It’s funny to hear Kenny Williams lament publicly how much the Sox’ lame season disappoints him, as though anything that’s gone wrong should be a surprise to even the most optimistic of Sox fans (or, for that matter, Sox personnel). To hear Williams tell it:

Asked if he takes any consolation knowing the Sox likely will be the favorites to win the American League Central in 2010, Williams showed just how unhappy he was.

“That doesn’t take away the sting that I feel right now,” he said. “That doesn’t take away the churning of my stomach.

“When you can beat the New York Yankees three out of four, Anaheim two of three and then Cleveland comes into town and you lose two of three, Baltimore comes in and you lose two of three, you beat the Boston Red Sox three of four, almost sweep, and you go on a road trip and do nothing. Then you come back and the Oakland A’s pound you…no, none of what I see ahead takes away the beatdown I feel right now. [Expletive] no.”

It’s good to hear the man in charge bleeding for the team he loves, and no one doubts Williams’ belief in the teams he assembles, but what’s shocking is Williams’ reaction to the 2009 season; the only way to be disappointed by something is to have unmet expectations, and given the Sox’ problems going into the season you have to wonder why, exactly, anyone would have expected anything from these Sox at all.

Did Williams think a three-man rotation would carry the team down the stretch?

Did he think the seventh center fielder would be the last center fielder?

Did he think trading for a pitcher with an injury already considered season-ending (even before it actually ended his season) would somehow improve the team’s chances?

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Kenny Williams told this to reporters yesterday:

“I think we can win this,” he said. ”I don’t see any reason why we can’t. I know we have character and talent in that clubhouse.

”Some people might perceive a potential deal to where we sell, just because it may be a younger player, they may be thinking, ‘They’ve thrown in the towel.’ In fact, we might view it as a neutral deal for ‘09, but for ‘10, ‘11, ‘12 you may be better as a result of it. You know it’s going to take a lot for me to get my arms around a sell-off.”

Fair enough. The Sox sit six games back in the AL Central right now — an incredibly weak AL Central — and have been have been woeful offensively at home, as they’ve split .217/.299/.350. Yes, do not adjust your eyes: the Sox are batting .217 at home, and are under .300 in OBP. As Williams notes, and as logic dictates, the Sox can’t be that bad the rest of the season. (Right?) It’s a hitter’s park, and, um, yeah: .217 BA.

But if you take a gander at Baseball Prospectus’ current postseason odds, the Sox barely have a chance at winning the division, likely their only way into the playoffs. I would assume most fans feel this way, too.

I wonder, then, if Williams is being so blunt about this team’s chance for success — when he might not actually feel this way –  because there’s no way to do to a large fire sale, even if he wanted to.

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This post serves to draw your attention to something I just wrote up over at the main blog: Frank Thomas and Kenny Williams appear to be cordial with each other again. Hooray.

I argue this is good, because when Thomas officially retires, not having the Sox brass at odds with him makes for a smoother honorary ceremony, which the man deserves.

Go read it.