White Sox general manager Ken Williams chose his words carefully.

On one hand, there has been increased speculation that his interest in Los Angeles Angels infielder Chone Figgins has grown. On the other hand, he knows the reality of prying free a player like that in a trade right now is all but impossible.

A source close to the situation said that Williams started sending out feelers more than two weeks ago to teams that had leadoff hitters also capable of playing second base -- at least all the teams that don't have Brian Roberts on their roster, because that bridge was crossed back in the spring, and Baltimore is asking for everything that's not nailed down in return.

But the hot name? Figgins.

''That's an interesting name, and a name that I, yeah ... they're a pretty good team and they need ... I'm talking about the guys that will ultimately be available, and I don't know if they will be any better than what we already got,'' Williams said Tuesday, hours before the Sox beat the Cleveland Indiana 4-1 at U.S. Cellular Field. ''Again, the key phrase being that they will ultimately be available. Not that I can't sit here and play the fantasy game. Hell, I can play that game and come up with a bunch of people. Reality, that's the game I have to deal in.'' ...

hat-tip MLBTR: ... Figgins, 30, is hitting .306/.421/.355 in 145 plate appearances. He's a free agent after the '09 season. Despite Chicago's interest, it's hard to picture the first-place Angels parting with him. Figgins is expected to be activated from the disabled list today after a hamstring strain. The team's other third basemen have not hit well in his absence.

I'm not sure how well he plays second these days, but Ryan Freel could fit as a Plan B. Freddy Sanchez, Cristian Guzman, Felipe Lopez, David Eckstein are other possibilities (pure speculation on my part). ...