MIAMI -- On his first day back, Ozzie Guillen kept his mouth shut.
No, he didn't. Of course he didn't.
On his first day back, Ozzie Guillen talked and talked and talked some more.
Of course he did.
As far as we could tell he steered clear of politics Tuesday, to the point that when he was asked if he had read up on Fidel Castro, he laughed and said, "That's the last name I want to read."
As far as we can tell, he's going to survive this latest mess he's gotten himself into. The local reaction has so much and so quickly that there were no visible protests outside Marlins Park before Tuesday's game against the Cubs, which was Guillen's first game back in the dugout after serving a five-game, team-imposed suspension.
The Marlins say that they've had no one cancel season tickets (although they admit they had 13 people call and say they were thinking of canceling). They say they've had no advertisers cancel deals, although two Cuban-American owned companies have asked to have their in-stadium ads changed to promote a Cuban-American charity, instead of displaying their company name.
"I think we have the support of our partners," club president David Samson said.
And, for now, Guillen seems to have the team's full support, both in the clubhouse and in the front office. He and Samson met Tuesday, in part to talk about community initiatives Guillen still plans to undertake, and to discuss where the money he gave up during his suspension would go.
What Samson didn't ask was for Ozzie to tone down Ozzie.
"I said to Ozzie in a very personal moment, 'We want you to not change the way you manage and the way you are, but that anything other than baseball is probably not funny,'" Samson said.
Guillen insisted again Tuesday that he has "learned a very tough lesson." He said he understands that some people may never forgive him, and that he could make things worse if he messes up again.
"I put myself on probation," he said.
He promised again that he'll prove himself to the people who will listen to him.
"I want the community to know I'm for real," he said.
But really, this was the same Ozzie we've come to know. He sat, he talked, he showed emotion.
"Ozzie is Ozzie," said Gaby Sanchez, the Marlins' Cuban-American first baseman. "He's always going to speak. He's never going to say 'No comment,' because that's not him."
Will he be more reserved now?
"That's not Ozzie," Sanchez said.
Sanchez, whose mother and father were both born in Cuba, said he and his family accept Guillen's explanation for his original comments. He said that he believes Guillen's extraordinary press conference last week was a big step in mending Guillen's relationship with the local community.
Samson agreed.
"I think what Ozzie said resonated," he said.
So what happens now?
Part of the answer, no doubt, depends on how much the Marlins win. Part of the answer may depend on how serious Guillen is with his community outreach.
And part of the answer has to be, we don't know and we may never know.
Because the Marlins are in their first year in the new ballpark -- and because their attendance was always so bad at SunLife Stadium -- it's hard to know whether the Guillen fuss has or will affect the crowds.
And the biggest thing we don't know: How soon Guillen will once again say something that gets him in trouble.
It's almost inevitable that he will, because he's not going to shut up. He can't.
Ozzie is Ozzie.
Ozzie's still talking, and nobody's protesting
As Ozzie Guillen returned from his five-game suspensions, there were no visible protests Tuesday night at Marlins Park. The Marlins manager isn't going to shut up, but at least for now he is steering clear of politics. The Marlins say they've seen little backlash from fans over Guillen's Fidel Castro comments.
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3 min read