Sox visit White House, Ozzie stands by decision

The Chicago Tribune reports that Ozzie is standing by his decision to skip the White House ceremony and he takes a shot at Da Mayor in the process.

Guillen: Vacation still right move
By Mark Gonzales
Tribune staff reporter

February 14, 2006

At the same time President Bush praised the 2005 World Series champions at a White House visit Monday, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen stood firm in his decision to skip the trip despite widespread criticism.

Guillen also sounded refreshed in the midst of a long-awaited vacation with wife Ibis in the Dominican Republic as he reflected on his loyalty to his family and players with spring training starting Saturday.

"My players are family, and them and my family are more important than anyone else," Guillen said, noting that he excused several players last season to attend to family matters for as long as they needed. "The players appreciate the way I feel about family.

"A lot of managers push their players toward baseball and not enough toward family. Baseball isn't going to be around forever, but family will be."

Guillen remained amazed by the scrutiny over his decision not to accompany his team to Washington and provided a sharp response to Mayor Richard Daley's disappointment over his decision not to break away from his vacation to go to the White House.

"[Daley] has more problems than I do," Guillen said. "What do I do to these people to deserve this?"
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