Does this man to the left look crazy? I never used to think he was. While I didn't think he was a great GM, I always kind of respected Kenny Williams of the ChiSox because he said what he was thinking and was a colorful guy. He wasn't boring, he wasn't one of those GMs who never said anything of substance. He was a cool dude, in my opinion. And hey, he won a World Series in 2005 so he'll have credibility for life in baseball circles.

Which is the only reason his comments yesterday could possibly have been accepted.

Kenny Williams denies it, but he basically traded for Griffey because he's always wanted him and he's running the White Sox like some of my idiot friends play fantasy baseball. That is, by operating under the principle of Big Name = Great Player. People, and sadly Ken Williams is included in this, tend to be star-struck by iconic names... and Ken Griffey, Jr. is an iconic name.

This is one of the best players in the history of the game. At his peak, I think you can make the argument that he was the best we've ever seen (by "we" I mean us new-age blogger types). His numbers were astounding, his defense was jaw-dropping and he apparently did it alal "clean."

And Kenny Williams sure hopes he still can. Because he's planning to play Griff in center field.

This is dumb on a lot of levels. South Side Sox feels it will destroy the season. Yikes.

But getting back to Williams' comments, here's what he said:

"Center field is actually the easiest of the outfield positions to play from a health perspective. I know that doesn't sound right because you've got to go a lot of left and right, but trust me, it's a little easier to play center field."

Um, no. No, sir. No, Kenny, you're wrong. Or maybe you're a genius and every single other baseball person ever is wrong.

See, CF requires more dexterity, more speed, more ability to track down balls thn the other two spots. That's why Barry Bonds played left and not center. And that's why guys like Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle would have been wasted in a corner spot. It's not easier. That's why Griffey stopped playing there in 2006.

Last year was the first year he didn't miss significant time due to injury, after having done so in each of the six previous years. Usually leg injuries. Which, you know, happen when you run a lot. Like when you're playing center field. Just saying.

More Dumb-Dumb Talk

Out in L.A., where the Dodgers completely won out by getting Manny Ramirez for very little -- and not having to pay him -- more idiocy popped up:

In addition to monitoring Ramirez's personality, Torre must find a way to best utilize what is an already crowded outfield. Ramirez will be the Dodgers' everyday left fielder and could bat third, fourth or fifth, Torre said. "We certainly didn't plan in advance how to move the pieces around," Torre said. "That makes you yearn for the DH."

Why, Joe? Because you don't want to take at-bats away from Andruw Jones, the guy hitting .163 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs on the season? Seriously? Jones is a joke and is having the most embarrassing season imaginable.

The other "veteran outfielder" you keep hearing mentioned as having to have playing time found for him is Juan Pierre. Juan Pierre, who has 74 singles, 9 doubles, 1 triple, zero home runs and 24 scoreboard-smashing RBIs. Juan Pierre, whose OPS+ is 69. 69! That's terrible. (Well, Andruw Jones' OPS+ is 33 -- chew on that.)

No, there's no "crowded outfield." Pierre and Jones are stealing money from the Dodgers. Why sacrifice the season just to make them earn their pay? There's no way they can earn it -- they've proven that -- and to continue playing them is to flush your season down the toilet.

Why am I talking about the White Sox and Dodgers so much? Because stupidity makes me mad and there are obvious answers to all these silly questions. And this isn't 1996, so acquiring Ken Griffey isn't the coup Ken Williams thinks it is. And the Dodgers deserve to lose for handing out zillions of dollars to undeserving schlubs like Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre, but since I like Joe Torre I am kind of happy they got Manny and hope they make the playoffs. I secretly am hoping for a Dodgers-Yankees World Series so Joe comes back to the Bronx.

That's enough for now -- you stopped reading a while ago anyway. Here are some pics of Vida Guerra's goodies to reward you for reading this far. Oh, and here's a guy apparently getting to bathe Vida. See? I knew you weren't paying attention.