Come on. Really? You thought White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf would send vice president Ken Williams packing? If you’ve spent any time watching this franchise, then you know the chances of Williams being fired are slim to none.
And if you’re in the market for more pain, the chances of Williams being with the Sox longer than Chris Sale are close to 100 percent.
That’s not to say that the Sox’ ace is going anywhere, just that the franchise is as goofy as ever.
We still don’t know exactly what Williams said to whom in the Adam LaRoche controversy or whether Sale had all the correct information in his possession when he ripped Williams publicly. What we do know is that A) Reinsdorf hates change B) Williams, sometimes a forgotten man publicly, likes to stir it up once in awhile and C) Williams is in control of the operation.
All of it added up to the least surprising news of the year, Reinsdorf’s proclamation Sunday that he has full faith in Williams.
All of us should have known better than to think otherwise.
Look at the Bulls, Reinsdorf’s other business. In 2009, they announced that Gar Forman would be their new general manager, replacing John Paxson, who had been the target of heavy public criticism. Paxson remained with the team as executive vice president of basketball operations. Bulls fans saw it as good news. But what the moves meant, mostly, was that Paxson would still make all the major decisions without having to talk with the media much anymore. There are business titles and press conferences, and then there is reality.
Similarly, in 2012, the Sox promoted Rick Hahn to general manager and gave Williams the title of executive vice president. Williams stayed in the background, but when brush fires flared up, he made it clear he was in charge.
Why do you keep falling for this? Why do you think this is the time Lucy will let you kick the football, Charlie Brown? Because you want to believe it. Maybe Sale thought he could kick Williams into unemployment. Now he knows better too.
