Williams: 'We're Better Than This'
CHICAGO (CBS) White Sox general manager Ken Williams has often preached "Chicago toughness" to his players.
But, with his team sitting four games under .500 after 80 games, he thinks his team is lacking that quality right now.
"No we do not," Williams said Wednesday when asked if his team had "Chicago toughness." "There are individuals that certainly bring that every day but as a whole I think we are licking our wounds a little too much. At some point you need to say, 'The hell with it.' And whatever you've done up to this point in the season you have to wipe it away and get after it.
"We have a chance to still win this thing; so the individual numbers at the end of the day may not be what they want them to be or what they are accustomed to them being, but we still have a chance collectively to have a celebration at the end of the year. And I would like the focus to be more on that and less on the individual numbers. But you know, it's hard to look up at that scoreboard and see numbers you are not used to seeing when you are players who have achieved quite a bit in this league. I get that, but what I get also is that it's time. It's time to wipe that away because we are better than this."
Listen: Ken Williams talks to reporters Wednesday
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Williams spoke to reporters Wednesday at the Double Duty Classic at U.S. Cellular Field meaning he is not in Colorado with the team. That brought up the question about how often he and manager Ozzie Guillen talk, especially when the White Sox are on the road.
"There's no schedule when we talk. It's just as things come up," Williams said. "We used to talk a lot more than we do now, but I think it's because we know each other's feelings. I don't have to call Ozzie Guillen to know that he was upset last night. He doesn't have to call me. He's knows that. Now if there are other issues that we need to take care of then of course we communicate on a regular basis. But in situations like that, we kind of stay away from each other."
