Yesterday afternoon, the White Sox had an intraoffice meeting to discuss the state of the team, even though Stevie Wonder could clearly see that being a competitor in this division at this point is not a reality.  In order for the White Sox (who were nine games under .500 prior to last night's win over the Marlins) to get back in the AL Central race, the Tigers and Indians planes would have to collide with each other in mid air and then there still would be no guarantee you could catch the Twins.  So, bottom line, it's over for 2007. 

Yet, White Sox GM Kenny Williams, usually the most honest and forthright guy in the room, came out of the meeting and said he's still not ready to dismantle the ball club and trade key pieces for magic beans.  Why? It's Marketing 101.

If Williams admits what most people already know then so is his ability to attain maximum leverage for the valuable pieces that he holds under contract.  If he says "We dead, we suck, we can't compete, the fans and the media are right" six weeks before the trading deadline, he depreciates his stock.  But if he says "I think we still have something left in the tank" and waits six more weeks, teams desperate to make trades and teams that are forced to react to what a competitor has done will come to Williams and say "I gotta have Buehrle" and make a deal that will, in theory, favor the White Sox.  This is how Kenny Williams operates.  Nine times out of ten, he'll have your pants around your ankles before you know it.

Now, I'm not so naive that I think everyone in baseball is that much of a sucker, but it does indicate that if the Sox were to deal, they would wait until close to the deadline.  The edict yesterday was a message for other teams that said "Don't call me until July 28th and I'll see where we are then."

Second, the White Sox are a team whose budget for salary is based on attendance.  The more people that come to US Commiskey Park, the higher the payroll number.  Obviously, this year's projections are going to be off because sooner or later, people will stop showing up and walk up is everything to the Sox.  The Cubs have the landmark and the lovable losers; the Sox have the chase for another (that's right Cub fans, another) championship.  Seeing as how those dreams are dashed to pieces this year, come late August and September, US Commiskey Park is going to resemble a ghost town.

Now, though, fans can come out and watch Mark Buehrle pitch, maybe for the last time or witness the final Jermaine Dye homer in a Sox uniform.  That's worth the price of admission isn't it?

One other factor for the non-fire sale is the schedule.  The Marlins are in the next two nights.  Then, the weekend series against the Cubs (which the Sox should be fired up about, considering that's their playoffs this year and they lost two out of three at Wrigley.)  Then Tampa Bay.  Then Kansas City.  Then Baltimore. So, conceivably, this team, provided they can continue to put runs on the board (23 in the last three games) and someone in the bullpen not named Jenks can get someone out, the Sox, in theory will not suddenly vault back into competition, but will maybe get close to .500.  This again will keep some fans coming back to the ballpark and, if there is a hot streak, value Williams' stock just a little bit more.

When you create a demand in the marketplace for products and services and the demand is so great that you are overwhelmed with business, the price goes up because your demand exceeds your supply and your customers will pay a higher price point to retain your services.  In the case of Kenny Williams, he's buying an aggressive growth fund for six weeks and then hopes to cash it out for a huge payoff.  That huge payoff will mean the end of the 2005 era and the dawning of a new, uncertain era of baseball, White Sox style.

Lightning Round

• Congratulations to Sam Perlozzo of Baltimore, Maryland for being the first manager fired in 2007.  If you had Sam in the pool, please cash your tickets at the window.  And by the way, sometimes as a manager it isn't your fault and in Perlozzo's case, it really wasn't.  Memo to Joe Girardi: Run away as fast as you can. Run Forrest, run!
  
• Not to scare the teams in the NL comedy central, but since being no-hit by Justin Verlander last Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers are 5-1.
• Deadspin gets an exclusive interview with Harold Reynolds.  Here's hoping Disney pays him a lot of money to go away.
• Cubs first baseman Derrick Lee and San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young both get five games for fighting.  This is totally unfair as Young will only miss one start, but Lee misses five starts.  Unless the five game suspension was not for fighting but for embarassing baseball on national television with a fight that looked like two fifteen year old girls in a locker room.
  
• So this is the way it plays out in Nashville.  Because the ownership is in flux, they can't sign any free agents so David Poile, who is a mad genius, has to get creative by dumping two popular, productive free agents to be. No telling what else might happen, but it looks like the Preds may dump salary to the point where the team will fight the Blackhawks for last place, the fans will revolt by not showing up and Jim Bissille will take the money and run to Hamilton.  Unless of course a Nashville ownership group can be found.  Gary Bettman is out of pocket having his thumb surgically removed from his ass and not available for comment.
• Our friends at "Signal to Noise" have created a brilliant parody of what it will be like to date Tiger Woods' daughter in a few years.
  
• Baseball joins the NFL in wanting to ramp up the treatment of head injuries.  Good, start with Bud Selig.
• The Yankees made history when they signed two players from China on Monday.  Here's a word of advice: Never sign a Chinese pitcher named One Bad Wing.
• Claude Julien, come on down.  You're the next contestant on "Revive the Boston Bruins." No telling who will be the coach in Ottawa next season, but it won't be Brain Murray who takes over for John Muckler who has been asked to exit the building. Here's what's interesting to me: Muckler gets the big haircut after crafting a team that makes it to the Stanley Cup finals.  The Chicago Blackhawks have MISSED the playoffs eight out of the last nine years, yet Bob Pulford STILL has a job.
• Jeff Burton signs an extension with RCR to continue driving the #31 Cingular Wireless AT&T car.
• Rankings?  Here's your rankings.  The latest baseball power poll from SI.  If you want to see where the White Sox are, go directly to page three.  Peter King of SI has ranked all of the starting NFL quarterbacks and has anointed Rex Grossman #27 (you mean there are actually five guys worse than him?)  And in order, from the four letter guys, the history of Bobby Cox ejections.
• Boy, as tough as it's been around here the last ten months, I still haven't fallen as far as former major league outfielder Warren Cromarte.  He was a good player, too.
• Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
• Greece is banning sexy road side signs because Zorba can't concentrate on the road.
• If you live in Australia, you'll be working while you are unemployed or you will get no check.  Here in America, we don't care if you work while you are unemployed, we'll just cut your benefits off after six months.
• British agricultural workers are being denied jobs because they don't speak Polish.  That's right, so many Poles have come to Britain, that the Brits are just hiring them because they work cheaper.  Sound familiar?
  
• I said it last week, now read it for yourself from Isaiah Washington's publicist: How can you ask a guy to jump through as many hoops as this guy did and fire him anyway?  I think that there is a lot more to this story than we know, but I pray Kathleen Heigel keeps her tater trap shut because as nice as she is to look at, she embarrasses herself every time she opens her mouth.
  
• If you have an ax in your head in Detroit and it takes more than 30 minutes to take care of you in the ER, provided you recover, you're going to a Tigers game!
• Do you live in one of the world's most expensive cities?
• Maxim looks at movies that are just a bit too long.