Didn't anyone learn anything from the Chad & Shani show?
Idiot? This long-distance dissing match between Kenny Williams and Frank Thomas officially has regressed to the sixth-grade level. Williams actually called Thomas an idiot. What's next, threats of physical violence? That wasn't far off if you read between the lines of Williams saying he'll talk to Thomas directly.
I think we've crossed the line between refreshing, honest candor and silliness. I love Ozzie's lack of political correctness, but enough is enough. General managers should be above the fray, and Williams said as much.
Yes, Frank feels disrespected for the way the Sox treated his release. Yes, he feels his Hall of Fame numbers were unappreciated in favor of contracts for guys like Thome and Konerko. Yes, we've heard it all ad nauseum.
The thing for Kenny to do is just move on. That's the beauty of having the trophy. He doesn't have to respond to all of the comments. He's the champ. Williams has absolutely nothing to gain. If the Sox win, that's his response. If the Sox lose, the first thing to come up is the emotional volatility of GM and coach.
Of course, this isn't all Kenny's fault. Just like it wasn't all Shani's fault or Chad's, although I think it was easier to see in that context that Hedrick was to blame. It's just that the White Sox are the World Champs, and there's no reason for their GM to jump in the mud pit and trade insults. Let Frank make himself look bad. He's done a good job of doing that by himself. No reason to join him.
Roman Modrowski is the online sports editor for the 
Who does Kenny Williams think he is? He's a punk. He has no right to even fix his mouth to say Frank Thomas's name.This johnny come lately was lucky to be around when the SOX won the series. Now he went out and made some very stupid off season moves.Because of him the SOX will lose in 2006.I hope the three stooges( Kenny W.-Paul K.-Jerry R.) fall flat on their asses.
Frank directed most of his remarks to the Sox organization and Reinsdorf. If you take Williams at his word about his relatship with Reinsdorf, it shouldn't be a surprise that he went off. Williams was hired by Reinsdorf when he clearly wasn't the most qualified candidate. Now someone is taking shots at his boss - everyone knows Williams personality. He doesn't take "stuff" from anyone. Good for you Kenny.
Message to Frank - your first 7 years were unreal. You last 8 or 9 were unbelievably average overall and you became a petulant, whining baby.
As a lifelong White Sox fan now living in Jacksonville Florida, I am somewhat disappointed in Kenny's response. Sticks and stones... It's time to start walking and talking like the World Series champs and stop acknowledging the inevitable ankle biters that will try to knock us off our well deserved pedestal. Let's work on a repeat performance and let Frank Thomas play his 20-30 games in Oakland before he gets hurt again has the rest of the season to contemplate the error of his ways. Let's see how much sympathy the Oakland organization has for his pompous attitude and selfishness.
lucky to be around? he's the reason they won the thing! every move that guy made the past two seasons is the reason why we won. he has every right to say what he said, maybe kenny and the white sox could have done a little more, but the fact of the matter is they didn't and frank already said his peace about 5 different times during the off-season. when is enough enough? frank should just shut up and worry about getting healthy and prove the sox made the wrong decision with his bat, not his mouth!
Joe - I can only assume our guy "lucky" Jack is a Cub fan. They're not too accustomed to a GM who makes terrific trades and pickups.
Management was shocked at the positive response Frank got from the fans in his short appearance last year, that's why they trotted him out in the playoffs. Yes, Frank may be an "idiot" but his statue should be at the Cell, not Fisk's.
Since when do the A's take Chicago's trash? They usually take the trash from St. Louis in exchange for their stars.
Bye-bye whiner.
Obviously, Kenny Williams wasn't winning the media battle (which is all any of this is) by taking the high road.
One thing Williams may have learned over the past couple years from Ozzie Guillen is that a loud, calculated bark can be enough to silence yapping. How much did we hear from Magglio Ordonez after Ozzie put things in place (to the extreme!!!)?
It's evident from this situation and others that Williams is more-than-patient in dealing with ex-players in the media, so a little "slip" here does him no real or even imaginary harm, and the guy has already won a World Series without Frank Thomas. What does Kenny have to lose?
Certainly, it solidifies his position with his current employer, and it's not going to be an issue with any potential employer down the road.
I don't understand what you have to scold him about. Maybe Mariotti will explain it tomorrow.
(also, just because it's a squabble through the media doesn't mean this situation has anything in common with the Chad vs. Shani debacle)
To be perfectly honest I am glad to see Frank Thomas gone. I've Been following the White Sox since about '87-'88 so I was able to see Thomas come up in the '90's. Frank Thomas never cared about the Sox or the fans all he cared about was Frank Thomas! He cared about his stats and not the team he did nothing, I repeat NOTHING to help the Sox win the world series! The same way he didn't help us get past the Mariners in 2000!!! His stats are individual and he never helped the team. Just tell me how many world series he has brought to this city? So get rid of his selfishness and gimme some clubhouse cancers who Function with the team!!!
No Frank didn't get them past the Mariners in 2000, but who did? What did the team bat? .150? .200? All he did throughout the year was bat .330, 43, 143.....freakin' amazing. Paul Konerko said that the last few years, Big Hurt has been everything a teammate should be. Kenny Williams has been waiting to get rid of Frank since damn near the day he took over, and jumped at the chance. But it's all a matter of of Frank said/Kenny said.......so in my opinion, its all a wash. Kenny says he called, Frank says he called much later than he said. Kenny says We don't miss him, either. Well, when your lead in the central shrank from 15 games to 1, you sure as hell were missing Frank because you weren't scoring nothing for runs, unlike the games he actually played. Games Frank played in the Sox scored an extra .5 run a game! I'm sure the Sox will be solid, I'm sure Frank will come back and have a great year for a 37 year old. Everyone will be able to forget about this, hopefully, because it obvious, after Kenny's outrage, there are no winners.
Someone needed to tell Frank to shut up and get on with the rest of his sorry life. Now that it has been done I hope that it just fades away.... like the last half of Frank's career.
Kenny Williams didn't address the specific comments made but instead went into an hysterical ad hominem attack unrelated to what was said. Thomas didn't "slam" Reinsdorf; all he said was that he felt bad he didn't get a call. Kenny either can't read or doesn't care to. Instead, poor Kenny whines about how he has his patience tried. Poor thing. Reinsdorf needs to censure his GM or he will lose fans. I sure won't be going to games this season unless this GM is muzzled or fired. First Magglio and now Frank.
I believe it was time for Kenny to respond to Frank. Frank has been taking shots repeatedly at the White Sox for the way he was treated and it really is time for him to move on. Frank has never embraced a team concept and he is damaged goods. The White Sox embody the team concept and he doesn't fit into that good or bad. I am a Frank fan but I'm also a White Sox fan and it's truly sad that this is happening at the time when we should be celebrating the greatest accomplishment in team history. Maybe Frank feels slighted because he really didn't participate in the Sox winning last year and he feels the need to have himself in front. That is why he is no longer here. No I in team.
Way to go, Kenny! Even when he still had the talent, Frank Thomas was one of the least liked players in baseball among his peers. I think we've all had jerk coworkers who we wish would get put in their place. Kenny did just that, and more for the Sox players. And Frank found out the hard way that jerk sports stars are only tolerated for as long as their talent lasts. Good riddance!
Only in the world of sports can you get applauded for acting like a babbling mental patient. I dont care about who is right or wrong because it doesnt matter. Kenny came off sounding like the real idiot. When you're in a position of leadership you dont get to do that. Maybe at Burger King its cool but not as a General Manager.
It surprises me that the Sun Times writers take exception at Kenny Williams responding to Thomas. the big skirt is a former employee whineing and making several comments against the White Sox. but let Ozzie apoligize even for what he said and Stienbrenner sticks his nose into it and tells Ozzie basicaly to shut up and not one writer thinks that was out of line? amazing!
None of you know Frank Thomas or how he was as a teammate. All I know is that he was easily the best ball player I ever saw at Comiskey Park. Williams, in the words of Phil Jackson, just sucked the joy out of the championship with his girlish comments. Seriously, I don't know if I can support this organization any more. I never heard such whining and personal attacks from a GM anywhere. Reinsdorf, who ticked off a generation of Sox fans when he bought the team, needs to show he learned some PR lessons and come out and apologize to fans for the smirking behavior of his GM.
First off.... I am not a Sox fan... I live in Cleveland. But I have to say....THANK YOU KENNY WILLAIMS...THANK YOU!!!!
After the T.O.'s, Bode Miller's, all the other whining Olympic athletes, Robbie Alomar dissing Mark Shapiro after he was traded... and on and on..it is SO refreshing to hear a GM give it right back. Please spare us the fricking High Road... if someone had talked to Frank after he dissed Robin Ventura...publicly.. maybe he would have been a tad more productive then he was.
Kenny Williams, Frank Thomas, ten years from now which one will be remembered.Since when is it the responsibility of the GM to protect the honor of a owner who is smart enough to let Frank be Frank.This is an attempt to damage the legacy of FT.Every attempt to keep Frank should have been made.Frank has been the face of the organization for over a decade.But Kenny williams wants to be the black face of an organization that now only has two black players (Dye & Owens). Kenny, Know your place, when the wheels come off, no one will ever remember you.An Executive should be bigger than that. hmmmmm
I cannot believe that Kenny Williams went there. Everybody knows that Frank was bitter and he wanted to spend the remainder of his career in Chicago. I felt like Kenny's repsonses were ok until he started talking about Reinsdorf loaning Frank money, that really crossed the line. Then it really got personal. I think Kenny Williams should be bigger than that, and he came off as angry when he had the opportunity to solidify himself as a class act GM who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to free agent acquistions. I love the Sox, and Frank Thomas will go down in Sox/baseball history as one of the best hitters to ever play the game. Kenny was a below average player who i believe is jealous because he was never good enough to get the superstar treatment.
Look, no matter what you think of Frank's attitude, he is the best hitter ever to play for the White Sox, and won many, many games for them over the years. He did not get the money he deserved from the management, and much of what he did get was defered. How many people would work for one-third of their salary with a promise to get the rest later, especially with people who were less talented than you (or on steriods) making much more than you? Frank stuck with the White Sox, and helped them win. The organization discarded him, slightly better than they discarded Carlton Fisk. How many people would want to work for people like Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf? Frank worked for them, and gave his all every single time he went to the plate or stepped on the field.
I agree with the comments of the above concerning the completely classless act of Kenny Williams. Reinsdorf, who is no fan favorite regardless of what the media now says (see forcing out Harry Caray, destroying Comiskey Park, even prohibitting Andy the Clown from attending games)has got to step in and censure that guy.
Jim, do you really think Frank "did not get the money he deserved," or are you just being provocative? Maybe he should never have agreed to the diminished-skills clause. But he did, and the Sox upheld their end of the contract. Granted, Jerry's acted like a short-sighted miser most of the time, but no one can accuse him or Williams of dealing in bad faith.
It's easy to forget how self-absorbed and self-pitying Frank was. And Carlton, as great as he was on the field, was a pain in the butt clubhouse lawyer off it. He spoke his mind and he didn't care who he pissed off... and by golly he pissed them off all right.
Sure, both players deserved a better send-off. But to lay the blame for the acrimony entirely on Reinsdorf is just not accurate.
Shon mentioned: "Frank worked for them, and gave his all every single time he went to the plate or stepped on the field."
Duh, he was supposed to do that...he was getting paid millions of dollars a year to do this...he wasn't volunteering. I am blown away by the number of Sox fans on here that are actually backing Thomas on this issue. Who cares if Williams is playing the part of a third grader with the name calling...I kind of like it...at least it doesn't sound like the scripted BS that comes from most GMs these days...at least he is being honest...and he seems pretty passionate about his response, which to me says that he really feels offended by the comments Thomas has made. Anyway, what do you all care...Williams put a winner together...why are so many of you fans bad-mouthing Williams...shut up and enjoy the Championship, you foolish mortals.
You hit the nail on the head, North Sider...great comments! Thomas was one of the biggest whiners in sports over the past 10-15 years. Good Riddance.
It kills me to here some of the responses bashing Jerry and Kenny. ARE YOU PEOPLE SERIOUS! These guys have bought us something that none of us ever thought could be possible. Someone went as far as to claim Kenny is jealous because Frank was a better player. Kenny had a ring as a player because he played on a TEAM. I am a Frank fan for what he did on the field and it's about time someone stopped one of these spoiled athletes from throwing them under the bus. I applaud Kenny for his loyalty to my favorite organization and for being a man and not a machine. I applaud Jerry for allowing Kenny, and don't think for a minute that Kenny didn't consult Jerry before he went off, for speaking his mind. If you want to judge Frank's character just look at the after effects of Kenny's rant and subsequent conversation between the two men. He isn't even man enough to stand behind his statements claiming he was "misquoted" and national guys are applauding him for taking the high road. I believe I watched him on Sportscenter whining about the way he was treated. Everyone knows Frank doesn't answer the phone in the offseason. What was Kenny supposed to do, fly out to Vegas? I can do this all day but the bottom line is, if I had my choice of guys to go into a dark alley with for a fight, I'd take Kenny because I'd never have to be concerned with whether or not he'd be there if I needed him. He'd stand beside me because he's a man of passion, loyalty and conviction. Frank is so wishy-washy that I would probably stay at home. You never know where he stands.
I think Kenny Williams speaking his mind was a breath of fresh air. He needs not to be scolded but instead congratulated. He won a World Series for crying out loud! Give the man his due and the stage. He deserves it! As far as Frank Thomas is concerned. Yes, he was a great player but a selfish self centered player at that, but still perhaps the only one worth watching for many years. But hey, get over it and move on. Everyone else has.
Jack,
maybe we should refer to you as Jack A--. Which stupid off season moves would you be referring to, resigning paul Koenerko, getting Jim thome, adding Rob mackowiak, or javier Vasquez? You should stay in Cub blogs where you can talk about all the broken down Pitchers the team keeps signing. You don't know Jack!!!!!!!
Let me first say this Frank Thomas was a hero to me when I was growing up and I credit him for making me a White Sox fan. I will admit I am not to familiar with the situation that went on between the two but I do know I will never forget Frank and I thank him for all the good years he brought to the organization. Before the World Series title there wasn't much to brag about but thats what this game is about, ups and downs. I hope Frank finishes his career off with a bash. Frank was a true powerhouse and his numbers show that and I believe he played the game clean when it was being played dirty. Cheers to Frank and the city of Chicago. Im out.(Louisville,Ky)