White Sox general manager Ken Williams received a call Tuesday night from curious right fielder Jermaine Dye.
By comparison, manager Ozzie Guillen said he received 30 e-mail messages in a five-minute span.
The chilly curiosity came after the Sox’s latest swing-and-miss, this time on marquee third baseman Miguel Cabrera.
To make matters more frustrating, Cabrera and Florida teammate Dontrelle Willis were traded within the division, to American League Central rival Detroit in exchange for six players, including top prospect Cameron Maybin and 2006 first-round pick Andrew Miller.
The trade illustrated the lack of depth in the Sox’s farm system available to make a competitive deal and further heightened the anxiety raised by failed attempts to land marquee talent to improve a 90-loss team.
The Cabrera trade could accelerate talks involving Sox attempts to deal third baseman Joe Crede and perhaps take another shot at free-agent center fielder Aaron Rowand. Williams, however, remained reluctant to give a five-year contract to Rowand, who is entertaining an offer from Kansas City.
“You try to do things that make sense and you can afford,” Williams said. “I can’t give you a dollar if I don’t have 50 cents. Decisions are made awfully easy for you.”
Meanwhile, the Sox can only be consumed with improving themselves after the latest setback.
“We cannot worry about the Detroit Tigers,” manager Ozzie Guillen said, conceding he was never optimistic the Sox could land Cabrera despite his relationship with the young slugger. “We cannot worry about the Angels. We have to worry about the White Sox.
“Like I told you guys when the season was over, this is going to be a long winter for us. It’s going to be a long winter for Kenny Williams. Kenny did everything in his power to get those two players.
“Unfortunately that didn’t happen, and we have to move on and get better somewhere, somehow.”
Williams was more upset over losing out on Torii Hunter two weeks ago than he was on missing out on Cabrera. Free agent center fielder Andruw Jones, he said, is not target.
“Andruw Jones is not on our list,” Williams said.
Nevertheless, the Sox have added only shortstop Orlando Cabrera, setup reliever Scott Linebrink and outfielder Carlos Quentin this off-season and still find themselves without a seasoned leadoff batter and a dependable middle infielder. And the starting rotation lacks experience at the back end.
“For us, it’s not as much of an impact, superstar guy we’re looking for,” Williams said. “It’s another baseball player in the lineup who can do some things and give you quality defense with quality, hard-nosed at-bats.”
If the Sox cannot acquire a leadoff hitter, Guillen said he might consider moving Orlando Cabrera to the top of the order.
“The ideal lineup has Cabrera batting second,” Guillen said. “But if we can’t replace that leadoff guy, I had Cabrera leading off in a couple of lineups I made last night. [Cabrera] will hit anywhere. You’ll be surprised if [Cabrera] is batting third.
“If that happens we’re in trouble, but I’ve seen it before. I don’t mind batting him first or second all year long.”
Guillen will monitor his players’ mood if the offense starts as slowly as it did during the first two months of the 2007 season.
“If we start the season not hitting, one thing I worry about is the players start looking at each others’ faces and not coming out of it,” Guillen said, adding that part of the reason Cabrera was acquired was to lend leadership to a team that lacks a vocal star. “That’s my worry. Our club has to forget what they did last year and think about what they’re going to do this year.”
Extra innings
Quentin, acquired Monday from Arizona, revealed he has sought counseling to help combat the stress he has placed on himself.
“I’ve taken steps in the past to alleviate any internal stress the game creates,” Quentin told the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz. “I’ve tried to use every advantage to prepare myself. I have certain people I talk to, mental coaches. I’ve definitely taken steps to develop the physical and the mental.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
