October 5, 2004

Dear White Sox fans and season ticket holders,
It is still pretty difficult, even painful in a way, to recap the 2004 Chicago
White Sox season. When I hired Ozzie Guillen as manager, one of my reasons was
that I wanted someone who took the losses just as hard as I did and just as hard
as our fans do.
While our 2004 season had its bright spots — the 40-plus home run performance of
Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee's club-record, 28-game hitting streak and Shingo
Takatsu's grand entrance onto the Chicago baseball stage — the overall emotion
we are feeling right now is disappointment. Yes, we certainly battled injuries,
and not many teams lose their three and four hitters in June and still win, but
those are excuses. We were in first place on July 24 and just did not get it
done.
But rather than re-live the past six months (I do that enough in the middle of
the night when I would rather be asleep), I am focused on this offseason and
what we need to accomplish to make our team better in 2005. I cannot stress
strongly enough my commitment to improving the 2005 White Sox. This
organization's goal remains consistent — to win a World Series championship for
White Sox fans and the city of Chicago.
It is my responsibility to build a team that has a chance to win its division
each season, and we began that project for 2005 well before this season ended.
It is our responsibility to bring all of our energy, intellect and effort to
improving this team. I promise you everyone on my staff, and everyone in the
front office, is focused on this mission.
We hope to have a team built around our pitching staff. But anyone who watched
us play in 2004 realizes that we need to be more athletic, better defensively
and quicker on the bases. Slugging it out night after night is just too
inconsistent. You need thunder in the middle of your lineup, especially in the
American League, but at the top and at the bottom we need guys who can get on
base, run, move runners along and handle the bat. I want to give Ozzie a team he
can play with and really manage during games.
Our first focus entering this offseason is pitching. We feel very confident in
our top four starters, Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Jon
Garland, and believe each one has the potential to win 15 games and give us 200
innings. Jason Grilli showed signs he could fill the fifth starter's role, or we
may decide to look toward free agency to round out our rotation.
We also want to build our bullpen from the back forward. In Shingo and Damaso
Marte, we are comfortable that we have at least two pitchers who can close out
games. Cliff Politte was impressive at times this year and has a role in a
dominant bullpen. Another positive for our club was how Jon Adkins and Neal
Cotts matured as major league pitchers during the season. We need to add to this
mix and make it even better and deeper in 2005.
We will see what players are available on the free agent market to fit our
needs, and I also am willing to pull the trigger on a trade if I believe it will
make our team better. We have been criticized for our willingness to trade young
players for the chance to win now. I will never apologize for trying to win. It
has been way too long since White Sox fans celebrated in October. On the wall of
our board room is a chart showing our team's projected roster over the next
three years. Miguel Olivo is the only player we have traded away who is on that
chart from 2004 to 2007. I hated to give him up, but I felt that getting a
pitcher like Freddy Garcia through 2007 was more important for this
organization.
Despite his season-ending injury, we still are optimistic about re-signing
Magglio Ordoñez for 2005. Of course, a lot depends upon his recovery and health.
At one point in the season, we offered Magglio the largest contract ever for a
White Sox player. We still hope to discuss a possible new contract with Maggs
over the coming months.
One player I truly need to commend for his 2004 season is Paul Konerko. He
grabbed all kinds of deserving headlines with his 40-plus home runs, but he
proves his value as a player and teammate each and every day by how he
approaches the game. I am convinced that if Paul came into the last at-bat of
the season with the chance for either the home run crown or the opportunity to
win the game, he would willingly sacrifice his own success for the team. He is
as unselfish a player as we have. I love his winning attitude. Paul cares about
winning, but even more importantly, he cares about winning here in Chicago.
It's way too early to map out our exact plans for 2005 and how this offseason
will ultimately unfold, but I did want this letter to give you some of our
thoughts on the 2004 season, but more importantly, to outline our early thinking
as we prepare for 2005.
Everyone in a White Sox uniform and in our front office appreciates our fans.
You are there on the cold nights in April, during winning and losing streaks in
June, July and August, and are there to celebrate the game-winning home runs and
suffer the painful defeats. You feel it in your gut right along with us. As we
finish the 2004 season, we want to say "Thank You" for your undying support and
for your pride in being a White Sox fan.
Sincerely,
Ken Williams
The White Sox have released the 2005 home season schedule.
Get the Details Here | Review the Schedule Here | Print the Schedule Here

Season Highlights Video: 350K | 56K

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