Guillen says umpire has a vendetta against him

CHICAGO

Cuzzi, who was behind the plate on Monday, tossed Guillen in the third inning after he popped out of the dugout following a strike call against Paul Konerko. It was his 13th ejection since the White Sox hired him as their manager in 2004.

"I don't like that guy behind the plate," Guillen said before Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins. "Every time he's behind the plate, we might have a problem."

Guillen was also ejected by Cuzzi on July 31, 2007, in New York.

"As soon as I know that he's going to be behind the plate, I know I'm going to be ejected," said Guillen. "You can have my bench coach handle this game because I know I'm going to be ejected."

For his part, Cuzzi didn't seem to pay much attention to Guillen's comments.

"It may be personal to him, but I'm just doing my job," Cuzzi told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's as simple as that. The pitches he complained about, they were good pitches. The ones I called balls weren't. It's as simple as that. He may have it in his mind, but I don't.

"It doesn't bother me in the sense that, if that's what he decides he's going to, that's his business. I'm just doing my job. He had nothing to complain about. The tape will prove that."

Guillen said that Cuzzi let his personal feelings toward the manager affect the way he called Monday's game.

"I asked what the pitch was. He said 'I don't want to hear it anymore,' " Guillen said. "That was the first thing I said to him. That's unprofessional. If you don't like me and all of a sudden you're going to take it out on my players, you're wrong."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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