All the buzz before SoxFest last weekend at the Palmer House Hilton downtown was whether Jim Thome was going to don the black and white uniform again for the South Siders next season. It would have whipped the White Sox faithful at the annual fan convention into a mad frenzy if Thome walked as out the newest member of the Sox.

But, after a brief Kabuki dance with skipper Ozzie Guillen and General Manager Ken Williams, Thome went elsewhere and will now swing his big stick with the Twins next year.

Make no mistake, it was Ozzie’s decision to let Thome walk. It’s rare that a general manager would defer such a decision to the field general, but that’s what Williams did. And now it will be Guillen’s neck in the noose if the Sox don’t score runs next season.

I don’t think Williams was afraid to take the chance. He likes Thome. A lot of the players on the club like Thome. The fans love Gentleman Jim. Hell, I think even Ozzie likes Thome, but he just doesn’t fit into Guillen’s philosophy as to what a designated hitter should be.

Guillen’s plan is go with DH by committee. Who’s got the hot bat? Who’s going to match up best with the opponent’s starting pitcher? Who needs a day off from the field? The days of a giant slugger who can’t take the field at all will not be a part of the White Sox squad under Guillen’s new team. Guillen wants options.

Thome brings a big bat on the left side. He also eats a roster spot while sitting on the bench all season, except when he strides to the plate. He also clogs the basepaths. These are the attributes in which Guillen now detests in a designated hitter. He wants everybody on the roster to be able to play baseball on any given day.

Thome could have fit in well with the Sox next year. The Sox are losing a lot of power without Thome or Jermaine Dye. But for the last 25 or 30  years now, Sox fans have expected to see a likeness of a softball team take the field each night - sit around and wait for the home run. Well, Ozzie wants to change all that.

Now, Ozzie has got guys like Andruw Jones, Omar VIzquel and Mark Kotsay to play with in the lineup. These guys can play the field and still swing the stick. No doubt guys like Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin will need nights off from fielding duties, and Guillen has the guys who can fill those spots.

It will be interesting to see how it all works out. I don’t know if there has been a trend in the American League to try DH by committee, but Guillen seems to think it is the new wave of AL ball.

That’s why Thome will not fit in with the 2010 White Sox. With that being said, I think just about any lineup is going to benefit with Thome’s bat in it.

It looks White Sox brass has finally ended talks with Scott Podsednik on a permanent basis - at least when it concerns the 2010 season - since General Manager Kenny Williams acquired Juan Pierre from the Dodgers in a trade last week.

Pods had a nice season with the Sox last year. Who knows where the offense would have been without him. But he wanted more years and more money than the Sox were offering, so Williams and company went elsewhere.

The problem is although Pods had a nice season last year, he never in his career stayed healthy for five straight month like last season. He isn’t a very good fielder, and he can really kill a rally while running the bases.

Sure he is known as a speedy guy on the basepaths, and is an aggressive runner. Well, he will tell you he’s aggressive. I’d say he’s downright reckless at times.

He’s a nice player to have on your team, but as I said before, he is unreliable because of his history with injury.

I don’t begrudge Pods holding out. He had a very good year last year, and at age 34, I’m sure he’s thinking he won’t be offered too many more jobs. When your legs are your best asset, and you’re approaching your mid-30s, that asset isn’t going to be very special for much longer.

I think Williams made a nice move by getting Pierre here. He’s got a good track record of health, and he can cover more ground than Podsednik in left field. Plus he doesn’t prance around the outfield like Peter Pan as Pods was apt to do.

There were other names bandied about to take Scott’s place, but I think this move is clearly the best of the options I heard.

I will take Pierre over Coco Crisp and his mediocre batting average any day. I’ll take Pierre over Brett Gardner, if only Pierre has proved more as a Major Leaguer. Gardner might be a longer-term solution than Pierre, but I think the Sox are looking for Jordan Danks to make this squad in the next year or two to fill both an outfield spot and the leadoff batter roll.

Pierre had his best year in a long time with the Dodgers in 2009, playing in 145 games and averaging .308. He’s consistently been at the top of the majors when it comes to sacrifice hits and he knows how to bunt - which skipper Ozzie Guillen is going to love.

He isn’t the best at stealing bases, but I think I’d rather see good, aggressive base running than having a lot of stolen bases.

Not only can Sox fans get excited about watching him play this summer, they also can congratulate Kenny Williams for convincing the Dodgers to pay $10.5 million of his $18.5 million due during the next two seasons. Way to go Kenny!

Oh, and Sox fans, don’t listen to Cubs fans neighbors who will try to convince you Pierre’s a bum. They couldn’t wait to see him go after the 2006 season. All he did  that year was lead the majors in hits, played every single game, batted .292 and drove in 40 runs from the leadoff spot. I’ll take that bum if you don’t want him.

It’s easy to see that White Sox GM Kenny Williams and the rest of the front office has cast aside it “youth movement” that it touted during last year’s offseason, as the team signed Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones last week.

These acquisitions, combined with the Mark Kotsay signing, clearly show the Sox brass has switched its philosophy this year when considering how to build the team’s bench for the next campaign. Instead of trying out youngsters in the farm system, the Sox have added guys who have many miles on their legs and plenty of experience under their belts.

Earlier I wrote how displeased and puzzled I was about the Vizquel rumors, but now I see how it fits this new philosophy. Instead of bringing up young guys you don’t have to pay, you sign old guys you don’t have to pay.

There is one big difference, however, when bringing on veterans to fill your bench - they’ve been there, done that and know how to do it again.

As much fun as it is watching young players come up to the big leagues, go through their growing pains and blossom as professional ballplayers, there is something to be said about experience.

There is also another commonality between these three vets the Sox have acquired - they are very versatile. Jones is guy who can play both corners of the outfield, and might still have enough get-up-and-go to patrol center on occasion. Vizquel can play both middle infield spots and third base. Kotsay is the obvious choice for back-up first baseman and can play corner outfield positions. Kotsay might even spell as a DH every now and then if he’s on a hot streak.

These moves might also help some of the farm system guys in the long run. All three were signed to one-year contracts, giving the young guys an opportunity to play minor league ball every night. If they made the big leagues, they certainly would have the reps or plate appearances to really improve on a nightly basis.

These three signings aren’t going to set the White Sox on fire in 2010, but they do give the White Sox a flexible, strong, powerful and experienced bench, which isn’t a terrible thing.

There are still plenty of holes to fill on this roster, and I’m sure Kenny Williams isn’t through yet.

There are some horrifying rumors floating around that White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams is looking to sign Omar Vizquel to a one-year contract with the club, and I’m thinking if this is a runaway train-type Internet rumor or a another Williams smokescreen?

I don’t think its a BS rumor, as both newspapers in town are reporting it as fact, and one paper quoted Skipper Ozzie Guillen as saying he’s personally talked to Vizquel about the possibility. Newspaper reporters here in Chicago are pretty good at spying a garbage rumor and ignoring it.

Vizquel played 62 games last year for the Rangers, so it’s obvious to me the Sox would sign him to make their bench deeper. He can play three infield positions, and with Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham and Mark Teahen with seemingly secure jobs for 2010, it’s the only explanation.

So why clog up a roster spot with a 43-year-old veteran instead of trying out some of your younger talent? What does this say about some of the younger talent like Tyler Flowers or Jordan Danks or Dayan Viciedo? What is Jayson Nix’s future with the White Sox? Does Nix hold any value as trade bait if they make this signing?

Vizquel’s accomplishments as a Major Leaguer are well known, and quite impressive. The Sox would be signing an 11-time Gold Glove shortstop and a three-time All-Star. He could be a valuable mentor to Ramirez and Beckham, and he is known as a stabilizing clubhouse presence.

If the Sox are looking for a mentor, wouldn’t he serve the team better as a coach? Isn’t there someone on the coaching staff who could be a mentor to those two just as effectively without taking up a roster spot?

Let me think. What coach on the White Sox staff played a mean middle infield position, was a stabilizing clubhouse presence and knows how to win ball games? There must be somebody.

Oh wait! There is. Ozzie fricking Guillen!

Now maybe it’s not cool for a manager to be a mentor, as it might offend the fragile egos of some other players. But I’ll bet Guillen could be a mentor like that crazy Kung Fu geezer from Kill Bill who kicks your ass every time he sees you, just to take you down a peg and let you know who, exactly, the master is.

Looking from the outside of the relationship you might think to yourself, “Man, is he hard on them,” but if you’re in it, you’d know the mentor deeply loves his apprentices.

This just seems like an odd signing by a team that has emitted a yearning to get “younger and more athletic.” My fear is that the “younger and more athletic” mantra really means “getting guys for less money.”

The 2009 baseball season has been put to bed as of Wednesday night, and the Chicago White Sox have wasted no time in making a deal with the Kansas City Royals.

General Manager Kenny Williams has sent Josh Fields and Chris Getz packing to bring in Mark Teahen.I’m not surprised to see Fields traded away, but I think the Sox are giving up a bit too much in this deal by sending Getz along with him.

As a rookie, Getz played a serviceable second base, and I suspect his defense will improve as he get more playing time in the Big Leagues. He also showed a good amount of speed on the bases, which Williams and skipper Ozzie Guillen have pined for in recent years.

Fields does not fit in with the current White Sox. With the meteoric rise of Gordon Beckham, and the addition of Mark Kotsay (who agreed to a one-year with the Sox on the same day), Fields is man without a home on Chicago’s South Side. I think could develop into an everyday Major Leaguer, but he can’t keep striking out one out of every three at-bats and hope to keep a steady job.

Meanwhile, the Sox get a fairly mediocre player in Teahen, whose production has significantly dropped since he had his career year back in 2006 when he hit. 290 with a career-high 18 dingers and 69 RBI. Last year, his average improved to .271 from 2008, knocked a dozen balls out the park and drove in a scant 50 base runners.

It will be interesting to see what Guillen decides to do with Teahen. He can play third base, or right field. If you consider this trade, and the Kotsay signing, it’s easy to conclude that Jermaine Dye’s days with the White Sox are over.

If Guillen puts Teahen in right, your 2010 White Sox outfield looks like this: Carlos Quentin in left, Alex Rios in center, and Teahen in right. For a team with defensive woes in 2009, this is not a very comforting outfield. In fact its frightening.

Or, Guillen could put Teahen at third, move Beckham to his natural position at shortstop, and put Alexei Ramirez back at second base.

A third possibility is that Teahen gives Guillen another guy on the roster with a lot of flexibility to play around with his lineup. He can put Teahen in the outfield or third, as well as play around with Kotsay at right and first base.

I don’t like that scenario, as I would rather see Guillen keep other players at regular positions, especially Beckham. Beckham is guy who will need stability at one position to be an effective defensive player.

In all, this trade doesn’t excite me. I would have rather waited to see what Chris Getz can give you next year, as the arrow seems to be pointing up with him. Teahen on the other hand, at age 28, is what he is - a jack-of-all-trades with a mediocre bat.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of Williams’ work this offseason.

The 2009 Chicago White Sox are finally dead and buried, but the fact is this team’s heart stopped beating a long time ago.

That rotten road trip in late August which took them to Boston, New York and Minneapolis is what killed them. They played terrible ball on that trip and came away with just a couple of wins. The Sox never played well after that. It gives me rot gut, since the Tigers did everything they could to give away the division, and the Sox weren’t able to capitalize on it.

The Sox were also just short of playing the spoiler during the last series in Detroit over the past weekend. They won just enough games to send Jim Leyland’s crew packing for another game in the Metrodome this afternoon.

Coincidentally, the Sox hosted the Tigers late last season for a makeup game to see if the southsiders could tie the Twins to force a play-in game. The Tigers looked like they wanted to be on the beach, or the golf course, or even the gym - anywhere but U.S Cellular Field that night. The Sox beat them badly, then squeaked by the Twins and then damn near got swept by the eventual American League champion Rays.

Yes, that season ended much more favorably than this year.

As I write this obituary for the 2009 White Sox, I  feel a sense of relief that the season is over. A summer spent following mediocre baseball is not a lot of fun. This team never hit on all cylinders, with the exception of about a two week stretch entering the All-Star break.

The back end of the rotation was a mess. Hitting was inconsistent. This team played the field exceptionally poorly all year long.

In some ways it what I had expected. But seriously, this squad did not play to its potential. They could have played much better. This is a team in transition, and it will be again next year. But I believe next year they will have more to work with than they did this season. Those musings are for another day, however.

Someday soon, I have the sense that I will look back on this season with hate and rage, but for now there is a sense of calm and relief. I won’t have to watch this team play again, and there is a good five months before spring training gets started. Time to take a break and try to enjoy postseason baseball.

Although the White Sox have improved their play since the disastrous road trip in late August, the team continues to struggle offensively and play mediocre ball. They’ve won six of their last 10 games, and have two more to go on their current West Coast road trip. Then it’s back home for a nine-game stand against Kansas City, Minnesota and Detroit. They wrap up the season at Cleveland and Detroit.

So, the Sox sit 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Detroit, with six games left to play against them. They get three shots at Minnesota at home - a team they trail by a game.

Those numbers tell me they have an outside shot at winning the division. Consider Detroit has won just two of their last eight games, and the Twins are beaten up, and that outside chance gets a little bit better.

It sucks, because if the Sox didn’t go 3-8 during that late August road trip, they would have much more than outside shot at winning the division. The players tried to downplay the story that the trip would make or break the season, but it looks like that’s what has happened.

The Sox have been pitching better. Freddy Garcia has pitched well after a few rough starts when he initially returned. I think the Sox have to really consider picking up his option next season. And Jake Peavy will make his long-awaited and delayed debut this weekend against the Royals. I think it’s a safe bet to say he will be an upgrade to Carlos Torres, even though Peavy hasn’t faced major league hitters in four months or so.

The Sox have even been playing better defense. Adding Mark Kotsay for spot starts in the outfield has helped, and Gordon Beckham has made great strides in his defense at third base. He made a nice play last night going to his right, which is a very encouraging sign. He’s had a lot of trouble making those plays in the past, and it looks like he might have gotten a good tip or two to improve in that aspect.

Really what has killed the Sox lately is their hitting. Jermaine Dye has continued to struggle. You can see he is just missing the ball, either hitting below it, or a little late. The Jermaine Dye I’m used to seeing doesn’t miss like that often, so it’s disappointing to see him hit the way he has lately.

Carlos Quentin has also been disappointing. I know he still hasn’t fully recovered from his injury, but he needs to get better at the plate.

The real big bust has been Alex Rios. Since he’s come to the South Side, he’s batting .144 in 25 games. That isn’t going to get the job done. What’s more discouraging is reading quotes from him the newspaper about his struggles.

“I guess the offseason can be a good thing,” he was quoted saying in yesterday’s paper. “I will be able to just wipe things away and get a fresh start, just simplify things.”

The offseason? Are you serious Alex? This team needs him to start hitting the ball a lot better, like yesterday.

Consider this - since Rios has come to the Sox on Aug. 10, the team has dropped six one-run games. I don’t know it Rios played in all six of those games, but if he played in half of them and contributed the way he is capable of doing, perhaps the Sox win a few of them, and find themselves say three or four games back.

Kotsay has been swinging the bat well, and I hope he finds himself in the lineup more often than Rios. It’s hard to bench a guy who has 10 RBI in the last nine games. I also like A.J. Pierzynski batting the three spot. He has hit well there.

There are 17 games left on the schedule, so the clock is ticking quickly on the ‘09 season. It would be nice if the Sox found a way to hit better down the stretch and won the division. Even if they fall short, Sox fans can look toward football season with a glimmer of hope for next year.

The storyline for the 2009 Chicago White Sox has quickly turned into a disaster film, and it looks like even General Manager Kenny Williams has accepted that fact.

Embarrassing isn’t the word I would use to describe the trip to Boston and New York. That’s much too generous. It was baseball at the worst I’ve seen in a long time. 

When you have more errors than hits - like in Saturday’s game - it’s more than embarrassing. It’s downright sickening.

So WIlliams has raised the white flag, trading Jim Thome late last night. Roll credits, fade to black.

It’s sad to see Thome go, if nothing other than he is really something else to watch each night. There are few hitters like him. So what if he was hitting a mediocre .260 or so, and he might reach 30 home runs this season. He is a true professional and it is a pleasure to watch him work.

Thome’s swing isn’t exactly the prettiest, but it is a true display of power. He also works pitchers brilliantly. Rarely does he swing at bad pitches, like many power hitters do. And even though he sees the “Thome shift” each night, he doesn’t change a thing in his approach. He is a straight pull hitter and he can beat the shift. He’s not going the other way. He’s going to find a pitch he can pull and drive it hard. What fun!

It’s also nice to see a pro athlete carry himself with the grace and class that Thome has shown throughout his career. It’s a rarity.

The way I see the trade is that the White Sox got something for Thome instead of letting him go at the end of the season for nothing, especially now that the division is out of reach. There was no way the Sox were going to sign him again. Big deal if you got a minor league infielder for a future Hall of Famer. You got something when you would otherwise get nothing.

The sad thing is to hear Dodgers General Manager Ned Coletti talk about how Thome is just going to come off the bench from now until October, and possibly beyond. Thome’s far too talented to let him sit on the bench and get, at most, one at-bat a game. Of course Big Jim can’t play first base anymore, but it’s sad to think of him sitting in the dugout each night, waiting and hoping that he can grab a bat and take a few swings.

He’ll get signed next year, though, and most likely join the 600 club. Good for you Jim.

No, I wasn’t surprised to hear Thome had been dealt. I was shocked to see someone take a flier on Jose Contreras, though. Good luck Colorado, and beware Rockies fans.

I nearly puked while watching the White Sox give away a game last night to the BoSox in Fenway. What a brutal way to lose a game. A poor fielding decision by Jayson Nix lead to a run on a double steal, while a botched fielding play by Jose Contreras with two outs in the third led to six unearned runs. Top it off with a performance by Octavio Dotel who threw with a rubber arm, and you get a 12-8 loss.

It drove me to drink. Perhaps that’s why I wanted to puke, but watching that poor excuse of a baseball performance didn’t help.

It was especially distressing since the White Sox put in a mediocre home stand leading up to the Boston trip. Going 3-3 against teams like the Royals and the Orioles is no way to gear up for a tough road trip. Consider that this 11-game road trip includes stops in New York and the dreaded Metrodome. It would have been nice to have a dominating home stand against cupcake teams leading up to this vicious travel schedule.

The White Sox also have the habit of playing to their competition lately. Invite the Angels and the Yankees to your home stadium, and watch this White Sox squad pound the bejeezus out of them. Take on the Royals, Indians or Orioles, and watch them lay an egg.

This fact gave me a little hope that the Sox could escape this road trip with minimal damage, but if they continue to play like they did last night, well, they’ll limp home if they’re lucky. They could be shipped back to the South Side in a body bag.

Things don’t look good for tonight’s matchup either, as Freddy Garcia takes the bump. We’ll have to see if he has anything left in the tank. The last two pitching matchups of this Boston series seem to be in the White Sox favor, however. With any luck, and a little heads-up fielding, the Sox should be able to leave Boston with a split.

At least we won’t see Jose Contreras any time soon. ChiSox skipper Ozzie Guillen said Contreras will be relegated to bullpen duties, and Jake Peavy will likely take his spot in the rotation while the team visits New York.

I don’t expect to see The Jake Peavy any time soon, but if he can give the Sox a solid five, maybe six innings in his first few starts it will be an improvement from what we’ve seen from the back end of the rotation.

With any luck, Peavy could help the Sox win three, maybe four, games they wouldn’t have won without him between now and the end of the season. As the Sox trail the Tigers by three games in the division, those few games could be crucial.

But the Sox have to quit gift wrapping games like they did last night, or it won’t matter who’s pitching, and I’ll probably have my head in the toilet bowl a lot more often.

So it’s come to this. Sweaty Freddy Garcia makes his White Sox reprise tonight, as the team struggles to find more than three reliable starters in their rotation.

Who knows what to expect from Garcia? Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen warned the fans in today’s papers that Garcia’s not the same guy we saw back in 2005 when he helped lead the team to a World Series championship, but Guillen still expects Garcia to be effective.

Garcia’s made a few minor league starts, and the most encouraging thing is that he’s walked only batter in those four or five starts.

“Maybe (minor leaguers) swing more,” he was quoted as saying in today’s papers.

Perhaps that’s true, but so long as Freddy throws strikes and the defense doesn’t nap tonight, maybe he can get a win against the Royals.

And what better way to boost the man’s confidence than put him up against the Royals (No offense Mike).

The Sox desperately need a fourth guy to step up before Jake Peavy can return from his injury and give the team four or five starts next month. Jose Contreras can’t get out of the fourth inning these days, Clayton Richard is gone, and did Bartolo Colon ever really show up this year?

The Garcia move is a desperate measure, but that’s where the White Sox are right now. They’re lucky to trail the division-leading Tigers by just two games, considering they have only three reliable starters and a poor defense. Some late-inning heroics at the plate have saved this team from a few losses lately, but how long can Sox hitters keep that up?

Meanwhile, no one wants to take the division by the horns. The Tigers can’t win on the road and the Twins have failed to make any traction. So the White Sox, scraping and scrapping, have been able to keep their heads above water.

If only this team could beat their division rivals regularly, they’d be in much better shape.

They really need a strong home stand to make up some ground as they face the Royals and the Orioles this week. Then it’s off to Boston to start an 11-game road trip, when they’ll also face the Yankees, Twins, and make one up against the northsiders. That’s one tough road trip - not counting that last game.