Re: Deer Big (Always) Hurt


Jon Enslin wrote:
mianderson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Jon Enslin wrote:
Goro wrote:
I donut think Kenny Williams likes you so good.

-goro-

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/baseball/mlb/oakland_athletics/13972310.htm

PHOENIX - The ill will between A's slugger Frank Thomas and his former
Chicago White Sox general manager, Kenny Williams, escalated Sunday
when Williams called Thomas ``an idiot.''

Williams was speaking to Chicago reporters at the team's spring
training site in Tucson in response to comments Thomas made to The
Daily Southtown, a Chicago-area newspaper, in which he reiterated his
disappointment over the manner in which he was released after 16 years
with the White Sox.

``He's an idiot,'' Williams said. ``He's selfish. That's why we don't
miss him. And we've held it in for far too long.

``But I've got something to say directly to him. And I'm holding back
as much as I can because, unlike him, I'll say it man-to-man,
face-to-face.''

Thomas told the newspaper that Williams never called him to let him
know the team was not going to retain him after it exercised the $3.5
million buyout in his contract. Thomas appeared in just 108 games the
past two seasons because of left-foot problems. He also said he should
have been traded after the 2000 season and criticized the multiyear
deals given during the off-season to Paul Konerko and Jon Garland.


Listening to a great deal of Chicago sports radio, I can say that no
one there has given a damn about what Frank Thomas says for about five
years now. Also, Kenny Williams, while being prickly and a bit of a
hot head, clearly knows what he is doing.

see I don't think he knows what he is going in general(although thomas
is probably done). They had a great year last year and won a world
series. Great. But his tenure before that(and it wasn't exactly
brief) had been a disaster. A lot of his fa signings and trades have
quite frankly sucked.

He's been there six years. For baseball general managers, that isn't
that long of a time frame. Since that time he basically built up the
farm system and made some pretty good trade to get players that many
thought were washed up. (Contreras, El Duque)

acquiring players like that generally isn't a good idea. It
occasionally works, but that's the nature of life. Just like my rate
of return on buying a scratch off lotto ticket is only going to be .6x,
it's possibly to spend $5 on scratch offs and hit a $50 winner.
Doesn't mean it was a good idea....just means it worked out this time.



Also, Ozzie was a great, great hire for manager.

You can't complain about the results - it wasn't though the White Sox
back doored it or anything.

yeah I know, but we'll just have to see how things turn out down the
road. I wouldn't be surprised if things just came together right this
year with some luck and through more bad kennyW moves they go downhill.







As for thomas, he may be an ***. He may be over the hill and
finished. But his offensive production when he was healthy earlier in
his career was something special. Anytime you can put up
.335/.465/.640 type lines for several consecutive years.....well that's
special.

Yeah...early in his career...

yeah of course. But my point is he did it for a good number of years
early in his career. He's a hall of famer imo simply because the other
bunch of 1st baseman/dh types in his peer group(bagwell, palmeiro,
mcgriff, etc) just don't have the peak value. His peak value(best 7
years) is just enormous.


Jon

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