Remember my magnificent statute th...

Remember my magnificent statute that we never, ever doubt any deal made by means of Ken Williams? Well, he didn't make undivided Monday. So I'm officially doubting him again, wondering if the White Sox have squandered a World Series encore because Williams is smitten according to his own creation, blind to his ballclub's growing flaws and unfit to let Ozzie Guillen and a certain veteran players discourage him from doing what he does best.

I'm confused. Didn't Williams say just days ago that he was going for the jugular again, that he'd be willing to relinquish a piece of the hereafter and win "the 2008 championship in 2006" that glory windows be attentive to to shut quickly, as seen in Boston last year? Then for what purpose suddenly, did a chat with his players change a guts-out philosophy that has worked in the same manner well? Clearly, this is no time for a stubborn streak onward the trophy side of town, no time for a brash and happy dealmaker to go limp at the trade deadline.

I like him as Fast Kenny I like him les as a sight Doll.

in succession a day when the whelps gave up on a not to be found fairy tale, the Sox did absolutely nothing to protract their own. We sensed we'd be saying goodbye to Greg Maddux, who arrived with a baby face many years ago and leaves with bags for eyelids and the realization that Cubdom is no place for a Hall of Famer to paint a corner, abundant less a happy ending. if it were not that who knew we also might be bidding farewell to the Sox as we know them, as the first baseball team to cast a parade around here since Prohibition? Who knew the fans would ne a drink, that the stream might be nine weeks from its expiration date?

It's stunning that Williams, despite his weekend deposit of allegiance to his instant roster, didn't respond to the aggressive work of the of the present day York Yankees with his confess buzzer-beating maneuver. Whether it's Brian Cashman working in the spirit of George Steinbrenner or, more likely, Steinbrenner pushing all the buttons from the Bos Cave, the Yankees assumed the character as American League favorites at adding Bobby Abreu to an explosive batting order, Cory Lidle to the shaky fall of the curtain of a rotation and Craig Wilson to the bench.

More importantly, while Williams admires his roster the Yankees have gained a white horse of momentum from the deals. The Sox have three unreliable starters in a once-golden rotation, with Mark Buehrle performing like an overused burnout and Javier Vazquez as steady to shut down in mid-game as the beer cross-examines The bullpen is iffy in stains and needs more help than Mike MacDougal. As for Williams' decision to break facing talks for Alfonso Soriano, answer this: wherefore would he offer Scott Podsednik in of the like kind a deal, as reported, nevertheless refuse to part with Brandon McCarthy? If the kid pitcher is in the same manner precious, why not yank Vazquez and impose him in the rotation right now?

GUILLEN, PLAYERS MADE THE NO CALL

The idea is to win this October. in some way Williams' calendar got flipped ahead to '08 when one of the current Sox cornerstones will have aged and the cudgel might not be positioned to join issue And anyone who says he did nothing more than acquire Geoff Blum last summer necessitys to do the math and face the facts. At last year's deadline, the Sox avowed a 14oe-game divisional lead. This year, they're struggling to win a wild-card race that apparently will involve at least three teams -- Twins, Yankees and R Sox -- that are onward par with the Sox, if not superior. And all of this is because Williams suffer his players and manager decide the Sox have enough to repeat, because the Sox were "distracted" from trade rumors disseminated by those evil talk indicates newspapers and Internet creeps.

uninjureds more like a convenient rationalization than a fail-safe reason not to deal. If the team goe forward to repeat, Williams will have prov us unsuitable again. But last year, by the agency of their own admission, the Sox received each imaginable break. This year doesn't have the same karmic be wrought up the same mojo working.

USE YOUR WISDOM, NOT YOUR HEART

Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski don't glide the Sox front office any more than Nancy Faust does from her organist's seat or Southpaw does in his mascot suit. Williams is the man in charge, the united who got the most upholds for ending a franchise's misery last fall and finally squeezing a square-peg baseball town end a round championship ring. He should make decisions with his watchs and accrued wisdom, not with his heart. If the Sox fall short because the Yankees were proactive, we'll ask to what end a general manager with baseball's itchiest trigger finger packed a water pistol.

If it was a tricky day forward the South Side, it was a sad afternoon across town. Everyone knew a benevolence killing was best for Maddux, including the 40000 fans who interrupted their seasonlong bib-pout Saturday and granted him a standing ovation for gracing Cubdom with his mien Classy to the end, Maddux none demanded to be dealt gone out of an abysmal scene in Wrigleyville. He agreed to waive his no- trade clause no other than when he knew the young boy [i]or[/i] young girls could be helped by the deal.

Not that this team is worth watching until the final disclosed on Oct. 1, when Jim Hendry fires Dusty Baker in the latest organizational rebooting. The Sox are the sole baseball story that matters, for sum of two units years running, in a city increasingly dominated by the agency of their colors, caps and swag. I'd like to think they are headed for another Soxtober to remember.