southsider2k5 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconn..._SOX_S1.article Dye says he's not angry at GM January 26, 2008 By Joe Cowley Sun-Times News Group It was Jermaine Dye's chance to clear the air. Any perception floating around that the White Sox outfielder was somehow mad or felt that promises made to him were broken, was put to rest on Friday's first day of SoxFest. But in absolving general manager Ken Williams of falling short of his offseason wish list, Dye - inadvertently or not - sent a message to ownership. While negotiating contract extensions with both Dye and pitcher Mark Buehrle last season, Williams let the two veterans in on his offseason plan. A plan that included acquiring the likes of All-Star Torii Hunter and acquiring a Miguel Cabrera. By the end of the winter meetings it was apparent that neither would work out. So Dye was asked flat-out on Friday if his GM fell short. "No, I don't think so,'' Dye said. "I mean Kenny, you can't really blame him. I mean he's given a budget by the owners and that's what he has to deal with. He has restrictions. As players we understand that.'' It was Dye who captured headlines during the December Winter Meetings, after calling Williams on his cell phone in the midst of a press conference the same day the Sox lost out to Detroit in the Cabrera trade sweepstakes. One media outlet reported that Dye did so out of anger with his GM. According to Dye, however, that was not the case. "I was calling to ask him what happened with Torii,'' Dye said. Dye, as well as several other Sox players, were involved in the recruitment of the free agent to the South Side, and the last they had heard the five-year, $75 million offer by the Sox was good enough to land the former Twins standout. The Angels used 90 million reasons to change that, however. "I'm not sitting here feeling like Kenny deceived (me and Buehrle) into staying,'' Dye said. "Guys like Torii Hunter are going to command outrageous money. The Angels came from nowhere. Torii told me that it was down to the Dodgers and Sox, and he was leaning toward us. Then ... '' Williams' worst Thanksgiving nightmare. Dye wasn't the only one defending Williams' offseason of several hits, but more misses. "We knew at the end of the season that we weren't going to beat Detroit with our pitching,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Kenny went out and got us what we need. How we're going to perform? I don't know. Are we going to compete? There's no doubt. I'm not going to lie to myself. I think we got better. I don't care what people out there say.'' But is "better'' good enough to jump Cleveland and Detroit in the Central Division. In other words, did Williams do enough? "We're definitely going to have to accept the fact that we're probably underdogs, there's no doubt about that,'' team captain Paul Konerko said. "We can use that and hopefully take some energy from that. But we've got good players. We're not rebuilding here.'' As for Williams, he seemed all but exhausted of the critique of his offseason misses, especially Hunter. When Friday's town-hall meeting with the fans began with numerous references to Hunter, Williams finally demanded, "I don't care about Torii Hunter.'' Then added, "I would rather focus on what we have than what we don't have.'' His players seem to agree - for now. SoxFest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I'm actually glad we didn't sign hunter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 09:12 AM) I'm actually glad we didn't sign hunter. It would have been nice to still have Gio and DLS in our organization, but given the contract and his age, the big league squad is certainly better off with Swisher for the next 4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 11:12 AM) I'm actually glad we didn't sign hunter. I agree completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkey Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 QUOTE(Felix @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 02:10 PM) I agree completely. Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 11:12 AM) I'm actually glad we didn't sign hunter. Its hard to say that in retrospect. If we sign Hunter, does that change the Miguel Cabrera trade situation? Does that mean we potentially pump in more prospects to the deal because we aren't still worried about getting another OFer, and needing those players to do it? If we still don't get Cabrera, do we make the Swisher deal at all, and hold onto Sweeney, DLS, and Gio, or do we deal them out for another player, maybe a starting pitcher instead? Getting Torri really completely changes the direction of the off season, and it is hard to put that one signing in a vaccum and isolate it from what would have happened after the fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyDo Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I'm curious as to what "message" Dye sent to ownership with those comments? "You guys have a budget!"? that's not much of a message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LVSoxFan Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I have yet to hear anybody who thought we should have paid $90 for Torii. I don't blame KW for that; it sure seemed like we had him at $75MM. I guess we'll find out pretty quick this year if we're "contenders" or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.