Re: Deer Big (Always) Hurt


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.

I donut think you can judge a GM on such a short tenure (including
catching lightning in a bottle for the WS). His true ability/value
will show in how the Sox do over the next 10 years.

FA is tough and any/every GM is going to make some mistakes and get
some breaks. Ditto the draft. But on balance, building a team in a
particular way to get the most possible wins is key. If they become a
perennial .500 team after this (past) year, then the WS will be an
aberation on his resume, but if they are in playoff contention for the
next 5+ years, you've got to giv ehim a good deal of credit.

-goro-

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.

.

Loading