Just feels like with Ozzie ... he gone

Boy, do I ever hope my instincts are wrong about this.

However, an air of finality grips me every time I'm at Comiskey Park these days, and it has nothing to do with the pennant race.

The White Sox beat the Twins 3-0 on Monday night, picked up a second game on the Tigers in two days, and now are 5 out of first place.

The finality invading my airspace has to do with whether Ozzie Guillen will be back as Sox manager next season.

Guillen has been a fixture on the South Side for so long that envisioning him gone is like envisioning “NCIS” without Mark Harmon.

Then again it could be more like “Two and a Half Men” without Charlie Sheen.

Something deep in my bones screams to me that Guillen is in his final act here, especially if the Sox don't make the playoffs and maybe even if they do.

Timing is everything, right? Unless Guillen is going to stay with the Sox another 10 years, what better time for him to exit than now? Reports persist that the Marlins consider Guillen a perfect fit to lead them into their new ballpark. Meanwhile, the Sox could use a little freshening up in their current ballpark.

This feeling of mine isn't based on hard evidence, reliable sources or any other journalistic mumbo-jumbo.

It's only a feeling.

I want to be wrong because Guillen is an excellent manager and the Sox could do worse than to have him for a couple more decades.

Also because to me Guillen is fun; to others he's grating. Some fans love him; some don't; few are neutral.

That quality is invaluable in the entertainment racket. Just spell the name correctly. Everybody knows it's O-z-z-i-e.

The Sox' situation appears fluid. Maybe general manager Kenny Williams will be the one to go. Maybe chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will sell the club to Mark Cuban.

Guillen was customarily, outrageously, candidly outspoken Monday night.

The Sox manager indicated that if he doesn't manage here next year he'll sit out, “spend Jerry's money and manage somewhere else (in 2013).”

It's more likely Guillen would parachute directly into Miami, where he is a bit of a cult figure.

When Guillen was asked whether he could imagine Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle on another team, his answer could apply to himself: “Yes. That's part of the game. This game is business.”

Half-joking about criticism of him, Guillen said, “Wherever I go from now on, I'm going to be younger.”

Guillen's comments aren't what nag my gut that he won't be here next season. He says stuff like that all the time and hasn't gone anywhere yet.

It's just that more possibilities loom here and now.

Reinsdorf might have picked up the contract option on Guillen to keep him as manager in 2012, as a parting gift or to control his rights for compensation if Florida wants him badly enough.

As much as Reinsdorf hates firing people that he considers family, he might be weary of the undercurrent of strain between Guillen and Williams. Last season it was blatant. This season it is muted. Future seasons it will be … well, who wants to find out?

Guillen is in his eighth year as White Sox manager. In this sports era of temporary managers and coaches, eight years with one team is a lifetime.

Maybe that's why I feel an air of finality concerning Ozzie Guillen these days.

Yes, even though I really would like to be wrong.