Jermaine Dye swings through a two-run home run. (AP / Charles Rex Arbogast)
Jermaine Dye said he expected the White Sox to decline his 2010 option for $12 million and give him a $950,000 buyout.
But more revealing was that Dye was starting to prepare himself to play elsewhere despite acknowledging the door was still open for a return to the Sox.
"At this point, it doesn't look good," Dye said Tuesday night. "I look at it as a good time here with a great organization. I don't know if they'll try to sign me. Either I'll get a call from (general manager) Kenny Williams or he'll call my agent (Bob Bry)."
Dye, 35, said he is currently focused on working out and getting ready
for 2010. He did believe Williams’ contention that money is tight and
could impact whether he returns.
“I have to believe Kenny,” Dye
said. “He’s never lied to me before. It’s tough, not just for players,
but also for teams in whatever sport you play.”
Dye said he had
an amicable chat with Williams shortly before he announced that the Sox
were declining the option. Dye was in Mexico for a wedding when the Sox
announced they were giving him a buyout.
Dye, however, maintained that he shouldn’t be judged on his second half in which he hit .179 with only seven home runs.
“I
think I can’t be judged on one bad half,” said Dye, who finished with a
.250 batting average with 27 home runs. “That hasn’t happened before.
Everyone just wants to talk about that decline.”
Dye didn’t put blame on the acquisition of Alex Rios on Aug. 10 but said his arrival cut into everyone’s playing time.
“It’s not an excuse, but you just couldn’t get in a groove,” Dye said.
Dye,
who hit 164 home runs in five seasons with the Sox, would like to
return but seemed prepared to play elsewhere. He said he had a limited
no-trade clause during his tenure with the Sox only so he couldn’t be
traded to six Northeast teams during the middle of a season.
Dye
said he would be willing to listen to offers from all teams, including
the teams that were on his no-trade list. Possible destinations are
Texas, where he could be reunited with manager Ron Washington, and San
Francisco, which needs a power hitter to rejuvenate a feeble offense.
The only hesitancy Dye had was a move to designated hitter.
“I
can still play right field,” Dye said. “Moving to DH is not a
consideration right now. Another position is first base. That would be
an easy transition for me.”
As of now, Dye’s biggest transition
is that of being a free agent. He hasn’t been a free agent since after
the 2004 season, when he kept his word and signed a two-year, $10
million contract with the Sox despite a more lucrative offer from
Arizona while he was taking a physical examination for the Sox.
“The door is still open,” Dye said. “The process of free agency is a long time. As of now, I’m going through that process.”
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QUOTE: wow, I know Sox "fans" are not smart and have NO CLUE when it comes to baseball....but this stupidity is alarming.
I dunno, like stupid yankmes fans that are on the wrong message board?
Look 'genius' just cause your ego tells you your smart, doesn't make it so..
So I think the best thing is to ignore your further comments because when I respond to your comments I feel my IQ dropping to get to your level of intellect.
The White Sux win ONE fluke in the last 90 + years and they still are stupid enough to talk smack about the YANKEES?
wow, I know Sox "fans" are not smart and have NO CLUE when it comes to baseball....but this stupidity is alarming.
I know what it's like to suffer through waiting for another Championship, this Yankees WS was a long time coming, but fact of the matter is, Yankees have more titles than the Sox, the Flubs and the BoSox put together......A LOT MORE.
If Jerry R was smart, he'd sell this "franchise" and get it out of Chicago and stop embarassing the city with the likes of Ozzie and AJ the punk. The minor league team known as the White Sox are a JOKE.
YANKEES ALL DAY
QUOTE:"Ask Nick Swisher.....he's got the respect from a REAL manager, he's got fan support and of course, he'll be getting some new jewelry.....something the south side hackmen won't have for another 90 years.
YANKEES ALL DAY
only 27, but it's a work in progress....."
Hah good luick with that.. I think the Yankees won in SPITE of Swisher, not cause of him... I also heard he was a pain in the A$$ in the clubhouse for the yankmes as well...
Keep forking over that dough fools, 9 more years of futility after this fluky season for the yankmes.It is only a matter of time before fata$$ sabathia and broken down Burnett cost you guys tons of money for nothing, just like the scores of other pitchers ruined in the Bronx..
Thank you, JD for your years here. Billy Mahoney will be a Red Sox fan next year when the YANKEES figure out they can't continue to pay three times the league average to keep trying to BUY a championship. He's probably also a Steelers, Penguins and Lakers fan.
Jermaine Dead's leaving is the best thing that can happen to the Sox this offseason.
Liptak is right when he said he had a bad 2007 second half.
He also had a bad 2008 second half.
He also had a bad 2009 second half.
Good riddance.
I love the Sox "fans" bashing a guy who was a dedicated workhorse for the Sox. Typical Sox "fans"
It's a win - win for Dye, he gets $900 grand to walk away from these losers.
Hopefully he will end up somewhere with fans that will know something about baseball, integrity and RESPECT. You won't get that on the south side of Chicago.
Ask Nick Swisher.....he's got the respect from a REAL manager, he's got fan support and of course, he'll be getting some new jewelry.....something the south side hackmen won't have for another 90 years.
YANKEES ALL DAY
only 27, but it's a work in progress.....
QOUTED: These people don't know basball, D.J was a great player for the sox, At one time he was the only Sox player hitting,BRING DYE BACK
WHO Doesn't know baseball? Do you even LOOK at statistics?!
Try to do some background before making statements like this..
The key in your comments is "he WAS a good player" and "At one time"... 'Was' as in NO MORE... 'At one time', meaning ,well, not recently.. So you are saying that the team should get rid of no one because they may have had a good month in a Sox uniform but stunk the rest of the year??
We WAS great I admin that, that is obvious but it is Obvious, for whatever reason, he is no longer the player he WAS...
He cannot drive in runs.. with runners on he failed... BBADLY... Sorry but when Rios has a better RISP, RISP with 2 outs average, and Basesloaded Average than Dye... time to go...Dye may do great somewhere else, but the key is it is somewhere else.. Whether he hates the weather, guillen, or just lost his heart playing here, he has... time to move on...
"....I will take Dye anyday over Soriano. No ego, unselfish, will bat anywhere. "
Thats like saying You'll take a Kia over a Yugo...No, He is a great guy in the Clubhouse... sure... I think Nick Swisher was also described as a great guy in the clubhouse... Who cares when he CANNOT drive runs in?!
I agree you want chemistry, we all saw how thing on the north side went with Bradley in there...
BUT
you ALSO need someone who can produce.. Dye does not, not here anyway, not for the past two seasons..
All I have seen him do is cause outs with Runners on base...
We are thankful for the comments of Billy Mahoney, mens ball washer at the soon to be improved urinal troughs of Wrigley Field.
What Dye MEANS is that it looks REALLY good that he'll finally be away from a third rate baseball team with a beer league manager.
Dye will be fine and will end up on a REAL TEAM .......not a bunch of hacks like the Sux.
Sox "fans".....Get ready for another 90 years of failing.
YANKEES ALL DAY
27....for now
Thanks for everything JD but it's time to move on. Let's not forget he had a tough second half of the 2007 season too.
Mark Liptak
Regarding JD: 1. He's not a $12M guy anymore. 2. I think the business side of the game makes him uneasy. If KW agrees, and thinks JD will bounce back in 2010, he should negotiate a reasonable deal. JD came up aces after KW let Mags walk; not sure KW can pull another rabbit out of his hat like that. I think JD has more HRs than any AL outfielder during his time on the South Side.
Jermaine Dye is an honorable guy. I wish him well in any endeavor he pursues.
JD was a force in Sox line up ,well at least up till all star break ,but you can't justify paying big money for a guy when he basically took half a season off. He has never been huge in the clutch even when he was on his game. I believe he is batting only around .250 with men on in scoring position with two outs lifetime. Over all Dye has had nice numbers with Sox but Sox need to get younger & find players who can come up with clutch hits. Agree Dye's fielding not exactly stellar either.Sox certainly have a void to fill especially if Rios goes into another funk. Hopefully KW can find another OF who can give Sox 25-30 homers & 90-100 r.b.i.'s ?
The fact that Dye kept his word and signed with the Sox after a better offer from Arizona, shows you what kind of character the man has...
I understand the economics of the game, and I also understand most of these athletes end up making a lot of money. I truly hope Dye will come back to the Sox, however, I wish him well, and thank him for 2005, either way.
These people don't know basball, D.J was a great player for the sox, At one time he was the only Sox player hitting,BRING DYE BACK
Dye didn't put blame on the acquisition of Alex Rios on Aug. 10 but said his arrival cut into everyone's playing time.
"It's not an excuse, but you just couldn't get in a groove," Dye said.
Wait your not making excuses, while your clearly making an excuse? Fact is Dye was sliding a month before Rios showed up. He was hitting .303 on July 11th and by the time Rios joined the team on August 10th his average had dropped to .270. His OBP went from .377 to .344 in that same span. It is also delusional for him to say he couldn't get into a groove cause his playing time was cut. He missed 3 games in August cause of the crowded outfield. He missed 4 at the beginning of September due to injury or Ozzie benching him.(can't remember) Then he missed only 2 more games until the team was out of it. I seem to remember Jermaine getting the most consistent playing time out of all the outfielders. Fact is in a contract year JD chokes. He did it in 2007, and again in 2009. When money is at play JD goes away. It is also a misconception for him to say this was his only slump in a Sox uniform. In 2007 he was hitting .229 on August 1st, but was able to finish strong hitting .250 by seasons end thanks to a solid final two months. I add that by the time he turned it around in 2007 the White Sox where completely out of contention. I respect the guy tremendously for 2005, 2006, and 2008, but this season he showed his age. The only way the Rios deal affected him was he knew for sure he wasn't coming back. That is when he decided to throw in the towel. He quite on the team which ultimately will cost him in the long run. You cant drop 50 pts. off your average in 100 days and expect to get paid the big money.
So why did Dye not want to go to the Northeast? Was this ever explained?
the sox should get rid of jenks while they are at it, unless that overweight man is going to get in shape.
Are you kidding us, you still think you can play RF ? Not the Jermaine Dye Iwatched last year, you were brutal, watching you try to go back on balls hit to the wall, or going left or right and when you had to charge a sinking fly ball, BUTT UGLY ! High School players field better than you did last year. Your slump never happened before ? 2008 second half you pretty much disappeared too ! Hey you were great a few years ago, but you like many other aging ball players and other pro athletes just can't see the writing on the wall, and you still expect top money, ask Bobby Abreu how that worked out for him last year, he bounced back greatly this year, I don't think you'll have many suitors at the money you'll be asking, you drinking out of the same kool-aid pitcher Scotty Pods is sipping from ? Thanks for the memories Jermaine but you star is fading and almost out, good luck next year where ever that may be.
Who wants Soriano?
You have to be out of your mind..........I will take Dye anyday over Soriano. No ego, unselfish, will bat anywhere.
Dye was a great player for us for 5 years and his last season was just a small piece of the overall problems with the Sox. Its the every other year theory with the Sox. This year with no expectations they will compete all year. I like where they are heading
but we NEED Dye...
We need his ability to hit solo home runs.
We need his ability to pop up with Runners on and ground into double plays..
We need his questionable defense to allow other teams to score unearned runs!
Sorry people, but Dye's Average with Runners in scoring position was WAY worse than Rios'.
If people want a Soriano so bad we should just trade for him from the Cubs.