Hey, who knew Kenny Williams had the ability to make a $56 ticket for jaywalking look like a bottle deposit?
If you take the cost of that citation and multiply it by a million or so, that's roughly what Williams spent on his ballclub Monday. J.P. Ricciardi dropped a right fielder in the water, Williams bit, and Ricciardi cut the line.
The result: Alex Rios is a White Sox, and Jerry Reinsdorf is now on the hook for the remainder of Rios' six-year, $69 million contract.
Plus $20,000 for the waiver claim. Again, chump change.
As a fan, I'm thrilled. It's not like ticket/parking/concession prices are going to come down if he doesn't make this move (why do you think I'm watching minor-league games all week?).
As someone who tries to guess along with Williams, I'm nervous. And that makes this like almost every other Williams move. When somebody flies in the face of the industry's status quo, it's always going to feel weird.
The sticking point is simple: Tilt your head and squint, and there isn't a lot separating this deal from the Scott Linebrink signing. Much like when Williams made the industry shake its head by putting the "ink" in "Linebrink" to the tune of four years and $19 million, the Sox are throwing convention wisdom a curve by signing Rios to this six-year deal while he's in the midst of a sizable three-year decline:
2006: .302/.349/.516
2007: .297/.354/.498
2008: .291/.337/.461
2009: .264/.317/.427
You can't extend the comparison much further, thankfully. On the other hand, you can string together the positives to great length:
*At 28, Rios is still in his theoretical prime. He still has his tools, and, unlike Linebrink, he plays a premium position. Two years ago, Darin Erstad was thrown out in center field as a viable solution. This is Williams' official stamp on the position since trading Aaron Rowand.
*It basically makes up for the Nick Swisher trade. While Jeff Marquez and Wilson Betemit are virtually lost causes, at least Williams and Reinsdorf are reallocating money to a player who better suits their needs (although it'd be nice if Rios walked a little more). Hopefully he's more tolerable in the clubhouse.
*Reading the reaction from the Canadian news outlets, it might be easy to understate how much Toronto's management situation is affecting the on-field product. It certainly sounds like a quagmire, and it resulted in the Jays dumping their much more tolerable outfield contract. Vernon Wells remains in center for the Blue Jays with no takers.
In the end, this move eliminates excuses in all directions. Nobody will take White Sox ownership seriously the next time Williams pulls the "50 cents" line. The Sox offense has just one significant hole now (and what offense doesn't?), and Williams made a big step to start shoring up the D. Rios can't hide from the criticism behind mundane Maple Leafs news anymore.
Of course, the lack of excuses amplifies emotions on the other side of the equation, too. If Rios doesn't reverse course enough ... if the tools and defensive metrics can't make up for the drop in the chief offensive numbers ... if he's another Linebrink ... then what?
Williams will cross that bridge when he gets to it. That's probably smart, because nobody has the map he's using, anyway.
