elrockinMT Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 GM Williams May Be Forced To Play The Blame Game Friday, July 11, 2003 By Bob Markunas White Sox General Manager Ken Williams has tried just about everything to make a contender out the sow’s ear he calls a baseball team. In the past few years, the parade of players trundling through the portals of Comiskey Park (now “The Cell) at 35th and Veeck Drive reads like a Who’s Who In Baseball. David Wells, Jose Canseco, Royce Clayton, Kenny Lofton, Barolo Colon, Billy Koch, the Alomar Brothers and Carl Everett have graced the greensward on the South Side, but with each passing transaction, the team seems to sink to new disappointing lows. This 2003 cast of characters continues the trend. Williams, hamstrung by budgetary constraints has creatively and admirably responded. His recent acquisitions, Robbie Alomar and Carl Everett will be paid by the organizations they left; teams only too happy to accept youthful prospects in return. Williams kept the faith in spite of a poor first half, always looking for a spark of team energy. When he saw it against the Cubs, he pulled the trigger on the recent trades. Unfortunately, the spark was short lived as Williams’ charges went on the road and got summarily spanked by the Devil rays and Tigers, falling 5.5 games behind the Royals. So now the Spitless Blunders move on to Cleveland where another second division team lurks. Sports radio rumors suggest that Williams is looking for pitching, but until the bats come alive no amount of pitching help will turn things around. How is it the White Sox submerge into these miserable offensive funks, where the walk up to the plate, take a few swings and return to the dugout before their seat cools off? If firing Jerry Manuel is what it takes to wake up this moribund collection of underachievers, then so be it. Williams has tried everything else and if he truly believes the talent is there, well, it’s the only card he hasn’t played. No doubt, White Sox fans would support such a move. “He's (Manuel) the only reason (the Sox) are not leading the division,” says Sufferin’ on White Sox Interactive. “They don't have the talent to be the best team in baseball but they're certainly the class of the division. This clown screws around so much he somehow manages to put a lineup together that scores a run a game against the Tigers! Hey Manuel, Big Frank hits 50 points higher when he's playing first base. Why the (expletive) do you keep putting him at DH?” When you get past the vitriol, Sufferin’ raises some valid questions. But how much really can Manuel or any manager be blamed for poor team performance? Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield explained it to Mike Philips in a recent Miami Herald article. "If you are talking strategically, it's a lot less than people realize," Littlefield said. "But a manager can make a difference. The thing that is under appreciated about managers is their ability to evaluate talent. You look at the guys who succeed and they seem to make good decisions about the fifth starter, or they get a guy who has been a utility player all over the place and then he become a super utility player. Guys who know how to use their 25-man roster, how to keep players ready, succeed." Sounds like Sufferin’ without the venom. So what will Ken Williams do? Is the manger getting the most out of his talent? Kicking water coolers or screaming at umpires is hardly the answer. Who can deny that Jerry Manuel has gotten little out his talented roster? One short week ago, the White Sox were riding high and baseball fans around town were noticing. The fleeting momentum has been squandered against some poor competition. Four stinkers in Cleveland and Ken Williams may be forced to play that final card, the one with Jerry Manuel’s name on it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Markunas is a freelance writer based in Chicago. He writes the Windy City Report, which appears on ChicagoSportsReview.com courtesy of Fanstop.com. He is available via email at [email protected]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Very good article. I've had these belief for quite some time. Williams is going all out to win and I think with all the moves he has made he has to try everything to win and to me that last thing he has left to do is to can Manuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SI1020 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 If this is how the majority of posters on this site are going to view KW then I'll be more than glad to be in the minority. There may have been some lousier baseball GMs in my lifetime, I just can't think of any off hand. KW fan club? Not me. Not ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hotsoxchick1 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 If this is how the majority of posters on this site are going to view KW then I'll be more than glad to be in the minority. There may have been some lousier baseball GMs in my lifetime, I just can't think of any off hand. KW fan club? Not me. Not ever. im with ya si... not on any kw bandwagon here and never have been..........he wants to point fingers he should start pointing at himself first.... in 2001 he f***ed up this team and its been down hill ever since.......cant blame anyone but himself for that ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JimH Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Just remember ... if the Alomar trade ends up not working out, we blame Hahn. If the Everett trade doesn't work out, we blame ... who? Einhorn and Hemond? Those are the guys who are pulling the triggers on trades now, right?? Exactly who has f***ed up the team these last 6-7 games when they could've made some hay with KC and Minnesota losing almost every night? Hint: It ain't Williams. He's GM in name only, right? So let's blame everybody else in management because they can't keep the precious clubhouse chemistry together. My response to that? Bulls***. If you've got so-called leaders on your team, they are the guys who are supposed to keep the chemistry together, along with the manager and to a lesser extent, the coaches. I've long since lost track of which coaches are Williams' spies and which coaches are Manuel's guys, so I won't blame the coaches. How about we start with the players, who can't seem to pull their heads out of their asses for long enough to understand they've got a division for the taking. Are there personal agendas at stake? I'd say yes. For the last 10 days, the "chemistry" on this team has been BRUTAL ... and all of this while Williams has supposedly been told to back off, let Manuel manage, butt out, etc. And if we're to believe what's said, Williams has indeed done just that. Even a casual baseball fan would look at the White Sox roster and say, "wow, they've got a lot of talent". Yeah, they do. Lots of talent that's doing lots of underachieving. Who do you blame? 1). The players who are underachieving. 2). The manager who can't seem to get a supposedly talented team to climb to .500 After all ... it can't be the general-manager-in-name-only, right??? Especially since he doesn't have anything to do with the team, right??? Make no mistake, I sincerely hope these guys snap out of their funk and have a monster second half. But who's counting on it? These guys are playing such poor fundamental baseball over the last 8 games or so, and no one can tell me it's because they've got tight shorts because the anal retentive GM is stalking the clubhouse and calling down to the dugout every inning. Note to conspiracy theorists: Blame the star players, they aren't getting it done. And then blame the manager, he isn't doing too well with a seemingly talented team. Just .02 from a long time fan, season ticket holder, and independent observer ... with no friends in the organization or clubhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Kenny Williams is as much to blame for this team as the players and JM. He's been the GM for the past 3 off seasons and basically, this is his team now. He's used Schuler's foundation, but he also decided who to keep and who to trade off, and for whom. He may not be pulling the strings on this malfunctioning puppet right now, but he certainly helped assemble the parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molto Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Kenny Williams took an average 2000 team and put a team out this season that has the TALENT to win it all. I HATE it when people say KW dismantled the 2000 team. anyone with a brain would know the 2000 wasn't that good and that KW didn't really dump any of our prospects as many people think. people are just looking to blame it on someone and can't face reality that s*** happens. just because a trade doesn't work out, doesn't mean it was a bad decision. just because you throw 25 good players on the field and they don't produce, it isn't KW's fault. I can't stand how people would rather blame a few people rather than the whole bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Kenny Williams took an average 2000 team and put a team out this season that has the TALENT to win it all. I HATE it when people say KW dismantled the 2000 team. anyone with a brain would know the 2000 wasn't that good and that KW didn't really dump any of our prospects as many people think. people are just looking to blame it on someone and can't face reality that s*** happens. just because a trade doesn't work out, doesn't mean it was a bad decision. just because you throw 25 good players on the field and they don't produce, it isn't KW's fault. I can't stand how people would rather blame a few people rather than the whole bunch. I didn't say that at all. I said Williams is as much to blame for this team as anyone. He assembled it. And all this "talent" has produced a .500 team for 3 years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molto Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 has KW built it? yes, but has he put together a bad team playing up to their potential or a good team playing far below their potential? fact is, a lot of odd crap has happened, a lot of players haven't produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I can't stand how people would rather blame a few people rather than the whole bunch. What I am doing, if you noticed, is blaming the whole bunch..... including KW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniBob72 Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I think this past week is a perfect example of JM needing to go. Surely the Sox have more talent than Tampa, Detroit, or Cleveland, no? This is the week that is killing the Sox's season, and it's by teams with far less talent than the Sox. There's no way you could put this on KW then. It goes on the players and their "leader" Jerry Manuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniBob72 Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Clarification: When I say you can't put "this" on KW, I mean their recent tailspin that is knocking them out of contention. Whether you want to blame him for the fact that they're not already 12 games over .500 is another matter. KW is certainly not blameless, but he can't be faulted when his team lays a half dozen eggs against the dregs of the league. That's on the players and the manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SI1020 Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 What I'm saying in no uncertain terms is I wish I never heard of Kenny Williams. There are so many things wrong with the White Sox right now, I'd hardly know where to begin. That being said KW's hiring has turned out to be a disaster. I'm not going to get into a line by line account of all his trades. Baggio did a great job of that recently on this board. The man simply does not have the temperament or the savvy to swim with the sharks in MLB. He is the worst kind of boss imaginable. He's both arrogant and incompetent. I've had the pleasure of working in that type of environment. Three years ago it looked like the Sox were poised for a long run of success. Now it looks like it will take 5 years minimum before this team can compete again. KW has to take his share of the "credit" for this fiasco. He's made numerous bad deals, micromanaged like a tyrant. He's always ready to pull the trigger on that "big' deal to put the team over the top instead of thinking a little bit and trying to assemble a winning team one piece at a time. A winning team that is prepared to be competitive over the long haul. A long time ago the White Sox were dead in the water, the absolute worst team in the AL. A veteran baseball man was brought in as GM and told to do what it takes to get the team winning again. He got the White Sox Nellie Fox, Billy Pierce, Minnie Minoso and Sherm Lollar for next to nothing. That GM was Frank Lane. Kenny Williams is the anti Frank Lane. You can have him. Thanks HSC for the backup earlier in this thread. It seems like I've been mostly talking to myself on this board lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molto Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I'm not saying you YASNY, but others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPinStripes Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 has KW built it? yes, but has he put together a bad team playing up to their potential or a good team playing far below their potential? fact is, a lot of odd crap has happened, a lot of players haven't produced. Just make it short and sweet. "Everything KW touches turns to s***". Now that's blaming both ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubKilla Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 "Everything KW touches turns to s***". That's because he is a s*** GM. Kenny Williams :dips*** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hotsoxchick1 Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Just remember ... if the Alomar trade ends up not working out, we blame Hahn. If the Everett trade doesn't work out, we blame ... who? Einhorn and Hemond? Those are the guys who are pulling the triggers on trades now, right?? yes hahn and eddie get blame for those alomar everett things not working out.. when i said that kenny did a s*** job in 2001 i meant from then till the time he was dethroned......anything of recent gets blame put where it deserves being put.. simple as that.......... Kenny Williams took an average 2000 team and put a team out this season that has the TALENT to win it all. I HATE it when people say KW dismantled the 2000 team. anyone with a brain would know the 2000 wasn't that good and that KW didn't really dump any of our prospects as many people think. ken williams took a division winning championship team and broke it all up when in fact it only needed a few tweeks here and there.....he shoved clayton down our throats, brought in fatass wells, then proceeded to bring in ritchie, and a cast of thousands who havent panned out....can we blame him?? yea we can.... i cant blame him for wells back going out on him but the other s*** i surely can blame him for it, its not like his pickups were injured .. so there was no reason they shouldnt have been playing to their full capacity..........as a gm he sucked plain and simple and this roll the dice crap doesnt make a championship team.... hes done away with each and every prospect, minor player what ever that was gained in the white flag trades...further more if our program here was so great then how come everyone who leaves, does better elsewhere and all this great talent he got does for s*** when they get here......i can pin that on him too for not taking interest in the other operations of the team he should have been overseeing, and fixing..... :fyou kenny williams he f***ed this team up........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniBob72 Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Ya know, I'm not the biggest KW fan around, but when I hear people claim that he dismantled the 2000 team, I just have to scratch my head. Unless I'm mistaken, the 2000 lineup was as follows... 2B- Durham SS- Valentin DH - Thomas RF - Ordonez 1B - Konerko LF - Lee 3B - H. Perry CF - Singleton C - Johnson/Paul With a rotation of... Sirotka Baldwin Eldred Parque Biddle or whoever Bullpen of... Howry Foulke Simas Wunsch, etc. Other than Durham and Foulke, who of that team is gone and producing elsewhere??? The lineup is essentially the same! And Foulke was a big reason why last season was as bad as it was, so he shouldn't be considered. Sure, the entire starting rotation is gone, but none of them did anything after they left. Same goes for Howry. And if Sox fans are pining for Chris Singleton or Herbert Perry as the missing pieces of the puzzle, God help us all! OK, I forgot about Rocky Biddle, but I didn't hear too many wails from Soxdom when he was traded. The core of the lineup is still in tact and the players let go in the "dismantling" have rarely gone on to productive careers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Thomas, Alomar, Almomar, Everette, Colon, etc. which one of these guys really needs a manager? Toss rocks all you want but players who give a s*** make the front office look good not the other way around. I'm not the biggest fan of our manager or front office but looking at this team on paper and no way should it be 5 games under .500 at the break. KW job was to put players on the field that could win this division. I can't believe anyone would argue he failed at that. Look in the dugout. Jerry is pushing buttons faster than grandma at the nickle slots. Times a wasting and he doesn't want to sit still. By hey let's pencil in the same basic lineup for two weeks straight and see what happens. Make a decision on your best lineup and let it run. Let the guys know what the rotation is. Example: Frank you're the first baseman. You got it 5 days a week, your DHing one and resting one if the schedule gets packed. PK you're going to have to prove yourself one day a week and occassional PHing. No time to babysit. If we are out of it in September you'll have plenty of AB to save your major league career. Koch you get to close the 7th inning. Good luck. Bottom line Jerry; you've seen more combination with this team than you need. Pick one and live or die with it. This ain't the NL. We let the players play in the AL. No double moves with the pitcher. Pretend your Phil Jackson, just role the f***ing ball out there and get out of the way. Talk nice to Olivo, Lee and Crede, they're learning. I'm tired of blaming the guys who never sweat. With apologies to Estaban this team is sucking big time. Struggling must be the most contagious thing on the planet. :puke Jerry, Please put your head in your ass over the All-Star break, we'll let you know when to pull it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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