Ozzie Guillen Goes After Bryce Harper, But Once Again Embarrasses Himself in the Process

OK, Ozzie Guillen. We remember who you are.

The Marlins manager, apparently bummed out he hasn't been in the spotlight lately, thrust himself back into our lives on Sunday when his embarrassing antics stole the show once again.

This time around, it was Guillen's intimidation tactics — not his public admiration for a ruthless dictator — that has him back in the news.

Guillen apparently took issue with the amount of pine tar on Nationals rookie Bryce Harper's bat during the first inning of Sunday's game. When Harper came to the plate in the fourth inning of the same game, Guillen became enraged by something he saw Harper do. Whatever that was exactly sent Guillen over the edge.

The enigmatic skipper grabbed a bat and made a motion over the dugout railing at Harper while yelling toward the 19-year-old. Guillen could be seen on one of the telecasts saying "[Expletive] you, you piece of [expletive]" to Harper.

After the game, Guillen, who is almost 30 years Harper's elder, continued to act like a child when defending his actions.

"I was just telling him how cute he was," Guillen said, according to the Washington Post. 

"First time, it's going to stay between us," Guillen said, also according to the Post. "I could have said a lot of [stuff] about this kid. I've been praising this kid like everyday. The last three times they asked me about him, the only thing I said was he's a great player. What he did [today] was unprofessional."

OK, Ozzie, so what exactly did he do to get you so upset?

"I'm not going to tell you guys what he did because I'm not going to be talking about it on ESPN, Baseball Tonight, what happened again. I'll just leave it at that. I'll talk to his manager in a little while."

OK, so you're not going to tell us? Instead you're just going to carry on like a 4-year-old in your own dugout? And then you're going to sit there and make a big deal of it after the game while not sharing any of the details?

Also, you do realize that by making an issue out of whatever it is that got you so upset you're making yourself the story, right? And you do realize that by doing so, you're almost all but guaranteeing you end up on ESPN and Baseball Tonight, right? 

Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison tried to shed some light on it after the game.

"The next time Harper came up and pointed his bat at Ozzie, I guess kind of showing him up," Morrison said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. "I don't know if that’s an ejection or not but [Ozzie] did it in a way that wouldn’t show him up, so I guess Harper showing him up is kind of a slap in the face."

Going off of that explanation, it sounds like Guillen is just being kind of petty, doesn't it? Who exactly is being unprofessional here, Ozzie?

Even Guillen's biggest supporters have to think that the act is getting old now. At his best, Guillen can be a breath of fresh air at times, a beat reporter's dream full of fantastic sound bites. Far too frequently, though, it certainly seems like Guillen does these types of things for the attention. 

Even as he tried to teach a kid a lesson, Guillen made it all about him once again.

Harper must be immune to these types of things by now. He was touted as a phenom long before ever reaching the big leagues, a burden that comes with criticism from anyone and everyone along the way. He's stumbled at times on that road to The Show, but Harper has been nothing but a pro since getting the call.

When Cole Hamels plunked him earlier this year — then admitted he was trying to teach Harper a lesson — Harper came away as the only person looking like an adult in that situation. He handled himself with similar grace this time around.

"He battles for his team, and that's the type of manager Ozzie is," Harper said, according to the Post. "He's a great manager to play for. He's going to battle for you, no matter what. That's a manager you want to play for."

Guillen apparently felt the need to administer Harper's latest major league test. Once again, the youngster passed with flying colors, and in the process, hopefully taught Guillen a lesson on how to act as a professional.

After all, he could use a refresher.

Screen shot via MLB.TV