Guillen apologizing for Castro comments

MIAMI, April 9 (UPI) -- Apologetic Miami Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen, under fire for praising Fidel Castro, said he'll be at a news conference Tuesday and "I want the people there."

Guillen was to return to Florida after a Monday game in Philadelphia and appear at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Marlins Park.

He said he didn't want to just have a news conference.

"I want the people there. Whoever feels about it, ask me any questions. I want you to ask what you ask, because I feel bad? Yes. I feel embarrassed? Yes."

The outspoken baseball manager was quoted in a Time magazine article that appeared online Friday saying:

"I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive] is still here."

Guillen, who was born in Venezuela, apologized Saturday and the team released a statement Friday saying: "There is nothing to respect about Fidel Casto. He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today."

The Cuban-American group Vigilia Mambis said it plans to boycott and demonstrate against the Marlins.

Guillen said he wants to speak directly to the public at his news conference.

"I think [the article] was kind of a cheap shot, but I have to face it," Guillen was quoted as saying by MLB.com.

"I will say what I said a couple of days ago. I don't want to make a statement, because I think when you make a statement, it's a bunch of [garbage]. I want people to look at my eyes and look at my face and see what's going on. And tell them what the deal was, and that's it."