They’d Rather Be in San Francisco

The three pitchers traded from the Chicago White Sox to the San Francisco Giants are unanimous in this thought: They’re in a better place.

Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernandez and Danny Darwin each had harsh words for the ownership of their former team, which sent them packing in exchange for six minor league players Thursday. The trade was made even though the White Sox were only 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central.

“They’re professionals. They’ve got pride, so they want to do a good job,” Darwin said of his former teammates. “But I’ve never seen management up and throw in the towel like that when they’re so close. I’ve never heard an owner come out and say, ‘We have no chance of catching the team in front of us.’ I’ve never seen that in 22 years of professional baseball.”

On Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf as saying, “Anyone who thinks this White Sox team will catch Cleveland is crazy.”

“The players, they’re great,” Alvarez said. “The fans, they’re good--they were good to me all six years I was there. But the front-office people, they don’t know how to treat players. They treat players like garbage. That’s why they’re not going to win.”

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Baltimore assistant general manager Kevin Malone expressed displeasure with the White Sox’s trade.

“I think what Jerry Reinsdorf did was unconscionable to the fans and to baseball in general,” Malone said. “It’s disappointing that owners aren’t held accountable for the things they do, but that’s the nature of the beast.”