:puke ANAHEIM -- Magglio Ordonez insisted Thursday he never wanted to leave the White Sox and feels as though the organization wanted him out.
Now the former Sox star is hoping for a call from the Cubs, who are searching for a replacement for left fielder Moises Alou.
"Why not the Cubs?" Ordonez said from his Miami home. "I think it would be a good place for me. They have great fans. They're sold out every day. They have great pitching and they have a good chance to win it all. All I want to do is win. Winning is my No. 1 priority."
Ordonez, who turns 31 in January, said he's looking to resume his career with a playoff-caliber team and show the Sox they have made a huge mistake in letting him get away. The New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles are reportedly the teams most interested in Ordonez, while Detroit may enter the picture as a darkhorse candidate.
Though Ordonez didn't give a preference, his ties with Chicago and the Cubs success under Dusty Baker the last two years makes it an attractive destination for him. While he said he wanted to remain on the South Side, Ordonez claimed the Sox never made him feel like they wanted him to stick around.
"It's the team I've been playing on for the last eight years," Ordonez said. "All my friends are there. I love the fans. I love the city.
"I wanted to come back, but they never made me feel comfortable that they wanted me. They never said, 'We want you here. We want you to be our franchise player.' I was almost traded to Boston (in last winter's aborted deal for Nomar Garciaparra). How could I feel comfortable they really wanted me after that happened?"
The Sox contend Ordonez could have stayed if he had accepted a market-rate, long-term deal with some deferred money. No matter who is right or wrong, Ordonez is officially history and the Sox replaced him Thursday with former Oakland outfielder Jermaine Dye, who signed a two-year, $10.15 million deal.
Currently rehabbing the left knee that forced him to miss most of the 2004 season, Ordonez realizes the uncertainty over the injury probably spoiled his opportunity to cash in big with a sizeable, multi-year contract at this weekend's annual winter meetings in Anaheim. He had planned to hold an open workout for teams here on Friday, but decided to cancel that to avoid a media frenzy.
Ordonez said he will work out for any interested team on an individual basis to prove his knee is sound.
"I'll go anywhere and work out to show them I'm fine," he said.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said he would talk to agent Scott Boras about all his free agent outfield clients, who include Carlos Beltran, J.D. Drew and Ordonez. The Cubs can't get into an extended bidding war for the former Sox outfielder unless they are unable to shed Sosa's $17 million salary, and would prefer a left-handed or switch-hitting outfielder to replace Alou because they already have a predominantly right-handed hitting lineup.
But Ordonez has a .306 career average against right-handers and a .310 average vs. lefties, so it wouldn't be a big sticking point if the Cubs were to have serious interest in Ordonez. While Ordonez is seeking a multi-year deal, he conceded Thursday he might have to settle for a one-year contract because he is coming off the torn meniscus.
His situation is becoming more commonplace in baseball, even for superstars. Ivan Rodriguez signed a one-year, $10 million deal with Florida in 2003, while Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Cubs. Ordonez doesn't think he has to "prove myself," pointing to his numbers from 1999-2003, when he ranked third among all right fielders with 590 RBIs. He hit .312 in that five-year span with an average of 32 homers and 118 RBIs per season.
But in the current baseball climate, Ordonez is ready for anything.
"If I have to do it, I have to do it," he said. "If nobody offers me [more than one year], I'll sign for one. I'll play left field, right field, center field … wherever they want me to play. I'm ready to play right now."
Ordonez switched representatives after the 2004 season, firing Tom Reich's agency to sign with Boras, who has most of the cream of this year's free-agent crop, including Beltran, Drew, Adrian Beltre, Jason Varitek and Kevin Millwood.
Asked why he made the switch, Ordonez said he wasn't happy with his representation after comments from Sox general manager Ken Williams in September suggesting his rehabilitation from the surgery could prevent Ordonez from being ready by next spring training. Ordonez thought Williams' comments hurt his leverage in the market, and that the injury was less severe than the Sox indicated.
"Boras is one of the best agents, and he protects his players," Ordonez said. "I needed someone to protect me. The Sox were saying some bad stuff about me, and my agent didn't respond. My job is not to [respond]. My job is to produce on the field and put up numbers and help the team win. I never said anything bad about the Sox, so I don't know why they would do that to me."
Ordonez said he wanted to thank Sox fans and was sorry his days on the South Side had to come to a premature end.
"It's over," he said. "But I appreciate what the fans did for me, all the support, and all the good times I had in Chicago."
Like Carlton Fisk, Jack McDowell, Alex Fernandez and others, Ordonez was a fan favorite whose Sox career had an ugly ending. He hopes Sox fans don't hold it against him that he left and maintained he harbored no resentment against the Sox organization, despite the war of words.
"I don't have any bad feelings," he said. "I'm not that kind of person."
Nevertheless, Ordonez is intent on showing Williams and Sox management his knee surgery was not as dire as he believes it was made out to be.
"The bone bruise is gone. The meniscus is repaired," he said. "I've done it on the field the last eight years. This was just a little bump in the road, not a big injury. I'm going to prove them all wrong."
Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune
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