Williams calls doll stunt disappointing

Paul Konerko couldn't resist.

After a pack of reporters moved away from his locker before Tuesday night's game against the Twins, the smirking White Sox captain said: "Usually, it's the media blowing things up. This time it was us."

Before Sunday's game in Toronto, two blow-up dolls, surrounded by bats, reportedly were spotted in the Sox' clubhouse. The reason? The offense was looking for any kind of help breaking out of its slump.

The "story" was widely reported in Canadian newspapers, and it was front-page news in Tuesday's Sun-Times.

Meeting with the media before the White Sox played Minnesota, general manager Kenny Williams joined Konerko in trying to bring some levity to the controversy.

"I will assure major-league baseball that the doll was not violated in any way, shape or form," Williams said.

Taking a serious turn, Williams said the stunt was "disappointing."

"We have proactively tried to, and just did so this spring training, organizationally, we brought in some people to discuss a better work environment, whether it's gender issues or racial issues," he said.

"And we had some very healthy discussions, so from that respect it is very disappointing. But also I don't view this as a boys being boys-type issue. This is, you know, boys being a little bit careless, a little bit irresponsible on this front."

Williams stopped short of making an all-out apology.

"If my acknowledgment just now does not suffice as an understanding of the sensitivity of the subject, I don't know what is," the Sox' GM said. "I don't know what a formal apology on behalf of the club is going to do, other than me assuring everyone we are on top of it and we addressed the issue."

Manager Ozzie Guillen, among others, can't believe the blow-up dolls ever became an issue.

"Baseball has changed," Guillen said. "They used to say that what happened in the clubhouse stayed in the clubhouse. I respect that the media is allowed to be in the clubhouse. But it's like if somebody went to your house and all of a sudden you have ugly furniture. I'm not going to anybody's office and say what we do.

"I don't think we tried to disrespect or hurt anybody's feelings. We just tried to have fun and to keep things loose. Obviously a lot of people took it the wrong way."

Since he has been mired in a miserable slump, maybe it was Nick Swisher's idea to bring the dolls in. The center fielder didn't admit to doing anything.

"No one meant any harm by it," Swisher said. "It was just kind of one of those things that just kind of happened. It wasn't meant to offend anybody. It was probably wrong. But like I said, if anybody was offended by it then I sincerely apologize."

If there was a silver lining to the international incident, it took much of the attention away from an 0-6 road trip.

"It was just something where the day before, the same concept of a guy going to the bat rack and beating the (crud) out of the bats and trying to wake them up," third baseman Joe Crede said.

"Obviously it didn't come out that way. It was unfortunate it came out in a bad light. First and foremost, what went on in here was no bad intent toward anybody who was obviously offended by it."