White Sox general manager Ken Williams may have escaped punishment, but that doesn’t mean Major League Baseball is done keeping a close eye on his Sox, and the Cubs as well.
Williams wasn’t fined or suspended Friday for his heated public remarks aimed Thursday at Sandy Alderson, MLB’s executive vice president, but there is concern over what is happening with Chicago’s teams and baseball’s umpires.
“I want to put to bed the notion that Ken is waiting for a suspension or a fine,” Alderson said in a phone call from Greece, where he had just arrived for the Olympic Games.
Williams had said he expected to be penalized after sticking up for manager Ozzie Guillen–who had been suspended a second time for calling umpire Hunter Wendelstedt a liar–following a call from Alderson.
“The conversation [with Williams] did get heated, mutually so,” Alderson said. “There seems to be an unwillingness [from the White Sox] to accept that public comments [about umpires] are not appropriate.
“But there is no reason for penalty or consequence [to Williams]. He hasn’t questioned the integrity of the umpires or the central office. . . . As far as what Ken [said] publicly, he has every right to say what he wants.”
Williams, when informed of Alderson’s decision by a reporter Friday evening, said, “In a way, great. I haven’t thought another thought about it. We need to focus now on what’s going on on the field.
“But maybe something good will come out of this next time.”
Alderson, who is in charge of umpiring and ultimately everything that happens on the field, has been running up quite a phone bill from his New York office to the ballparks in Chicago.
Not only has he had to deal with this messy issue involving the Sox, he has had to oversee the ejections of 10 members of the Cubs family and the suspensions of four.
Why are Chicago teams so heated in this cool summer?
“First of all, I don’t believe it’s true that the White Sox have had significant umpire issues,” Alderson said. “[The Guillen-Wendelstedt affair] is a somewhat isolated incident.
“The Cubs, on the other hand, have had several encounters with umpires and other teams. I can’t explain that, except it may just be a cycle.
“I don’t think there’s anything in the water [in Chicago].”
Alderson said the Chicago problems are not the norm in baseball and that ejections are down “significantly.”
Figures supplied by the commissioner’s office show 175 ejections this season compared with 211 at this time last year, a 17 percent decrease.
Detroit leads all of baseball with 14 ejections. The Cubs are tied for third with 10 and the White Sox have five. But some of the Cubs’ ejections have been messy, most notably that of LaTroy Hawkins, who was suspended for five games.
“[Cubs GM] Jim Hendry and I have talked on occasion,” Alderson said. “Issues come up from time to time and there are ways to pursue those issues.
“If clubs have the perception [of being picked on by umpires], we try to determine if that is born out of truth.
“The conversations [with Hendry] have been constructive and not necessarily critical of the Cubs.”
The Sox and Cubs are running the risk of being labeled–at least by umpires–as whiners and complainers. That is reinforced by the fewer overall ejections and suspensions that have occurred this summer.
“I happen to think umpires are doing an excellent job,” Alderson said. “With so many teams in pennant races late in the season, tension is going to be higher in many places.
“So the fact that ejections are down underscores the fact that despite the balanced competition, umpires are responding in most cases as they should.”
Part of the problem is the way the White Sox and Cubs have talked about their problems publicly, and not always in the kindest way. That is what led to Guillen’s second two-game suspension and to Alderson’s latest phone call to Williams.
“My purpose was to reiterate that those kinds of comments [like Guillen’s] against umpires were not appropriate and there are other ways to handle it,” Alderson said.
“It’s over and done with,” Williams said. “It’s all behind us.”
But just in case it isn’t, the commissioner’s office will be watching.
