Kenny Williams tells Van Dyck to take Taveras and shove it

''Listen, I'm the guy that traded Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik,'' Williams said of a deal that set the stage for a wire-to-wire World Series run in 2005. ''I understand the value of speed and what that element can give you -- if that's the right element for your particular team in your particular year.

''I also learned something a long time ago: Don't be in-between. If you're going to be a power team, be a power team. If you are going to be a speed team, try to be the best speed team you can.''

But Williams operates in the American League, and his team's home is one of the best launching pads in baseball. There has to be a happy medium for the Sox.

''At the top, I want not so much speed, but the ability to get on base and manufacture runs,'' Williams said. ''At the top and the bottom, you need baseball grinders. In the middle, if you play in the American League, I'm sorry, you better have power -- in our ballpark especially.

''OK, I don't have the prototypical speed guy here. However, my choice then becomes, do I take a speed guy that's a .310, .320 on-base guy, or do I take a guy who can go first to third, can't steal bases, but he's getting on base at a .370 clip? Well, guess which one is going to end up scoring more runs for you -- regardless of that speed.''

If on-base percentage trumps speed in Williams' book, that would seem to rule out rumors of the Sox pursuing Colorado Rockies center fielder Willy Taveras, who had been on Williams' radar in recent years. Taveras had a .308 OBP last season while hitting .251. On the flip side, he stole a career-high 68 bases.

Other players make more sense for the Sox.

It's no secret Williams long has had his eye on Los Angeles Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, who had a .367 OBP and hit .276 last season. If the Angels can't re-sign first baseman Mark Teixeira -- and agent Scott Boras has indicated he will test the open market -- then there might be renewed interest in dealing for Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, who likely would waive his no-trade rights to play in Southern California.

But the Sox' biggest prize would be walking away with Roberts, who had a .378 OBP and hit .296 last season. Roberts has scored more than 100 runs each of the last two seasons for an Orioles offense that doesn't match the firepower of the Sox' lineup.

about 3 years ago El Duque's Raft 15 comments 1 recs |

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Much better

by El Duque's Raft on Nov 6, 2008 11:35 AM CST reply actions

good times

nothing gets ‘em wetter than infrequent postings on the city’s second favorite team

by colintj on Nov 6, 2008 5:39 PM CST reply actions

why don't the sox just get a really fast guy with a really high OBP?

problem solved.

Cashing checks and having sex.

by MarketMaker on Nov 6, 2008 6:03 PM CST reply actions

because KennyGM is a moron

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Nov 6, 2008 6:33 PM CST up reply actions

solution

orlando cabrera and pablo ozuna for brian roberts

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Nov 6, 2008 6:37 PM CST up reply actions

hell, throw in cotts too.

"your swordsmanship is amateur at best."

by Toonderstrook on Nov 6, 2008 6:38 PM CST up reply actions

O's would've to sweeten the package

neal has a ws ring

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Nov 6, 2008 6:40 PM CST up reply actions

so does pablo

"would've been a sweep if pablo was here" -Kenwo-

by Hazymania on Nov 7, 2008 1:38 AM CST up reply actions

"the White Sox way"

’’I’m very cognizant of the efforts of my scouting staff, player development and the teachers that are teaching the White Sox way of, ‘This is what Ozzie Guillen is going to expect when you get to the big leagues,’’’ Williams said.

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Nov 6, 2008 6:43 PM CST reply actions

Kenny = win

I have to admit to grinning a bit while reading this. Not that I thought Kenny thought otherwise, but it’s very nice to see in print.

by CWSKeith on Nov 6, 2008 7:01 PM CST reply actions

tim brown

While it’s not as though home runs have entirely disappeared – try telling Ozzie Guillen and Terry Francona the Rays didn’t win with power before speed – there’s been a lot of discussion about the game returning to the rounded, more athletic player. It’s the steroid testing, of course, which means middle infielders are starting to look a little more like middle infielders again, and fewer of them are hitting opposite-field home runs into chilly April winds. I can’t prove that, by the way, but presumably baseball is fielding fewer cheaters, and it’s one more thing for the GM to consider.

"We’re going back to some old-fashioned baseball," Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams said. "You’re going to have to manufacture runs at the top, manufacture runs on the bottom. And this is the American League, so you better be able to bang in the middle."

Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane often is a stealth figure at these and the winter meetings. He stood with a couple of reporters who expressed amazement at a Beane sighting and replied, "Geez, I feel like J.D. Salinger or something."

Anyway, Beane said everybody else could go with athletic players and manufactured runs.

"I’d like to have nine guys who all hit 30 home runs," he said. "I’d rather have that. It’s still the most efficient way to score runs. Give me two walks and a home run any day."

It is, of course, no wonder Beane pines for offense. His A’s were last in the AL in runs last season and 11th in home runs. And it is why they’ll spend the winter looking for a big bat, from either side.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-gmmeetings110408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Nov 6, 2008 11:19 PM CST reply actions