on his contract per his request to pursue other opportunities.

SS Ozzie Martinez‘ stats:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2006	18	Marlins	GULF	Rk	FLA	49	194	171	21	45	4	1	1	21	7	4	19	21	.263	.335	.316	.651	54	4	0	3	1	0
2007	19	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A–A+	FLA	39	131	114	8	21	5	0	0	6	8	2	12	25	.184	.268	.228	.496	26	3	1	4	0	0
2007	19	Jamestown	NYPL	A-	FLA	38	130	114	8	21	5	0	0	6	8	2	11	25	.184	.262	.228	.490	26	3	1	4	0	0
2007	19	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1.000			0	0	0	0	0	0
2008	20	Greensboro	SALL	A	FLA	85	331	304	44	90	11	3	6	29	5	5	13	46	.296	.331	.411	.742	125	12	4	8	2	0
2009	21	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	130	485	433	54	110	16	5	1	45	16	4	41	51	.254	.323	.321	.644	139	15	4	5	2	0
2010	22	Jacksonville	SOUL	AA	FLA	130	587	516	90	156	28	4	5	54	13	9	49	64	.302	.372	.401	.773	207	10	9	11	2	0
2011	23	New Orleans	PCL	AAA	FLA	88	371	339	43	83	15	1	3	26	11	4	21	57	.245	.296	.322	.618	109	9	5	3	3	0
6 Seasons						521	2099	1877	260	505	79	14	16	181	60	28	155	264	.269	.331	.352	.682	660	53	23	34	10	0
A+ (2 seasons)				A+		131	486	433	54	110	16	5	1	45	16	4	42	51	.254	.324	.321	.645	139	15	4	5	2	0
A (1 season)				A		85	331	304	44	90	11	3	6	29	5	5	13	46	.296	.331	.411	.742	125	12	4	8	2	0
AA (1 season)				AA		130	587	516	90	156	28	4	5	54	13	9	49	64	.302	.372	.401	.773	207	10	9	11	2	0
Rk (1 season)				Rk		49	194	171	21	45	4	1	1	21	7	4	19	21	.263	.335	.316	.651	54	4	0	3	1	0
A- (1 season)				A-		38	130	114	8	21	5	0	0	6	8	2	11	25	.184	.262	.228	.490	26	3	1	4	0	0
AAA (1 season)				AAA		88	371	339	43	83	15	1	3	26	11	4	21	57	.245	.296	.322	.618	109	9	5	3	3	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/27/2011.

John Sickels gave Martinez C+ grade:

7) Osvaldo Martinez, SS, Grade C+:  .230/.286/.306 with 18 walks, 48 strikeouts in 278 at-bats for New Orleans. 3-for-20 in the majors. The bat is going to be a big problem, and he only ranked this high due to the weakness of the system. Baseball America had him fifth.

As I said earlier, could the minor league pitcher be 20-year old Class-A+ prospect LHP Chad James?

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2010	19	Greensboro	SALL	A	FLA	5	10	.333	5.12	24	24	0	0	0	0	114.1	116	70	65	3	65	0	105	5	0	18	513	1.583	9.1	0.2	5.1	8.3	1.62
2011	20	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	5	15	.250	3.80	27	27	0	0	0	0	149.1	173	77	63	12	51	0	124	2	0	10	650	1.500	10.4	0.7	3.1	7.5	2.43
2 Seasons						10	25	.286	4.37	51	51	0	0	0	0	263.2	289	147	128	15	116	0	229	7	0	28	1163	1.536	9.9	0.5	4.0	7.8	1.97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2011.

John Sickels had this to say for Chad James:

3) Chad James, LHP, Grade B-   3.89 ERA with 114/47 K/BB in 134 innings for High-A Jupiter, 155 hits, 3-15 record. He hasn’t been awful but is hittable. Young at 20.

Sickels’ grades are from last year. Comments are from his review.

Kenny Williams comments on Ozzie Guillen’s exit; Ozzie Guillen’s comments too (audio)

Mark Gonzales:

“Was it time for a change? I don’t think so. I guess things were accelerated. We had no intention of firing him. This was kind of acquiescing to some of his desires more than anything. It is what it is. I can’t, I don’t wish to expound on any of the peripherals to the degree that they become more of a story than they really are.”This is a case of a man making a business decision for himself and his family. And we respect it. We respected it enough to allow this to happen. Obviously we didn’t agree with the request for an extension and in answer to your question, yes, we’ve had I can’t tell you how much dialogue on the subject.”

ESPN has audio for Kenny Williams’ press conference (10:17) and Ozzie Guillen’s press conference (18:21).

Joey Cora to manage the last 2 games. (UPDATE: Maybe not.) Then he’ll go the Marlins

Joey Cora will manage the White Sox in these final two games of the 2011 season—
Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) September 27, 2011

Then,

Sources confirming Cora expected to join Ozzie with #Marlins, Cooper stay with #WhiteSox as pitching coach.—
Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 27, 2011

UPDATE:

Put the interim White Sox manager for the next two days back at TBA—
Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) September 27, 2011

Don Cooper is staying with the Sox

excellent white sox pitching coach don cooper is staying with team. its a win-win nite for #chisox—
Jon Heyman (@SI_JonHeyman) September 27, 2011

Jon Paul Morosi reports it too

Kenny Williams’ shot to Ozzie Guillen

KW: Not walking away wednesday with head held high. I'm embarrassed.—
Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) September 27, 2011

Return in Ozzie Guillen trade probably not Logan Morrison; UPDATE: Return will be two minor leaguers?

Jon Heyman:

Ozzie Guillen is close to becoming the manager of the Marlins.

A deal between the teams is at hand.

… It appears [Logan] Morrison is not part of the current deal.

Maybe 20-year old Class-A+ prospect LHP Chad James?

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2010	19	Greensboro	SALL	A	FLA	5	10	.333	5.12	24	24	0	0	0	0	114.1	116	70	65	3	65	0	105	5	0	18	513	1.583	9.1	0.2	5.1	8.3	1.62
2011	20	Jupiter	FLOR	A+	FLA	5	15	.250	3.80	27	27	0	0	0	0	149.1	173	77	63	12	51	0	124	2	0	10	650	1.500	10.4	0.7	3.1	7.5	2.43
2 Seasons						10	25	.286	4.37	51	51	0	0	0	0	263.2	289	147	128	15	116	0	229	7	0	28	1163	1.536	9.9	0.5	4.0	7.8	1.97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/26/2011.

UPDATE: Bruce Levine reports that:

Should Guillen take a managerial job with a different organization in 2012, the White Sox retain the right to be compensated. In order to fulfill that right, the Marlins will send two minor leaguers to Chicago, the source said.

Possible replacements for Ozzie Guillen; UPDATE: Quick process?

 Scott Merkin:

… With Guillen gone, general manager Ken Williams embarks on his second managerial hiring process. Possible candidates include Triple-A Charlotte manager Joe McEwing, Minor League director Buddy Bell, Tampa Bay bench coach Dave Martinez, and Cleveland first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. Tony La Russa, a close friend of Reinsdorf and one-time White Sox manager, also has been part of the speculation, but it is not certain whether La Russa will stay with the Cardinals.

Not La Russa. Please.

I nominate Tom Tango as replacement. Hell, he can become the GM too.

UPDATE: Three more names by Mark Gonzales: Jim Fregosi, 69, Braves special assistant. John McLaren, 58, Nationals special assistant. Ryne Sandberg, 52, Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager.

UPDATE:

Williams on next manager: "We have had amble time to dwindle the list to a few candidates and we can act swiftly." #WhiteSox—
Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 27, 2011

Multiple sources say Ozzie Guillen will be traded to Florida by the time tonight’s game ends

Joe Cowley:

According to multiple sources, the Sox and Florida Marlins are in the final stages of completing a deal that would send the never-boring Guillen to South Beach, ending his eight-year stay with the club he grew up white as a player and helped guide to a World Series in 2005 as a second-year manager.

The end is expected to become at the conclusion of Monday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at U.S. Cellular Field, sources said.

As far as the coaching staff, expect mass changes there as well, all except pitching coach Don Cooper, who according to sources, already has a deal on the table to stay with the organization.

… Sources have indicated, however, that privately Guillen walked away from the meeting knowing his days with the Sox were over, and the talk was more about the details of the split. It was not heated, and if anything, emotional from both sides.

Standard Joe Cowley disclaimer applies.

UPDATE: WSCR reports it too.

Bruce Levine reports that:

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gathered his players before Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays and told them that it would be his final one, according to sources close to the situation.

UPDATE: More on the CSN postgame report.

UPDATE: A couple tweets from the Sox:

The White Sox have agreed to Ozzie Guillen’s request to be released from his contract, allowing the manager to pursue other opportunities.—
Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 27, 2011

The White Sox retain rights to compensation should Guillen accept a managerial position with another major league team in 2012. #WhiteSox—
Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 27, 2011

UPDATE: Press Release: White Sox release manager Ozzie Guillen from contract.

Mark Buehrle wants to play for a couple more years

Scott Merkin:

“Obviously, I’d like to play two or three more years,” said [Mark] Buehrle, speaking in the White Sox dugout before Monday’s series opener with the Blue Jays. “Getting a five-year deal is probably not going to happen. If a one year deal was the only offer, then you got to take it. But I’m looking for a couple more years.

“It’s the first time I’m testing as a free agent, so you kind of go home and wait for the phone to start ringing and go from there. You have a conversation with your agent and your wife and talk it out and see what you want to do.”

During last week’s series in Cleveland, Buehrle told MLB.com that moving to the National League has a certain appeal after working 12 years against the same teams in the American League Central. He also talked about the allure of seeing what another organization is like, with the White Sox being the only one he has ever known.

Numerous decisions remain on the table for the White Sox to make as they move toward 2012, including who will be running their team. With Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Zach Stewart, Philip Humber and potentially Chris Sale all under team control as part of the rotation, Buehrle could be deemed expendable.

Of course, Buehrle’s high value extends from the pitcher’s mound to the clubhouse, making him a potential mistake to let go.

“I’d like to think so, but they have a business standpoint,” Buehrle said. “Money they spent this year and we didn’t get to where we should have been and what they have out there for next year, and young guys they want to get in the starting rotation. I’d like to think someone is going to miss me around here.

“At the same time, everything’s got to come to an end. You’ve got to move on, whether it’s this year, two years or five years down the road.”

Jerry Reinsdorf gives Ozzie Guillen nothing

Doug Padilla:

On the same day Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon said he would retire after the season, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen met with team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on Monday, and he said he left the meeting with “nothing.”

Guillen’s contract is set to expire after the 2012 season. About a month ago he said he wouldn’t return for the final year of his contract unless he gets an extension.

“We talked about different things, my future here, how we’re going to do it and what we think about the ballclub, what we want, and I left the meeting with nothing,” Guillen said before Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. “We have to wait.

That’s nice. Ozzie is under contract for 1 more year. No need for an extension.

Ozzie Guillen is trying hard to sell tickets

Brett Ballantini:

“I think we’re a losing team when I get the ‘x,’” Guillen said, referring to playoff elimination. “I’m not here for stats. Once I see the ‘x,’ I’m done.”

Brooks Boyer is thrilled.

Other White Sox links:

• James did a nice live game blog of Friday night’s 11-1 epic.

Another home run for Brent Morel (video)

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19594889&c_id=cws

First 5 months: 2 HRs
September: 8 HRs

The guy is on a tear…

UPDATE: Sahadev Sharma:

A closer look at numbers shows that the Chicago White Sox third baseman’s increased power coincided with his developing more patience at the plate.

“Early in the year [pitchers would] kind of just make their pitches and I’d swing at them,” Morel said. “It was tough to do anything. The more patient, the more selective you are, the more they have to come in the zone.”

On Aug. 20, Morel had walked just four times in 309 plate appearances. In his 116 plate appearances since then, he’s drawn 17 walks. …

Carlos Quentin is out

Scott Merkin:

Out for some time with a sprained left shoulder, Carlos Quentin will not play for the White Sox again this season, manager Ozzie Guillen said on Friday.

After spraining the AC joint in his left shoulder while making a diving catch on Aug. 20, Quentin spent time on the 15-day disabled list. He came back for one game on Sept. 12, but hasn’t played since.

“Every time he [tries to play], it’s just sore and it gets worse and worse. I put him out there, and he went backward — maybe 10 more days,” Guillen said. “I don’t know why we have to take that chance. What’s he got to prove? Can he play in the big leagues? Yeah, he don’t have to prove anything.

“But he’s fine, it’s not like there’s something very serious about it. Just sore. He needs time to recover, and I don’t think we gave him enough time to do it.”

And Q! may very well be traded in the off-season.

Other White Sox links:

• J.J. looks at Mark Buehrle’s feature. Will the Sox re-sign him or will he become a victim of the Peavy-Rios-Dunn salaries?
• James looks at Phil Humber’s struggles and next year’s bullpen.
• colin seizes up Addison Reed.