Posted on Thu, Jun. 14, 2012

Ozzie Guillen gave himself a grade of “C-plus or D” for the managing job he’s done so far with the Marlins.

Why?

“Because I should be in first place with this ball club,” Guillen said of the Marlins, who began Wednesday with a record of 32-30 after losing seven of their past eight games. “I’ve got good players. I might not [be getting] the best out of them. Not yet. Not consistently.

“Right now there are a few players not responding the way they should, but I’m the one that put them in the lineup, and I will take the blame. It’s a little bit of a surprise because I think we’re better than this.”

Guillen took some umbrage to a magazine’s survey of 100 players in which he was ranked as the “least respected” manager in the majors. The Men’s Journal survey showed Guillen being mentioned by 36 percent of the respondents — more than twice the percentage of the runner-up, Boston’s Bobby Valentine (14 percent).

According to Men’s Journal, which hits newsstands Friday: “Players bristle that Guillen is ‘loud’ and ‘can get under your skin.’ Says one opponent, ‘He loses it all the time.’ Adds another, ‘He always preaches that he backs his players, but he’s been known to throw them under the bus.’ A rival reliever says, ‘You can’t call your guys out every weekend, and he does that.’ ”

Responded Guillen when told about the survey:

• “Check my winning percentage. I have a World Series championship. There are a lot of great managers out there that are very good guys. They don’t get [expletive]. I’m not getting paid for people to like me. I’m getting paid to win games.”

• “I treat my players the way they should be treated. I never treat my players unfair. Maybe they don’t like the way they should be treated. But the best thing about me as a manager, when I go out to the see the other team, and my [former] players come out and hug me and say hi. Not every one. But 90 percent of the players I managed over my career come and say hi and they ask about my family.”

• “A lot of people are wrong about me. Maybe it’s because I’m not a hypocrite. Maybe it’s because I’m not fake. Maybe it’s because I’m not kissing anybody’s [butt]. I’m not afraid to lose my job.”

•  “I don’t care a [expletive] what people think about me. When I’m managing, I’m not thinking about what [ Jeffrey] Loria is going to say, what [ David] Samson is going to say, what [ Larry] Beinfest is going to say, what the fans are going to say, what the Latino media is going to say, what the American media is going to say. I have a job. My job is to win games, and I’m going to do it my way. And if they don’t like the way I do my job, it’s easy. Fire my [butt].”

A model player

In the same Men’s Journal survey, players ranked Giancarlo Stanton as the major-league player in the “best physical shape.” Stanton received 28 percent of the votes.

According to the magazine: “He’s a real-life Under Armour mannequin,” one major-leaguer said, marveling at the 6-5, 248-pound outfielder, a former USC football recruit whose off-season rituals include running the stairs at UCLA’s track stadium. “He’s’ not normal, not human.” An NL slugger adds: “I don’t think he has any body fat.”

Lineup changes

With a lefty ( Felix Doubront) on the mound for the Red Sox on Wednesday, Guillen started Donovan Solano (left field) and Justin Ruggiano (center).

“I’d love to play Kearns, but I don’t see Austin Kearns at 100 percent ready,” Guillen said of Kearns, who recently came off the disabled list from a hamstring injury. “I think his hamstring is not strong enough, and we’re going to need him [down the road].”

Coming up

•  Thursday: No game.

•  Friday: Marlins RHP Carlos Zambrano (4-4, 3.55 ERA) at Tampa Bay Rays LHP Matt Moore (3-5, 4.59), 7:10 p.m., Tropicana Field.

•  Saturday: Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-5, 3.40) at Rays RHP James Shields (7-4, 4.06), 7:15 p.m., Tropicana Field.

•  Scouting report: Following an off day on Thursday, the Marlins head up to St. Petersburg on Friday for a return engagement against the Rays, who swept them in Miami last weekend. The Marlins have gone 3-9 at the Trop over the past four seasons.