No one can ever accuse White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf of not being loyal. Sadly, they also can not accuse him of knowing how to run a winning sports organization.
White Sox V.P. of Baseball Operations Kenny Williams describes his technique fro repeatedly crushing Sox fans' dreams.
“But he has brought 7 championships to Chicago!”, some may argue. But how much of that is due to Reinsdorf’s actions? Michael Jordan, the greatest winner (killer) in the history of modern sports, was already on the team when Reinsdorf purchased it. Although it is true that GM Jerry Krause put some excellent pieces around Jordan, when you are starting with The GOAT, you have a pretty significant head start. Since Jordan has left, the Bulls have become a laughing stock who has finally admitted they have no ability to attract a single significant free agent. Despite the team’s laughing stock status, John Paxson has continued to drive the team into the ground for 17 years… and counting.
“Ok. But the White Sox still won a championship.” They sure did (despite ESPN forgetting every year)! They won ONE championship during the 38 years he has been in control of the team. It took the perfect alignment of the stars to get that one. Not only did the White Sox limp into the playoffs after nearly blowing a 15 game lead with a little over a month to play, they did not exactly face a juggernaut in the surprising Houston Astros. This followed a seemingly impossible fluke of White Sox starters pitching 4 complete games in the ALCS (just like Kenny Williams had planned all along. He’s a freaking genius… just ask him). But they did win. And I did celebrate like crazy!
See ESPN? There is actual proof that the White Sox won the 2005 World Series.
But that was over 13 years ago.
What have you done for me lately?
Nothing.
The White Sox have also become a laughing stock. The fact that they are patting themselves on the back for almost landing their prime target Manny Machado, pretty much sums them up. As the great Ricky Bobby has said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last”. And the White Sox have not been first in anything for quite a while. Just like John Paxson, The long time Captain of the White Sox Titanic, Kenny Williams, has been given a new title so people will stop trying to put a microphone in front of his face so he can avoid embarrassing himself and the team with his nonsensical “old-school” (losing) ideas.
Unfortunately, this off-season has proven that while Kenny Williams is not in the spotlight as much, he is still pulling the strings from behind the curtain. And he is doing the same terrible job fans have grown accustomed to over the past 18 years.
Actual footage of 17 of the 18 years Kenny Williams has run the White Sox. If you look closely, you can see Brian Anderson.
The Machado fiasco has Williams’ finger prints all over it. The White Sox main strategy seemed to be to bring in two of Machado’s best friends (Yonder Alonso and john Jay) so that he would want to play for one of the worst organizations in sports. This isn’t the freaking NBA! Luckily for Padres fans, their management understood this. They comprehended that in Baseball (which is not hamstrung by max contracts) you get a player to join your team by giving him a shit ton of money! If you offer him an opt out clause, even better! But of course, Kenny Williams does not believe in that. I’m not sure if he believes in the internet, cell phones or anything else modern either. The only thing I know he believes in is trading away young talent for has been players and overpaying in talent every trade in order to save a money.
Before I storm off to go and yell at some clouds, a quick word on Kenny Williams’ one bright spot. After all, he did put together that Championship team.
Actual footage of me after writing these old man rants.
Before the paint had even dried on the the White Sox Championship mural, Kenny Williams was already trying to prove he was the smartest man in every room and began tinkering with the team. This lead him to deal for Future Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
Wait. Did his guy really complain about dealing for one of the greatest non-cheating hitters to ever play the game?
Yes. Yes I did.
But it is not the acquisition of Thome that upsets me. In fact, I was thrilled they got him… and still am. He was a great player and an even better person. The dude does a ton of charity work and helps many kids.
Here is the problem that pretty much sums up Kenny Williams and the White Sox organization; they way overpaid for Thome.
I love you Jim. It's not your fault Williams got fleeced... again.
In 2005, The Phillies, who play in the DH-less National League, brought up first base prospect Ryan Howard. He promptly hit 22 home runs and won the Rookie of the Year award. Jim Thome, who was making a ton of money for the time, had to be moved. The Phillies had no need for 2 first-basemen. Thome had a very strict no-trade clause that allowed the Phillies to only deal him to the Indians, Cubs, or White Sox. The Cubs had Derek Lee (who had finished 3rd in the MVP race). The Indians had Travis Haffner. As a result, the White Sox were bidding against themselves.
It was clear that the Phillies needed to dump Thome’s salary. Many believed they would have given away Thome for free. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, the White Sox tried to pinch every penny and included their starting CF, Aaron Rowand, in the deal. They essentially sold their starting CF for $24 million that they insisted be included in the deal. They also included a top pitching prospect named Gio Gonzalez. Champions do not operate that way… unless you are the Florida Marlins.
I know Aaron Rowand is not a future Hall of Famer, but he was a solid player. During the 2006 season, I watched ball after ball drop in CF and found myself thinking, "Rowand would have caught that”. Because rookie Brian Anderson was such a horrendous flop, the White Sox ended up using Pinch Hitter Rob Mackowiak in CF for 63 games. The pitchers never had a chance.
The same is true for White Sox fans as long as Kenny Williams has anything to do with baseball moves.
When does football season start?