But even the veteran manager, now in his first year with Miami, is at a loss how to get it. And as the Marlins faced down another defeat at the hands of the Red Sox on Wednesday night, he was throwing out all kinds of ideas.
Guillen called on a bevy of pitchers in Wednesday's loss, including those who would have been used as insurance if Carlos Zambrano's start goes south Thursday.
"We'll find somebody," Guillen said after Wednesday night's 15-5 loss. "I'm the type of guy — I don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. We might not be here tomorrow."
Guillen emphasized after the game that he's not going to be happy about anything his guys are doing — even their hitting, which woke up a bit Wednesday — until another win comes in. But while he seemed discouraged after the game was in the books, his pregame assessment showed a little more ingenuity in how he thought the Marlins could right the ship.
Guillen suggested a shrink be hired to figure out what's wrong with the suddenly slumping Marlins.
"He should be helping me get those guys ready," Guillen said. "We might need one. We might need three — who knows?"
Guillen insists he is happy with his roster and the effort his team is giving, saying he's not interested in tinkering with his lineups or making trades.
"They've got the tendency to change lineups and do this and do that," Guillen said, referring to other managers, "but from experience, that don't work. Let's put this guy first, let's put this guy last — at the end of the day, you go back home and lose. I'm going to stick with the guys. I'm going to believe in them. I'm going to make the same lineup, if I can, to make sure they know we're behind them. I'm going to protect them and be behind them 100 percent. We know we're not performing. It's not a secret for anybody in this ball club."
He also shook off the idea that a trade or two could jolt the team back to its winning ways.
"What are we going to say? Trade a guy?" he asked. "When you trade one guy to help, how about the rest of the eight? Everybody's struggling.
"We can't trade eight guys."
The Marlins are short on answers right now, even against a Red Sox team that has looked just as bad at many points this season. Boston has had similar discouraging stretches, where a lineup and starting rotation that should be dominating just comes up cold again and again.
The Red Sox are using the Marlins as a springboard now to get back on track, and they need to — time is running out to make gains in the American League East.
But it's also getting late in the National League East.
"You don't win the pennant race in April, May and June, but you do lose it," Guillen said.
He's got about 10 days to turn that three-month trend around.
