01:00 AM EST on Monday, February 27, 2006

Angry over the latest comments from former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, Chicago general manager Kenny Williams fired back yesterday."

"He's an idiot. He's selfish. That's why we don't miss him," Williams said, responding to a Thomas interview that appeared in The Daily Southtown, a newspaper in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, Ill.

Since signing with the Oakland A's last month, Thomas, twice the American League's MVP, has made it clear that he didn't appreciate the way his 16-year run with the White Sox ended, saying that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf didn't call him to tell him he wasn't coming back.

He also repeated that had he known last fall the team wasn't going to bring him back -- they later gave him a $3.5 million buyout -- he wouldn't have participated in some ceremonial functions during the postseason.

Williams said he was most irate over Thomas' comments about Reinsdorf.

"Jerry has done everything over the course of 16 years to protect that man, to make accommodations for him, concessions for him. He loaned him money, at times, when he needed money. If he was any kind of a man, he would quit talking about things in the paper and return a phone call or come knock on someone's door. If I had the kind of problems evidently he had with me, I would go knock on his door.

"We don't miss him, by the way," Williams said. "If you go out there and ask any one of my players or staff members, we don't miss him. We don't miss his attitude. We don't miss the whining. We don't miss it. Good riddance. See you later."

ROUNDUP K.C.'s GREINKE GOES HOME: Zack Greinke, 22, left the Kansas City Royals camp yesterday and there are no indications when he might return. Club officials said Greinke had gone back to his home in Orlando, Fla., for personal reasons.

MORA OUT OF WBC: Orioles All-Star Melvin Mora has pulled out of the World Baseball Classic after being asked to play center field for Venezuela, rather than third base. "I cannot go to that competition to try to play something I don't know how to play," said Mora.

PAVANO HURT AGAIN: New York Yankees starter Carl Pavano's sore back could land him on the disabled list to start the season. "I'm not banking on him opening day," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. Pavano missed the second half of last season because of a shoulder injury and finished 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA in 17 starts.

BONDS DUE FOR ACTION: Barry Bonds could play his first spring training game in two years Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers. San Francisco manager Felipe Alou said he doesn't know whether he'd use the slugger as an outfielder or a designated hitter.

PIRATES WELLS HAS CLOT: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kip Wells, 28, has a blood clot close to his right arm, and his season is in jeopardy. GM Dave Littlefield described the clot as a "100 percent blockage" of the primary vessel that carries blood from the chest to the arms. Wells told the team he still must determine whether he wants to get a second opinion before having surgery. If Wells has surgery, he would probably miss five to eight months.

ROCKET TO THROW: Roger Clemens, 43, will pitch to minor leaguers at the Houston Astros' spring training camp today. Clemens wants to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, then decide whether to retire or play a 23rd season, said Koby Clemens, his oldest son and a third baseman in the Astros' farm system.

NATIONALS' LAWRENCE SHELVED: Brian Lawrence wanted to come into his first training camp with the Washington Nationals and make an impact -- and the starting rotation. Now it's all on hold until at least after the All-Star break. Lawrence has a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Team doctor Bruce Thomas said the best-case scenario has Lawrence returning after midseason. At worst, he'll be out until September.