In Defense of the General Manager

U-God — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:10:46 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The man on the right is better at his job than people outside of Chicago give credit for. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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When OSFIB posted this link today, I found my muse for the off day. As most of our readers (and White Sox fans in general) have probably noticed, ripping on Kenny Williams and calling him a below average GM has almost become accepted as common knowledge outside of the state of Illinois. Even other SBN sites have jumped in on it. The thing is, it hasn't been a correct assumption for a while. Further analysis (and an almost complete GM history) after the jump.

The man has made his mistakes and there is no denying that. The Todd Ritchie trade was awful, giving up Ray Durham for Jon Adkins still hurts, and who can forget the confusing multiple trades for Carl Everett and Roberto Alomar. And then there was his unfortunate attacks on Frank Thomas after the Big Hurt had some disparaging remarks towards the only organization he had ever known. The thing is, the man has improved. Over the course of his career he went from the sheep being fleeced to the man holding the shears. Over the past few season Kenny has turned minor leaguers and stable veterans into Freddy Garcia, Jim Thome, Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, Orlando Cabrera, and Carlos Quentin. He snagged Bobby Jenks off of waivers from the Angels. He brought A.J. Pierzynski, Tadahito Iguchi, Jermaine Dye, and Orlando Hernandez in as free agents during a time when other teams were more desirable. He kept Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, and Jermaine Dye in town when they could have made more money elsewhere. He gave Ozzie Guillen his first chance to manage a baseball team. He played a large part in the magic that was 2005. He took over an ineffective draft plan, and since he started being more hands on with it the Sox have drafted Aaron Poreda, Gordon Beckham, Daniel Hudson, Trayce Thompson, Jared Mitchell, and Jordan Danks. He opened a pipeline to Cuba using Contreras and El Duque that has helped result in Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo.

Does he still have his flaws? Yes. His hands were pretty much tied during the Nick Swisher fiasco. He still tends to get tunnel vision and focus on getting a player no matter what or when (Ken Griffey Jr and Jake Peavy). But he isn't the rube he was back in the day. The article OSFIB linked us compared Kenny Williams to a gambler that loses a good deal of money. I like the gambler comparison, but I really don't see the second half being true. This could be me simply being a homer. I do tend to give KW the benefit of the doubt with his moves, but it's not as if he hasn't earned it. He inherited an okay team with no farm system to speak of. He has given us one losing season, two trips to the playoffs, and improving farm system, and a World Series championship. He's even starting to get more credit from actual journalists, which is nice. Is he the best GM in baseball? No, granted I don't know who I would give that title to. Do I believe he is in the top 10? Yes. The man does his best to make sure we remain competetive every season without completely mortgaging the future. Remember that the next time you read about how big of a stooge or over-aggressive moron Kenny Williams is.

GM History from 2000-2008 courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors

This Week in White Sox Minor League Baseball

larry — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:00:14 -0000

Jordan Danks

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This week:

Jeffrey Marquez has been less than awesome so far for the Knights. In two starts, he's lasted just 1.2 and 3.2 IP, while giving up 14 hits, walking 5, and striking out just 2. His GO/AO has been a pedestrian 1.00.
Shoeless in SC covered the Knights game on Friday night. Scott Podsednik is back.
White Sox hitting instructor Jeff Manto shared his thoughts on Gordon Beckham, Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers, Brandon Allen, Jordan Danks, and Jon Gilmore.
Brandon Allen, once described by a member of the White Sox front office as the organization's "sleeping giant", awoke last season - likely one of the reasons for the avoidance of corner types with their first round pick. He's continued his hot hitting at Birmingham this season with a .333/.381/.462 triple slash, including a double and two triples (yes, Allen is mobile enough to legitimately hit triples).
Beckham: .368/.442/.632.
Jayson Nix remains in Arizona at extended spring training; his recovery from a right quad injury has been slower than expected.
From the Where Are They? file: Jose Martinez is still in extended ST rehabilitating from a severe leg break - no timetable for his arrival at Kannapolis. Steven Upchurch - you know, the 12th round pick last year who signed for 6th round money who was probably a 3rd round talent? - is also in extended ST, with an assignment to Great Falls likely. Nevin Griffith, who had Tommy John surgery last June, is - you guessed it - in extended ST and a July-ish return to game action is targeted.
Kanny triplets update: Both Daniel Hudson and Dexter Carter suffered minor non-arm injuries this week. Hudson took a line drive off his leg on Sunday and was removed from the game. He made his start on Saturday and went 6 IP with 3 hits, 4 K, 0 BB, and a HBP. After striking out a batter on Friday, Carter was removed from the game after 3.1 IP due to an injury to the side of his right foot just below the ankle. Unclear what the extent of that is. Gregory Infante continues to receive adulation in the press, after he followed up his extremely impressive first start with a solid second.
The White Sox acquired Andy Phillips from Pittsburgh for Michael Dubee, who was originally acquired for Tadahito Iguchi. Pirates fans think they hosed Kenny Williams. Phillips replaces Ben Broussard as the old guy playing first at Charlotte.
Finally, Jordan Danks went not one, not two, but three consecutive games without striking out. He continues to struggle against pro lefties but it's a small sample size and his collegiate history provides hope that he can straighten that out. .275/.383/.550 thus far. Birmingham may be calling sooner rather than later.

As always, check the Minor League Update thread for daily updates and commentary.

SB Nation - Tadahito Iguchi

In Defense of the General Manager

This Week in White Sox Minor League Baseball