Based on some scathing emails sent to Ozzie Guillen, it appears it’s not just the North Siders who can bring a little bigotry to Chicago baseball.

Joe Cowley of the SUN-TIMES reports on the racist rants recently received in the White Sox manager’s inbox. But when it comes to dealing with such cheap shots, Guillen refuses to play the race card, saying it’s his age and not his heritage that’s the reason for his “Crazy Ozzie” label.

First, a sampling of what some sour Sox fans have sent him:

”Go back to your country and pick coffee beans.”

“… you dumb Mexican.”

”… you bastard Venezuelan.”

Charming. Of course, the Internet isn’t always such a grand haven for intelligent discourse. Just reading the comments section over at YouTube is proof enough of that.

Yet, when Ozzie gets cut down for his off-the-cuff comments, he likes to believe that it’s because of how old he is, not because of where he’s from:

”I’m sure some people think, ‘There’s the crazy Latino again.’ But I think it has to do with my age, not because I am Latino. Maybe others feel that, but I don’t. I don’t believe in that stuff …

“I can sit here and beat my chest and say, ‘I’m the only Latino to win a World Series,’ but I don’t because I don’t pay attention to color and stuff like that. If people criticize me, it’s because I’m Ozzie. That’s what I hope.”

Sounds noble enough. But if he starts seeing shirts sold outside U.S. Cellular Field featuring his likeness wearing a sombrero with the caption “El Loco!”, he might want to reconsider his position.

Hope this doesn’t give anyone ideas. But if it does, we want 30% of the receipts. We gotta make a living, too, you know.