CHICAGO -- When Ozzie Guillen unleashed his now famous verbal tirade in the direction of Magglio Ordonez late last April, there was no mistaking the intent of Guillen's venom or the point made by Ordonez that caused Guillen's blood pressure to rise.

Ordonez said, at the time, that he considered his former manager the enemy and that he would not accept an apology, even if Guillen offered one. Guillen, in turn, said very little that could be printed for a family to read. The pair since had made amends, schmoozing like old friends at this year's All-Star Game.

But prior to Tuesday's game, a comment made by Ordonez and then repeated to Guillen during his media session inadvertently caused Guillen's ire to momentarily increase. Guillen was told how Ordonez was quoted in the Booth Newspapers after Monday's victory that it's the White Sox turn "to feel jealous, for sure."

That comment was in partial reference to the tough October Ordonez suffered through in 2005. The one-time White Sox All-Star said he had to turn off the television during the World Series because he was so upset about missing the South Siders' postseason greatness by one season. Ordonez's comment was bracketed in Tuesday's story by the lead-in that if the Tigers reach the playoffs and the White Sox fall short, then they would be the ones watching him.

Guillen, though, took the question as a blanket statement from Ordonez about Detroit's current success compared to the White Sox struggles. So, the White Sox manager offered up his no-holds-barred opinion.

"Oh yeah, he made more money in less time than I did, and that's the only reason I feel jealous of him -- not because he's in first place," Guillen said of Ordonez and his free agent contract signed prior to the 2005 season with the Tigers. "I've got a ring, too, and I went to four World Series.

"Good luck and I hope he makes it. I'd like to have his paycheck every once in a while, but besides that, no, God bless him, and I hope he enjoys it.

"Do we miss him? No," added Guillen, echoing a familiar straightforward analysis he has presented before. "We have a better right fielder than he does, a better player, too, a better guy. We've got better things here, and when he says that we feel jealous of him, we've got a lot of guys in here with a ring on his hand. He doesn't have one yet."

During this entire answer, Guillen never raised his voice and often smiled while presenting the response. He also mentioned how he has numerous friends on the Tigers, in Ivan Rodriguez, Omar Infante and Sean Casey, not to mention a healthy dose of respect for manager Jim Leyland. He certainly was not looking for a controversy to begin.

When Guillen was told of the direct intent of Ordonez's comments in his office just hours before Tuesday's game, he smiled and said that he planned to call Ordonez and explain his earlier comments. Controversy averted.

But Guillen also stuck to his Monday assessment of blaming himself directly, and nobody else, if the White Sox come up short in their now long-shot bid to reach the playoffs. He appreciated general manager Ken Williams taking some of the hit during a pregame chat with the media Monday, but he reiterated that Williams gave him the players he needs to win.

As for the players, Guillen said that they come prepared to play every day and play hard every day, which is all he can ask. Guillen laughed off the more than 100 e-mails he received over the past two days, with almost all of them being critical, pointing out that nobody could be as hard on Guillen as he already is.

"It's not fair for my players to show up here every day and respect the game, show up on time, do everything I ask them to do and then blame my players," Guillen said. "They do what they're supposed to do.

"Some guys have a good year, some guys don't have a good year. Some guys fail a lot of time, but that's not their problem. That's my problem, because they do everything I ask them to do."