Guillen must choose words wisely when he finally speaks

It's been a week now.

And still we sit, waiting for something from Ozzie Guillen.

Anything. A quote, a blog, a tweet. Something.

We've not heard from the White Sox' manager since Oney Guillen blasted Bobby Jenks in a Twitter fit, and then followed that up with an uncomfortable appearance on the Score's “Boers and Bernstein Show.”

Far from apologetic, the younger Guillen dug a deeper hole on the radio as he defended his actions and saw no harm at all in what he had done.

But he has done harm, to Jenks, to his father and to the White Sox' clubhouse by divulging privileged information.

Players now wonder whether they can reveal private thoughts and concerns to the manager of the team, knowing it might not be private once the manager shares information with his family.

It also hurts Guillen's chances of being hired again once his time with the Sox is done, as any owner must wonder if Guillen can be trusted with confidential information.

So Ozzie Guillen must say something, and he must get it right when he does.

His usual reaction is to tell everyone to go scratch if they don't like what he says or what anyone in his family does.

That's not going to draw many laughs this time. He must earn back his players' trust and assure them their life stories won't go viral or be fed by family members to the papers.

He also can't blame Kenny Williams, the front office or the media this time.

While this wasn't Ozzie's fault directly, it's another self-inflicted wound by the Guillens.

No amount of finger pointing is going to change the opinion that father hasn't convinced son his free speech is hurting the family business, one that has made them wealthy.

The Sox have gone above and beyond in employing Guillen's children, preferring to find them jobs rather than have them sit in the dugout again.

And still it's never enough to keep everyone satisfied.

For the hard of reading, let me repeat for the hundredth time that I like Ozzie Guillen, think he's a good manager and hope he's here for a long time.

Despite the fact that he has only a year left on his deal, he can be here much longer if he can only find a way to stop the nonsense.

His contract calls for another year guaranteed if he wins a division title in 2011, but that doesn't mean he must win to keep his job.

Jerry Reinsdorf isn't going to dump him after the season unless Guillen forces him to because of another year filled with childish outbursts and attacks against Williams and the rest of the organization.

The Sox chairman has to be the most loyal owner in all of sports, but even he has his limits, and after a 2010 season in which he had to spank Guillen on multiple occasions, you have to think his patience has worn razor thin, if it's not entirely gone.

Yet, it doesn't have to end this way. In fact, it doesn't have to end at all.

It's up to Guillen, as it has been and will always be.

The family is still in Venezuela enjoying their time off, so the next public statement we hear from Guillen might not be until SoxFest, about two weeks from now.

They might be the most important words he's spoken since becoming a manager.

But to suggest what he will say is obvious is to simply ignore history, and to think he will diffuse rather than ignite is to be optimistic and perhaps unrealistic.

Nevertheless, here's hoping he's given it some serious thought and gets it right this time.