Sox decide Uribe best SS for the $$$
After the White Sox agreed to terms on a one-year, $4.5 million contract with shortstop Juan Uribe on Wednesday, manager Ozzie Guillen didn't return a phone call seeking comment on the move.
Actually, Guillen's position on Uribe rarely changed during the 2007 season, when the 29-year-old shortstop batted .234 and had 20 home runs and 68 RBI.
"He drives me crazy,'' Guillen said in late September. "I'll be honest with you, Uribe can drive everyone crazy. But all of a sudden the season is over and you look up and see 20 home runs and 70 RBI.
"To be honest with you, I don't see any shortstop better out there than Uribe. Maybe equal to him on the field, throwing and catching the ball. But I wish Uribe, at least once, finds out how good he is, how dangerous he can be.
"When your on-base percentage is like that (.284) and you (still) hit 20 home runs and 70 RBI every season, it is amazing what you can do. But he's inconsistent, and he has to come back in better shape.''
There still is a chance Uribe could be traded, but it looks like he is coming back to the Sox for at least one more season.
The White Sox waited until Wednesday's deadline to decide whether to pick up Uribe's $5 million option for 2008 or buy out his contract for $300,000.
In the end, they did neither, agreeing to bring the 6-foot, 225-pounder back at a slightly reduced price.
There were trade possibilities such as Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson and Baltimore's Miguel Tejada. St. Louis' David Eckstein was available on the free-agent market.
Kenny Williams, attending general manager meetings in Orlando, Fla., didn't return a phone call Wednesday. But speaking to mlb.com at the meetings, Williams agreed with Guillen's assessment of Uribe.
"Uribe has been one of the most consistent shortstops in the game,'' Williams said. "We just felt that given the responsibility to try to upgrade ourselves at every position to make the team better, we wanted to explore every avenue before having to make this decision.
"That's why it's taken this long, because we wanted to give every club a chance to weigh in. Now that we've got a lay of the free-agent possibilities, combined with the trade possibilities, we felt he was the best option.''
Uribe spent most of last year's off-season mired in legal trouble in his native Dominican Republic. Accused of shooting two men, Uribe didn't play his usual amount of winter ball and reported to spring training in poor condition.
Uribe's off-field trouble spilled over into the regular season, and he finished near the bottom among major-league hitters in average and on-base percentage.
On the positive side, Uribe hit 20 or more home runs for the third time in the last four years, and his .976 fielding percentage ranked second among American League shortstops.