Before we get to the Kenny Williams era, let's first take a look at the trade that White Sox fans just haven't gotten over, Now with over a decade of perspective attached:

1997

Giants got: Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, Roberto Hernandez
White Sox got: Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Brian Manning, Ken Vining
Analysis: Called the "Most controversial bail" in the history of MLB trades by mlb.com, this is the infamous "White Flag Trade."
In the long term: To start, the Giants did make the playoffs in '97 and the White Sox ended up in 2nd place, one game under .500. Then, three years later, lead by many of the players acquired in this trade the Sox made it into the 2000 playoffs. Granted, so did the Giants. Now let's go through the players and how they helped their teams one-by-one to determine who ended up the victor of the trade. Wilson Alvarez, one of the biggest names in this trade, went 4-3 in 11 games for the Giants, posting a 4.48 ERA. After the '97 season he became a free agent - that's where his value ended. Danny Darwin posted a record of 1-3 with an ERA of 4.91 before becoming a free agent at the end of the season (he did re-sign). Roberto Hernandez did well for the Giants, posting five wins and four saves along with a 2.48 ERA, however he also posted a 20.25 ERA while picking up a loss in the playoffs. He became a free agent and signed elsewhere after the season. Now to the White Sox players. In Lorenzo Barcelo's rookie campaign, he posted a 4-2 record and a 3.69 ERA as a strong member of the bullpen. Mike Caruso finished 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting in 1998 and was the teams' regular short stop for two years. He had a major drop-off in '99 and was put on waivers in 2000. Keith Foulke became the most solid closer for the White Sox since, well, Roberto Hernandez. He recorded exactly 100 saves in a White Sox uniform, even garnering Cy Young votes in '99. He also took a rough sucker-punch in the big riot against Detroit. Eventually, he was used in a trade to get Billy Koch, but we can't hold that against him. Bob Howry was a constant in the White Sox bullpen from '98 to '02, appearing in nearly 300 games and almost always posting an ERA in the 3s. He was later traded for Frank Francisco, who was traded to acquire Carl Everett in 2003. Brian Manning never made it out of the minors and Ken Vining just barely did, appearing in eight games in '01. Even after all of this, it is still debatable who ended up the victor. If Keith Foulke wasn't involved I would say the Giants for the fact that they made the playoffs and the Sox did not, however, I don't believe the Sox would have made the playoffs in 2000 without the guys listed above. A very difficult move at the time, it allowed the Sox to rebuild for the short term. It would have been a question mark if the Sox could re-sign Alvarez and Hernandez, and who really wanted Darwin anyway? In the end this was an even trade.

2001 - Kenny Williams Era Begins

1/14/01 - Big Trade!
Sox Get: pitchers David Wells and Matt DeWitt
Blue Jays Get: pitchers Mike Sirotka, Kevin Beirne and Mike Williams and outfielder Brian Simmons.
Analysis: Let another controversy begin! Kenny's very first move gets a media nickname - "Shoulder Gate." Mike Sirotka's got a bum shoulder. Not only did he never throw a pitch for the Jays, but he never threw another pitch at all in the majors. In the end it was ruled that the Jays should've taken better care to look into what they were getting. We thought we were getting a CY Younger for a steal.
In the long term: David Wells was far from impressive. He barely reached 100 innings pitched and posed a 5-7 record and 4.47 ERA. Still, he ate up 100 innings that Sirotka wouldn't have. The other player the Sox got, they traded back for a previous guy we sent in this trade - DeWitt for Williams. Simmons and Williams never hit the majors. Trade Winner: White Sox

1/18/01
Agreed to terms on a two-year $6.1 million contract with first baseman Paul Konerko and a one-year $5.95 million contract with pitcher James Baldwin
In the long term: Baldwin got about what a starter that usually notched 30 starts and 12 wins should get, but he didn't last long before he was traded with the Sox covering part of his salary. The return wasn't great, so it's not much of a signing. Paulie, on the other hand, at his age, lock him up for as long as possible. For the last two years he has showed that he is a pure hitter that will be around for a while.

3/2/01
Signed pitchers Lorenzo Barcelo, Rocky Bidle, Mark Buehrle, Matt DeWitt, Joh Fogg, Jon Garland, Matt Ginter, Gary Glover, Bob Howry, Sean Lowe, Ken Vining, Kip Wells and Kelly Wunsch; catchers Mark Johnson and Josh Paul; infielders Joe Crede, Jason Dellaero, Amaury Garcia and Jeff Liefer; and outfielders McKay Christensen, Carlos Lee, Julio Ramirez, Aaron Rowland and Chris Singleton.

3/18/01 - Trade!
Sox get: pitchers Antonio Osuna and Carlos Ortega
Dodgers get: pitchers Gary Majewski, Andre Simpson and Orlando Rodriguez
In the long term: Osuna barely played in '01, but was probably the most consistent force out of the bullpen for the Sox in '02, appearing in 59 games, picking up 11 saves (as part of the bullpen by committee mess) and posting a 3.86 ERA. He ended up being part of the package that brought 2005 playoff hero Orlando Hernandez to the Sox. Of course, Hernandez ended up being traded to acquire Vazquez, so this trade has been paying dividends for many years for the Sox. Carlos Ortega retired in the minors after '01. Majewski never played for the Dodgers, but he was part of a deal that brought James Bladwin to LA from Chicago (Baldwin left via free agency). Neither Simpson or Rodriguez made it to the majors. Winner of this seemingly small trade: The White Sox in a big way.

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3/20/01 - Trade!
Sox get: pitcher Mike Williams
Toronto gets: pitcher Matt DeWitt
In the long term: Williams never played in the majors while DeWitt played for the Jays for about 30 innings over two years. Winners: Blue Jays by a hair.

Opening Day Lineup
2B	Ray Durham
CF	Jose Valentin
DH	Frank Thomas
RF	Magglio Ordonez
1B	Paul Konerko
LF	Carlos Lee
3B	Herbert Perry
C	Sandy Alomar Jr.
SS	Royce Clayton
P	David Wells
Bold = Not in last year's opening day starting lineup Opening day payroll: $65,628,667 ($34,428,667 more than last season), this works out to $790,706 spent per win

6/20/01
Jose Canseco, DH, was signed as a free agent (anyone know how much?)
In the long term: If it wasn't for the fact that Jose Canseco is Jose Canseco and I hate him (now anyway), this was an okay signing for the time. His OPS for this half season was .843. He also ended up stealing his 200th base in a Sox uniform.

6/29/01 - Trade!
Sox get: LHP Alan Embree
San Francisco gets: RHP Derek Hasselhoff
In the long term: Who has ever heard of a non-David Hasselhoff? Meanwhile, most baseball fans know who Alan Embree is. Still, Embree only appeared in 39 games with the Sox, eating up some middle relief innings before becoming a free agent at the end of the season. Winners: Sox by a hair.

7/14/01 - Trade!
Dodgers get: OF McKay Christensen
Sox get: LHP Wade Parrish
In the long term: McKay only got 49 ABs with the Dodgers before they put him on waivers (Why? He batted .327). Wade Parrish never hit the bigs. Winner: LA by a hair.

7/26/01 - Trade!
Dodgers get: RHP James Baldwin
Sox get: minor leaguers Onan Masaoka, Gary Majewski and Jeff Barry
In the long term: Baldwin came in for the playoff push, but only went 3-6 and the Dodgers ended up in third place. Barry and Masaoka retired in the minors at the end of the year. Majewski ended up being part of the package that brought Carl Everett to Chicago in '04 . Everett's help in winning the series in '05 plus the saved payroll in sending Baldwin away make the Sox victorious in this trade.

8/23/01
Bill Pulsipher, LHP, was claimed on waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
In the long term: The term wasn't very long. He became a free agent at the end of the season, a pretty pointless signing.