White Sox respond to Everett's comments

TUCSON, Ariz. --The Chicago White Sox responded Friday to former teammate Carl Everett's comments that the team lacks leadership and will finish third in the AL Central.

They wished him well with the Seattle Mariners, said they enjoyed playing with him. And, yes, they showed some sarcasm.

"Maybe he's right; maybe 'The Truth' has spoken," first baseman and captain Paul Konerko said, referring to Everett's nickname.

A day earlier, Everett said his former team lacks a vocal leader and Konerko isn't the answer. He criticized the moves general manager Ken Williams made during the offseason, saying, "They are not going to have the same chemistry." And Everett sided with former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas in his feud with Williams.

Pitcher Mark Buehrle suggested Thomas and Everett are "disappointed" because the White Sox bought them out after last season.

"I think they have some hard feelings that way," Buehrle said. "We're not going to let that affect us. If people want to say we don't have team leaders, that's their own thought."

Williams called Thomas "an idiot" after the two-time AL MVP unloaded on the organization in an interview with the Daily Southtown of Tinley Park, Ill., last month.

In that article, Thomas said he and Williams didn't see eye-to-eye after Williams became the general manager following the 2000 season. Thomas also reiterated that he would he not have participated in several functions during the offseason had he known he would not be back. That became clear when the White Sox re-signed Konerko and traded for Jim Thome before exercising a $3.5 million buyout on Thomas that officially ended his 16-year tenure.

The White Sox declined a $5 million option on Everett and exercised a $500,000 buyout, instead, after he batted .251 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs.

Without a .300 hitter or 20-game winner, the White Sox captured their first World Series championship since 1917.

"You don't have any voices in there to say, 'Hey, let's get this going,'" Everett said. "Thome is a nice guy, but I think it's early. Thome will be feeling around (at) first. They have a nice team, but at the same time, who knows?"

Konerko responded, "I guess I'll have to work on my leadership skills."

His teammates said that won't be necessary.

"We don't really need that guy who will get in people's faces," Buehrle said.

And catcher A.J. Pierzynski said manager Ozzie Guillen already fills that role.

But Konerko and Pierzynski also were quick to praise Everett, who raised some eyebrows over his career.

He once head-butted an umpire and spat at Seattle pitcher Jamie Moyer after a home run. He claimed dinosaurs never existed.

Still, the White Sox traded for Everett twice, acquiring him from Texas in 2003 and Montreal in 2004, before letting him go last fall. He then signed with Seattle for $3.4 million this season plus a club option for 2007, making the Mariners his eighth team in 11 years.

"He was fun," Konerko said. "I enjoyed having him around. He made us a better team, I thought."

Pierzynski said Everett "did a lot for this team. But he's not here. He's on the Mariners now."