Williams needs to roll with his critics' punches
My goodness, Kenny, give it a rest already.
The paranoia is getting a little old. The sensitivity is starting to be insensitive.
In Saturday's editions, our Scot Gregor quoted White Sox general manager Kenny Williams on the Ken Griffey Jr. acquisition this way:
"It's kind of like everything we've done has been criticized, and unfairly, because it's not even been allowed to play out."
Now, if I read that correctly, Williams would prefer that critics wait until the end of the season to evaluate Thursday's trade that brought Griffey here from Cincinnati.
But wouldn't that be a second guess that newsmakers hate? Whatever was said the past few days was closer to first guessing.
The morning that news of the trade broke, I was a baseball fan driving to Milwaukee for the Cubs-Brewers game.
All the way up the radio - specifically WSCR-AM and WMVP-AM - blared discussion of the Sox-Reds transaction.
The opinions pretty much reflected mine: Interesting trade, not particularly overwhelming, helpful to the Sox but not exactly a championship maker or breaker.
Points were made that Griffey is a risk in center field at 38 years of age, but also that he could provide a presence in the middle of the lineup.
Similar evaluations were made in print and on TV, locally and nationally.
Griffey then went 3 for 6 at the plate and made a diving catch Friday and Saturday. Then again, the injury-prone outfielder reportedly is suffering from leg cramps already.
Anyway, overall the sentiment to the trade was more caution than passion.
Yet, judging by Williams' remarks to Gregor, he thought he was being criticized.
Listen, it became clear long ago that sports figures hear what they want to hear from the cacophony of chatter cascading down on them.
Some process only the compliments because they want to feel adored. Others hear only the insults because they want to be motivated. A few hear both sides, but not many.
Williams, it seems, hears mostly the negative, taking it seriously and personally.
Maybe negativity reinforces Williams' doubts, which every GM must have after making a deal that can jump up and bit him on the heinie.
Williams is a likable guy inclined to think people dislike him. He's an intelligent guy inclined to think people think he's a dummy.
That's OK if it inspires Williams, but "everything we've done has been criticized"? No it hasn't. The Jim Thome acquisition wasn't, even though it dispatched fan favorite Aaron Rowand. Or more recently, the trade of 2005 world-championship contributor Jon Garland for Orlando Cabrera was accepted more than panned.
Trust me, I know from experience that anybody whose work is public will be criticized more than praised. The offended always respond louder than the satisfied do.
What you do is appreciate that anybody cares enough to offer an opinion, good or bad. Otherwise you're working in anonymity, not a good thing.
Williams added to Gregor about the perceived criticism, "What it does is it makes you feel like you've got to do what you've got to do to the best of your ability, and whatever comes from it comes from it."
Er, tell me, isn't that what a baseball general manager is supposed to do anyway?
mimrem@dailyherald.com