Is there any general manager who has done less with more than Kenny Williams has done in the last 20 months? He inherited a division winner with a low payroll, a core of good young players and a farm system bursting at the seams with talent. Under his watch, the team has shed talent like my wife’s cat Ashley sheds hair, while adding payroll and bad players like an Angelos on speed.
The ESPN.com version of the wire story has the headline “White Sox send Durham to Athletics for prospect, cash.” Um, no. Jon Adkins is 24, and had a career minor-league ERA of 4.13 coming into this season, during which he’s been lit up in Sacramento, with an ERA that would fit neatly above the median for the Texas Rangers and peripheral numbers that do not hold much promise. Maybe Adkins will be the one guy in a thousand who breaks the mold and turns into a legitimate quality major leaguer. It’s not likely, but you have to root for the guy.