Ozzie Guillen didn't care for Heath Bell's pitch selection in Friday's near-catastrophe, and in particular the 2-1 curveball that Bell threw to Joaquin Arias, the Giants' leadoff hitter in the ninth, with the Marlins ahead by three runs. Arias took the pitch for a ball and eventually doubled on a 3-2 fastball to set the stage for a Giants rally and Bell's exit. Steve Cishek was brought in to replace Bell and preserve the 7-6 victory.
"That's bad pitch selection," Guillen said Friday.
On Saturday, Guillen's opinion hadn't changed.
"When you're up by three runs, the pitch selection was very poor," Guillen said. "I want him to be aggerssive with his fastball. That's the best pitch he has. The breaking ball is not working every once in a while. Just give people your fastball. I will take that."
But Bell said he thought the pitch was appropriate for the situation.
"I felt like I should have thrown a breaking ball in that situation, and I've done that in the past," Bell said. "Anybody can second-guess me anyway they want, but I've pitched a certain way -- and the key word is "pitched" -- and I'll throw any pitch at any given time. And I'm not going to back down on my pitching style. I'm not going to second-guess some of the pitches I throw."
Bell said he has had no conversations with Guillen since the season started. He said he spoke frequently with San Diego Padres manager Bud Black during his time there, but also pointed out that Black is a former big-league pitcher. Bell said he didn't have many conversations with Mets managers Willie Randolph and Art Howe, either.
"Ozzie doesn't talk to me very often," Bell said. "I don't know if there's a language barrier, or what. I'm open to talk. I have talked to him in the past. I like him as a manager. I like him as a guy, even before he was my manager. I had some conversations in spring training with him, but I really haven't sat down and talked pitching with him."
Guillen said he still considers Bell to be his closer, but added that had a bad "gut feeling" about Bell early on in Friday's ninth inning and decided to take him out after the pitcher gave up hits to three of the first four San Francisco batters.
"He's my guy," Guillen said. "Nobody's going to change my mind. But, last night for some reason, my gut feeling wasn't what I wanted. There's nothing harder in baseball than when you take your pitcher out, especially your closer, because you don't want to take their confidence."
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Marlins trade for outfield depth -- The Marlins acquired veteran outfielder Justin Ruggiano on Saturday from the Houston Astros in exchange for minor-league catcher Jobduan Morales. Ruggiano, 30, has a .226 average in parts of three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. This season, Ruggiano is hitting .325 with five home runs for Triple A Oklahoma City.
Ruggiano hit .248 with four home runs in 105 at bats for the Rays last season. Ruggiano was assigned to Triple A New Orleans.
Morales, a former ninth-round pick, spent last season at Single A Greensboro and Jamestown, where he hit .275 in 55 games. He has spent the 2012 at extended spring training.
