Williams staying optimistic despite Sox’ troubles
I’ve seen general manager Kenny Williams almost break his hand a few times slamming tables (or whatever else was handy) when the White Sox weren’t playing well in past seasons.
I’ve seen him storm away in a fit of anger after a spring training loss.
The best temper tantrum came in Tucson, Ariz., about a decade ago, when KW lost it after witnessing some sloppy play during an intrasquad game.
As you can probably surmise, Williams does not like losing games, losing streaks, losing records, losing anything.
How he has survived the last 11 years in his position is beyond me, especially when you consider even the greatest baseball teams are going to lose at least 60 games a season.
So here comes Kenny before Friday night’s game against the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field.
You figure he is going to blow a fuse or 10 considering the Sox entered the six-game homestand at 10-16 while limping in off a 3-8 road trip.
Instead, Williams was shockingly upbeat.
Didn’t see him after another wretched White Sox loss, this one a 10-4 decision to Baltimore in front of an announced (and annoyed) crowd of 21,816, so we’ll just assume Williams was still looking at the bright side.
It sure beats the alternative, but that day is coming sooner than later if the Sox continue to play some incredibly bad baseball.
Maybe Williams couldn’t work himself into a lather because he’s simply mystified by the $125 million product he’s put on the field.
“I certainly am counting on some more consistent baseball,” Williams said. “I don’t know if it’s possible to play worse. We’re not running the bases well, we’re not playing defense well, we’re not pitching consistently and we’re certainly not hitting consistently.
“We have the ability to do all of that, very well, against the very best. It is what it is. Hopefully, we can start something new here.”
On Friday, it was pretty much the same old rubbish.
The White Sox finally give hard-luck starter John Danks some run support, taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning.
Danks does nothing with it, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings.
Particularly painful for the Sox in this latest defeat was Danks allowing a 2-run homer to Matt Wieters on a 3-0 count with two outs in the sixth inning that snapped a 3-3 tie.
Batting in front of Wieters, Mark Reynolds struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch.
Not good baseball.
And we’ll wish Williams god luck keeping his stress in check. At least it’s not May yet.
“We didn’t build a team to be in first place in April, and if we’re not in first place in April, we’re going to cash it in,” Williams said. “We built a team that we thought could withstand a 162-ballgame schedule. We think ultimately we’re still going to come out on top.
“A stretch like this was going to come. We just hope another one doesn’t come. It’s come at the beginning of the season in the midst of a lot of road games against a lot of tough pitching, but we’ll get it straightened out. This is a talented club and it’ll surface.”