Inside the White Sox

Excuse Ken Williams if he’s about to go Billy Bob Thornton and turn “Bad Santa’’ these days.

After all, how many kicks in the stomach can the White Sox general manager endure this offseason?

First, there was losing out on free agent outfielder Torii Hunter on a $90-million bid from nowhere by the Angels.

Then during the Winter Meetings, a package for Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera was trumped by the division-rival Detroit Tigers.

Now, despite bidding more for Kosuke Fukudome than other any team in the running, the Japanese free agent outfielder chose the four-year deal of the cross-town rival Cubs.

According to a source with the Sox, they were told by Fukudome’s agent, Joe Urbon, that despite the higher bid by the Sox, the reasoning behind the decision was that Fukudome wanted to be an organization’s first Japanese player, as well as his desire to play his natural position of right field.

The Sox had him penciled in as a left fielder, and have already had two Japanese players on their roster in Shingo Takatsu and Tadahito Iguchi. Another factor was that Fukudome is friends with pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa, who gave him an endorsement as far as Cubs manager Lou Piniella.

So now what?

After he’s done punching a few more walls, it would seem that Williams has to have a serious sit-down with free agent outfielder Aaron Rowand and his people.

Money has not been an issue in the preliminary discussions, as much as the number of years. The Sox want a four-year deal, while Rowand wants five.

But with Boston outfielder Coco Crisp still in limbo because of the trade talks for Twins pitcher Johan Santana and the Red Sox, Rowand and the Sox are starting to need each other a lot more than they were two weeks ago.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The White Sox selected right-hander Santo Luis from the Houston Astros today in the Class AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings.

Luis, 23, went 2-3 with a 4.66 ERA, nine saves and 99 strikeouts with Class A Lexington in 2007. He averaged 11.8 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and limited opponents to a .228 (66-290) average.

Luis, who is 6-5 and 205 pounds, has gone 10-13 with a 3.45 ERA, 247 strikeouts and 22 saves over four minor-league seasons in the Astros organization.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If there were any thoughts that the White Sox would look to add to the starting rotation, general manager Ken Williams put that to rest on Wednesday.

Asked about entering the season with John Danks and Gavin Floyd in the backend of his starting rotation, Williams responded, “Well, they’re in the back-end of the rotation now, but in 29 other rooms around the building right here these are two guys that everyone would want, and most people in the industry view as top-of-the-rotation guys. Our pitching is not going to be a problem this year. We’ll be fine in that area.’’

As far as lefty Gio Gonzalez jumping one of them this spring, Williams wouldn’t bet on that.

“[Gonzalez is] in a better position than last year in terms of his maturity level and progress, but he’s going to be behind John Danks and Gavin Floyd,’’ he said. “Gavin Floyd showed us last year that he’s ready for full-time big-league work, so did John Danks. The only reason that John Danks at the end of the season did not pitch the last few weeks is because we knew what we had.

“We know what we have there and we wanted to see that in Gavin Floyd so we could take the next step with both of them.’’

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By Joe Cowley Staff Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – All is quiet surrounding the White Sox camp as noon came and went here in Nashville, and that could be a good thing.

Manager Ozzie Guillen has already left the building, headed back to Florida, while general manager Ken Williams is taking a deep breath and getting back to work on making his revamped big board come to life once again through the disappointment of losing out on Torii Hunter and now Miguel Cabrera.

There are whispers that the Sox spoke to a few teams about third baseman Joe Crede, but talk was as far as it has reached at this point.

One name that did catch the Sox’ attention was Toronto outfielder Alex Rios being on the market, but the Jays – like the Sox – are invested in a payroll that screams “win now’’ and the cost for Rios is a major-league starter that has a track record. In other words, there’s no real match considering the Sox already have two question marks in the starting rotation with John Danks and Gavin Floyd.

Williams will meet with the media once again early this evening, but the silence surrounding the Sox would make it seem that there will be little to report. Or maybe, just maybe, this is the silence before the storm. Unlikely.

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By Joe Cowley Staff Writer

NASHVILLE – It’s been a nice little credo for the past seven years or so, but “under the radar’’ is easier said than done for general manager Ken Williams these days.

Private negotiations with free agent outfielder Torii Hunter gone public were the latest examples of that.

But spending the next four days in what can only be described as the cavernous Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Williams will not only have what seems like miles of land to pull off his latest covert operations, but plenty of trees and bushes to hide behind in what can best be described as a make-shift Hillbilly Rain Forest.

Already acquiring outfielder Carlos Quentin from the Arizona Diamondbacks this afternoon, Williams’ tinkering with the outfield isn’t finished. The Sox are now rumored to be “heavy players’’ in the free agent sweepstakes to land Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome.

The Japanese media in attendance have described the left-handed hitting Fukudome as a cross between Ichiro and Kaz Matsui, able to play center field or the corners. The problem? He is still weighing a decision on staying in Japan to play or going Prince Akeem and “Coming to America.’’

Time is a luxury, however, the Sox do not have, still waiting to see what happens with Boston outfielder Coco Crisp in the Johan Santana rumors, as well as deciding if they want to up the years for free agent Aaron Rowand and starting negotiations with their former center fielder.

One thing is for sure, though. At least Williams will have plenty of room to operate this week.

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