As baseball bargains go, Sox have one in Ramirez

For the White Sox, the present concern is whether or not to bring back a pair of key free agents Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski.

But general manager Kenny Williams always keeps an eye on the future, so signing shortstop Alexei Ramirez to a contract extension has to be on his mind.

Nearing the end of the four-year, $4.75 million deal he signed before the 2008 season after defecting from Cuba, Ramirez has proved to be a huge bargain while blossoming into the Sox' best all-around player.

Ramirez was voted the American League Silver Slugger on Thursday. A day later, he talked about the honor on a conference call from his off-season home in Miami.

Ramirez led AL shortstops with a .282 batting average, 18 home runs, 252 total bases and a .431 slugging percentage. He finished second to Kansas City's Yuniesky Betancourt (78) with 70 RBI.

“I'm thrilled more than anything,” Ramirez said through interpreter Lou Hernandez. “I want to thank the people that voted for me and recognized the hard work I put in, recognized the work I did during the season. I'm really proud of the honor.”

Ramirez could have had a monster season at the plate, but he got off to another slow start while batting .221 with 1 home run and 8 RBI in April.

“I feel like the baseball season is six months of competition and every ballplayer is going to have that one bad month,” Ramirez said. “Unfortunately for me, that bad month has been April.”

The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder said he already has started his conditioning program in preparation for the 2011 season, and he'll start hitting in January.

“The key for me right now is just keeping my routine,” Ramirez said. “I've had some pretty good seasons here, and I think last year was great. My key is keeping my routine and trying to improve upon it.”

While Ramirez was honored for his offensive prowess Thursday, he was denied the Gold Glove on Tuesday. The Yankees' Derek Jeter won the fielding award even though Ramirez had the best UZR (10.8) and Plus/Minus (+20) ratings in the league.

“I think it's simply an honor to be mentioned in the Gold Glove conversation.” Ramirez said. ‘I've always said it's not up to me. As long as I'm happy with the work I did on the field and as long as my team, my manager and my coaches are happy with what I did on the field, that's all that's important to me.”

Omar Vizquel helped Ramirez take his defensive game to a much higher level this past season. Ramirez was pleased to hear the 11-time Gold Glove infielder signed on for another year with the White Sox.

“I always said when I came to the United States that Omar Vizquel was one of my idols as a baseball player growing up,” Ramirez said. Being able to play with him on the same team is an honor.”