DBAHO Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 From the Daily Southtown; On the first day of last year's winter meetings, White Sox general manager Ken Williams indicated his organization would not generate a lot of headlines. "We're not going to have any news to report," Williams said. "You can write the same thing every day." And indeed, the Sox left New Orleans without making any deals. That probably won't be the case when this year's winter meetings convene in Anaheim, Calif., this weekend. While free-agent shortstop Omar Vizquel was snatched from Williams' grasp last month by San Francisco, and with Randy Johnson letting it be known he won't waive his no-trade clause to play for the Sox, Williams said he is still on the hunt. That was made evident Wednesday, as the club announced the signing of free-agent reliever Dustin Hermanson to a two-year, $5.5 million deal. It's also not the last deal Williams hopes to announce in the next week. "I have the same attitude I had when I was given this job," Williams said earlier in the week. "I like impact players. And if you want impact players you have to put yourself on the line. When it's all said and done this offseason people may say, 'Oh, the White Sox added two or three new guys.' But look back at what else we did going back to last season so we wouldn't be held hostage this year. "That's why we locked up Freddy (Garcia) and (Jose) Contreras and picked up options on Shingo (Takatsu) and Cliff Politte. I'm hopeful there will be some things that happen when we're there." Williams was adamant in saying that an aggressive attitude by the Sox during this year's winter meetings compared to last year has nothing to do with the noise being made by both the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers — two American League Central rivals — this offseason. The Tigers have acquired proven closer Troy Percival and are trying to land slugger and former World Series MVP Troy Glaus and Gold Glove center fielder Steve Finley from the free-agent market. The Indians re-signed closer Bob Wickman and are expected to make a serious run at Cubs free-agent pitcher Matt Clement. Williams said he wasn't even in a position to worry about what Cleveland and Detroit are doing. After struggling the past few seasons, it seems that the Indians and Tigers have picked the 2005 season to try to change the guard that has occupied the Central since 2000. In that span, the Sox and Minnesota Twins have combined to win the division four of the last five years, with Minnesota winning the last three. The Twins this week showed they aren't ready to concede by retaining starter Brad Radke. Williams has heard whispers that "the window is closing" on the South Side, a notion he disputes. "People said that last year when they were all picking Kansas City to win the division," Williams said. "We'll be just fine. The window only closes when you're not proactive before letting it happen. When you get a Willie Harris a few years ago and then a Juan Uribe last year, you stay ahead of the curve. "We think with what we have planned this offseason and the influx of minor league guys we have coming, the window's going to be open for a number of years. With that said, we still haven't found out a way to beat Minnesota yet. We have to focus on winning at least 90 games, and that means worrying about ourselves. So to worry about what Cleveland and Detroit are trying to do — that's not our priority." Neither is showing his hand. Williams, who is entering his fifth season as GM, wants to continue working in stealth mode the next few months when it comes to prospective additions. "I would rather talk about things after the fact, after you are able to actually accomplish something, rather than put it out for the world to see and risk not having it come through for the club and our fans," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Like Kenny said " take the weekend off and dont worry what will happeened this weekend because were not doing one thing" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted December 9, 2004 Author Share Posted December 9, 2004 Like Kenny said " take the weekend off and dont worry what will happeened this weekend because were not doing one thing" Would you like to change that comment yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisox2334 Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Well Kenny talking about pitchers or big deals I think. I think Dye is big deal but Kenny dosent seem to think so with those comments sheesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Like Kenny said " take the weekend off and dont worry what will happeened this weekend because were not doing one thing" Way to read the whole article, champ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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