Well, except for Cub Nation. 
Posted on 11/30/2005 12:27:19 PM PST by Nachum
CHICAGO -- The sheer and utter perfection found by the White Sox during their championship 2005 campaign now has been extended into the offseason.
General manager Ken Williams and his staff entered this particular period with two major goals in mind: Re-sign free agent first baseman Paul Konerko and add a left-handed power presence to the middle of the White Sox order. The second goal was accomplished first, with the acquisition of designated hitter Jim Thome from Philadelphia.
But the offseason's most important moment played out for the White Sox on Wednesday, as Konerko and the team agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract. Konerko reportedly received a more lucrative offer from Baltimore, at $65 million over five years, but anyone who knows the way Konerko operates understands that money was far from the most crucial issue in the negotiations.
Konerko wanted to play for a championship-caliber team, which the White Sox certainly figure to be once again in 2006 -- as did the Angels, the third and final suitor in the Konerko sweepstakes, a team Konerko visited Tuesday. He also wanted to, at the very least, train somewhere close to his Scottsdale, Ariz., home, after his first son was born during the World Series.
Chicago holds Spring Training in Tucson, just two hours away from Scottsdale, while the Angels train minutes away in Tempe. The Orioles set up Spring Training in Florida.
All things being equal, Konerko figured to return to the team he helped make history with in 2005.
Konerko became the team leader both on the field, through his .283 average, 40 home runs and 100 RBIs, and off the field, with his cool and calm demeanor in the clubhouse. It was Konerko who constantly reminded the media and the White Sox fans during the team's struggles in September that once the team clinched the American League Central and removed that burden from its collective shoulders, he felt it would be a group with a new focus in the postseason.
An 11-1 playoff run and the franchise's first World Series title since 1917 proved Konerko to be on the money.
Konerko earned $8.75 million in 2005, the final season of a three-year, $23 million deal. He also picked up a $75,000 bonus for winning the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player award. With 81 home runs and 217 RBIs over the last two years, not to mention only one sub-par season out of seven on the South Side, Konerko spoke before the White Sox championship parade in late October of how he earned this free agency right and how he was prepared to handle this period in the right way -- the manner in which he has handled everything else in his career.
At that point, though, Konerko couldn't pinpoint what he was looking for, in regard to a key selling point for his next contract.
"I'm a big, 'If it's not broke, don't fix it' guy,'" Konerko said before boarding the bus for the parade. "It certainly isn't broke here. We have a great team, a bunch of great people and it's a great organization. I love working for [manager] Ozzie [Guillen], and [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] run a great ship here.
After handing the baseball used to record the World Series' final out to Reinsdorf at the rally following the parade, it seemed as if Konerko was destined to stay with the White Sox. That destiny was fulfilled Wednesday.
Konerko ranks fourth in the American League in home runs over the last two years and joined Frank Thomas as the only two players in White Sox history to hit 40 home runs in back-to-back seasons. Konerko's signing, coupled with Thome's acquisition, means an all-but-official end to Thomas' 16-year-tenure with the White Sox.
"If you are talking about a scenario where Paul, Jim and Frank are all under contract at the same point, that's a difficult mix to get them all enough at-bats and to keep them all sharp and productive," said assistant general manager Rick Hahn of the likelihood that Thomas would return with Konerko and Thome.
Thomas, Carl Everett and catcher Raul Casanova are the three remaining White Sox free agents. None are expected to be offered arbitration.
whew.
Damn.
Frustrated Angel's Fan,
SCR
Hopefully he continues to play at the same level for the White Sox and doesn't pull a Beltran (awesome postseason, lackluster regular season to follow). He had several great seasons recently and his post-season performance was clutch.
Well, except for Cub Nation.
I am now ready to relax and enjoy the off season. This is a big relief.
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