Ozzie Does the Tough Love Thing on El Gordo

'Guillen -- one of baseball's most outspoken figures -- pulled no punches. He told Cabrera he needed to lose weight.

'"I'm a little upset with him," Guillen said. "You're still young. He knows he has a problem with that. When you are young and good, you can get away with it. But when you're older and you're not hitting home runs, then they will call you a fat boy from Venezuela.

'"I saw him in the spring and he was [skinny], and then I saw him again later and said, "You've been eating a lot of arepas," he joked. "When your mother is Venezuelan and your wife is Venezuelan, you are going to get fat. If he keeps getting bigger, his future is in the Mexican League."' (MiamiHerald)

MORE: Ozzie on the state of the Marlins...

'"When I was there the first playoff (series) in San Francisco (in 2003), you see McCovey Cove and everything orange and black. Then you go to Chicago and it's Ron Santo and the Ivy. Then we went to New York and they got all those (plaques honoring Yankees) players," he said.

'"Then we go to our place and it's Don Shula and the 1972 team. That's depressing. I mean, that's bad. ... I'd like to know what the Dolphins have done better than the Marlins over the years?"

'Guillen was reminded about the mystique of the '72 Dolphins and their perfect season.

'"That's a hundred years ago," he said. "The Marlins win in 2003. That's five years ago and nobody talks about it. That's (wrong). The Dolphins haven't had a winning season in years and everything's 'Dolphins, Dolphins, Dolphins.' The Marlins put a good product out there and they don't think about that."

'Guillen said the market and government should do more to help build a ballpark for a Marlins team that has won two titles - in 1997 and 2003.

'"All of a sudden the Heat are better than the Marlins? What did they do? They won one (championship)," he said.

'He did say that the South Florida media might treat him better than what he's received in Chicago during the 4-17 skid the White Sox took into Monday's game.

'"I wish I could be with the Marlins today because nobody would talk about me like they do here," he said.

'"But the thing is, why don't they put more attention on the team? They should appreciate what they did in the past. Don't keep blaming the owners. They're going to regret it."

'Asked whether he would try to move the Marlins out of Florida if he owned the team, Guillen replied: "Of course, I'd leave. You don't support me?"

'Then he praised owner Jeffrey Loria for building competitive teams despite low payroll and small attendance.

'"Believe me, because I watch those games: It's fun to watch those kids," he said.

'"I tip my hat to the Marlins' organization every day. They don't have the support from the fans They don't have the support from investors. They play in the wrong park. ...People criticize the owners, but meanwhile they don't support the ballclub."

'Part of the problem, he said, is that the Marlins began play in just 1993, so they're fan base is young compared with other markets.

'"The Marlins fans are still babies, still young kids,'' he said. "They're doing a tremendous job putting all those kids together. I think it's going to be not too far away they'll see a winning ballclub, a good ballclub."'(PalmBeachPost)