If the Chicago Cubs want to make a rather unorthodox pick for their new bench coach, they could pick a former manager from the team across town. Ozzie Guillen has apparently said he would be interested in the job if his former rival came calling. Luckily for fans of the team on the Southside, it doesn't seem likely they will indeed come calling.

Guillen was the White Sox manager the last time the team won the World Series. He was also a very colorful player for the team for over a decade before that. After that World Series, things began to sour between the team and the man who could rarely keep his mouth shut.

Several poor seasons meant an exit for Guillen and he ended his official major league managing career (at least so far) in 2012. That year he had been with the Florida Marlins during a period of time when the Marlins were changing managers about once every six months. Guillen was ousted after a poor season and some rather interesting comments about Cuba and Fidel Castro.

Chicago Cubs likely don't really have an interest

Any Cubs fans who started hyperventilating after seeing Guillen say he would be willing to come to their team can likely take a couple of deep breaths.

This story appears to be mostly just a jovial question asked by members of the media after Dave Martinez left the club. He was asked whether he would be interested in the job if Joe Maddon asked him.

Guillen's response was "of course, yes, if Joe Maddon asked me to be his bench coach I'd do it." The key piece in that quote is the part about if Joe Maddon asked him.

Meaning he hasn't just yet. It's a safe bet the Cubs manager is actually never going to offer Guillen the job.

Maddon likely to pick someone he's worked with before

Guillen isn't likely to get the bench coach job for a number of reasons. The first and more prominent is that Joe Maddon tends to hire people he's worked with before if he can.

When he fired Pitching coaching Chris Bosio earlier this offseason, he hired Jim Hickey as his replacement.

Hickey and Maddon had worked together when Maddon was managing the Tampa Bay Rays. It's likely he's the pitching coach he would have preferred to bring to Chicago in the first place, but the Rays wouldn't let Hickey go. Guillen also hasn't been around major league baseball for five years. It's almost entirely likely Maddon will pick someone for the Chicago Cubs who knows the players he will be helping to coach. Guillen's interest in the job is mostly a funny footnote on the silly season in baseball.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED