The Snap-Back

Obviously, I still love baseball, but I have come to a sharp realization.

What the White Sox need to do, in order to improve their baseball club, is to fire the best General Manager and Field Manager the club has ever had. Right now.

Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen both have to be replaced in order for the White Sox to change their history. Now, I like Kenny Williams and like Ozzie, both have been mainstays for the White Sox over the past 10 years, both were largely responsible for the '05 title and both are, like I said, the best that the Sox have ever had at their respective positions. But they both have to be fired.

With the failure of 2009 behind them, the 2010 White Sox set out to remake themselves into a more versatile ballclub. Out went Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik. In came Juan Pierre, Mark Teahen and Andruw Jones. Bad was replaced with worse under a misguided notion that the White Sox were going to be a faster ballteam. Faster, yes. Better, no. The saga of the 2010 White Sox has been the feud between Kenny and Ozzie about one Jim Thome (or a larger disagreement about an everyday DH player).

Plain and simple: Ozzie was wrong about not wanting a slugger DH. Kenny was wrong to not put his footdown and force a DH on Ozzie.

Ozzie's job is to make requests and talk to the GM. It's the GM's job to give the manager what he needs, even if that differs from what he wants.

The 2010 White Sox have, as of tonight, lost 15 one run games. 15 one run games. Too many nights (tonight's game against the Tigers (Porcello vs. Jackson) being the perfect example).

Kenny's model of trading for damaged players with something to prove (Quentin, Thome), fallen prospects (Floyd, Danks, Jenks, Teahen) or just plan old (Andruw Jones, Ken Griffey Jr, Juan Pierre) only works until August. And then it invariably goes to pot. I know, I know, I know everyone's going to yell, "'05! '08!" Well, in '05 they did the exact same thing, pissed it all down their leg in August. It was only that the AL Central was so bad that year that the White Sox held the division lead. And 2008 is rather hollow, the fun of that season was beating the Twins in Game 163 (The Blackout). But you know what? Teams that suck play 163 games to determine division winners. Not good, World Series contending teams. Those teams (the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Rangers and usually Angels) all kick your ass in 162 games.

Also, Kenny's last phenomenal trade was the Danks-for-McCarthy swap in 2007. The list since then (Jake Peavy, Nick Swisher [TWICE!!!!!], Mark Teahen)....bad.

Ozzie's issues are well documented and need no further expounding here. The fundamental flaw in his baseball theory is that big, lumbering sluggers are bad. No, they are not. Get as many of them as you can, or at least have one.

Anyone who watched the MLBNetwork's, "The Club" knows that at minimum, Kenny and Ozzie love the White Sox and love Jerry Reinsdorf. That's fine. But you know what? I don't want my GM and my Manager to love my team. That's my job. I'm the one, as a fan, who loves them through and despite their glaring faults, weaknesses, ugly moments, stupidity, glory, pain, agony and ecstasy. That's the fans job, not the job of those in charge of the organization.

Kenny and Ozzie deserve to be fired for their lack of foresight, inability to get along with each other, ignorance of the bounds of their job and (both of them) for their big mouths.

That pains me to say/type, because they are (in tandem and separately) the best GM, Manager and combination GM/Manager the Chicago White Sox have ever had.