Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

The bad news

Wazzup!

If I were the Scott Reifert, the PR guy for the White Sox, here's how I would try to spin the trade that re-acquired Sandy Alomar Jr. in the press release:

"For five years, the Chicago White Sox have worked with The Alomar Family, LLC., to find job placement opportunities for unemployed Alomars around the globe.  Today's trade, which brought Sandy Alomar Jr. to the South Side for Double-A reliever B.J. LaMura, marks the fifth time a downtrodden Alomar has found refuge with the White Sox.  The Chicago White Sox and the The Alomar Family: A winning combination -- occasionally."

Nevertheless, if I were going to The Cell this week, I'd want to pack a sign that says "Enough with the Alomars, already."  If somebody wants to carry this flag for me, by all means.  I'll gladly post your picture.

Kenny Williams doesn't need my help trying to frame this trade in a positive light, though, employing what I will call the Matt Thornton Defense.  Read these quotes side by side:

On Alomar	On Thornton
"Our coaching staff has been after me for the last month to acquire Sandy Alomar, so it is my responsibility as general manager to add pieces to the puzzle that my coaches feel they need to win another championship." -- July 23, 2006	When the pitching coach tells you 'I want this guy,' and 'Don't worry about his ability to throw strikes,' and my scouts want the guy as well, I'm going to do everything I can to get him -- March 26, 2006

Because of how wrong I was when I called the Thornton-for-Borchard trade nothing for nothing, I paused before tearing into this "solution."  After re-evaluation, I came to the conclusion that I still don't buy this trade being anything better than a net neutral.  Somebody's wrong here, and here's the cases against both sides:

Kenny Williams:  Maybe he might've misunderstood the Sox coaching staff a little bit.  Maybe Ozzie Guillen, Don Cooper, Greg Walker and Co. were saying that they wanted to acquire Alomar to serve as a coach.  After all, he's 40, not doing much in Los Angeles and on his last knees as a catcher -- what else is he going to do later this year?  He's the guy who traded James Baldwin for Jeff Barry when he wanted Jonathan Berry, so anything's possible. 

In fact, that trade was also with the Dodgers.  Considering Kenny nearly traded Jon Garland for Darin Erstad before the Angels axed the deal, maybe he should stay away from L.A. entirely.

The coaching staff:  Alomar is a former All-Star, a guy who's been around, a guy who respects the game and from all indications is an excellent teammate -- so in other words, he's simply saturated with Veteran Presence. 

The problem is, what is now Veteran Presence was once a part of what Ozzie Guillen summed up last year as a prevalent "bad attitude."  Alomar had been on the Sox for parts or the entirety of the 2001-04 seasons, some of the most disappointing in White Sox history.  The Sox won a division title the year before he arrived, and they won the World Series the year after he departed -- so why were they so eager to get him back? 

This is not to say Alomar is responsible for any of these problems himself, but while Alomar was on the team, a handful of hardships popped up.  Pitching prospects like Kip Wells, Dan Wright and even Garland didn't pan out, All-Stars like David Wells and Bartolo Colon underachieved, and the Sox offense was considered all-or-nothing.  With veteran pitchers not earning their salaries and the offense sputtering, I don't see why Alomar has received the status of, "If you acquire only one position player this season, make this the one!"

Maybe the Thornton story serves as a reminder that I don't always know what I'm talking about, but I'm thinking Kenny's going to the well once too many times with this line of reasoning.  

The good news

Chris Widger was handed his walking papers today, as the Sox designated him for free agency shortly after today's 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers. 

There's an interesting contrast between the departures of Widger and Politte, who were just about equally capable of handling their respective duties this year.  Politte took his about as well as one could be expected to, per this Scott Merkin article:

"You've got to perform at this level.  It's unfortunate, but like I said, you have to perform at this level and be consistent and I had not been that this year. It's a great place to play and I was treated very well. They kept running me out there in situations for me to succeed and it didn't happen. For some reason, it didn't. I feel bad. I let these guys down."

Widger could have used the same words, but instead the former backup catcher responded rather brusquely to the terminology used as the reason for his departure -- "lack of game preparation."  Here's a quote again from a Merkin article:

"If you want to tell me I'm a bad ballplayer, not good enough for your team, you aren't producing enough, I could take it," an emotional Widger said after being informed of the roster move. "But to tell me that I'm not trying, it's tough.

"I come in here after a game and all of a sudden I'm lazy? I just don't get it. Nothing was said about it before today."

When Williams told Widger of the reason questioned by the catcher, he also told Widger to talk to both pitching coach Don Cooper and hitting coach Greg Walker. Widger told the media that Cooper's lone complaint was that he was tough to find for a meeting or two they have at the beginning of each series, while Walker's problem, again according to Widger, was that he followed a different philosophy in preparing offensively for each game.

Widger admitted that he didn't take pregame flips in the cage, instead choosing to hit off a tee when everyone had cleared out. Widger said that he had heard a few comments along the way about not taking flips, but he also said that his approach was no different than last season, when he hit .241 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 141 at-bats.

"Last year was good and this year, it's not," Widger said. "That's what happens when there's a difference between being 10 games up and being in second place. When you are not in first place, all those little things aren't overlooked anymore."

And from the AP notes:

"I thought this was home.  I thought I did a good job for these guys. It's the first time I've ever been released (for reasons) I don't get."

The reasons are rather easy to understand, and I already listed them all a couple of days ago.  The difference in batting practice rituals is new to me, but the coaches may have a point that has nothing to do with how hard Widger works. 

If Walker and Cooper are seeing no discernable effort to change things in the middle of a massive, soul-sucking slump with both the bat and the glove, that could easily be identified as a lack of preparation.  Preparation is partly work ethic, but it's about working smart, not working hard.  Widger could practice yoga for five hours instead of taking batting practice if it would help him hit better, but if the ends don't justify the means beyond the realm of a typical slump, then a change needs to be made.

The Sox made a change, maybe because they felt Widger wouldn't.  The on-field results seem to side with the Sox on this one. 

I guess what confuses me the most about Widger's indignance is that last quote, coming from a guy who had played for five different teams in his last five MLB seasons.  Catchers who can't hit and can't field are as interchangeable as LOOGYs.  If somebody feels like he's secured his spot with a season of .241/.296/.383 while throwing out 7 percent of all runners, then it could be construed that that person has been delusional about a bunch of other things.