THE CLOSER
Much ado about nothing? Every year, managers rant at their teams. They are looking for a spark anywhere they can find one. Ozzie Guillen gets credit for a seven-game winning streak, but how much did he really have to do with it? John McLaren tears into his team during a postgame news conference. His team doesn't win seven straight, but it plays better. Does that mean he gets the same spark?
What's a manager trying to convey with a rant? First of all, with all the media coverage, managers know exactly what they're doing when it comes to blowups in front of reporters. You don't see too many spontaneous tantrums like Hal McRae had in Kansas City in the '90s-although my buddy Sean ...