Konerko Knows What Needs to be Done in 2012

Here's hoping that Paul Konerko's teammates follow their captain's lead heading into next season.

Each man must take stock of his performance from this soon-to-end disappointing campaign.

It's time for thumb pointing, not finger pointing.

``Like anybody else that works in a company for over 10 years, you have thoughts about things and you have feelings about how things could be better, but that's not for me to share with people,'' Konerko told the Sun-Times Wednesday. ``That's for me to know and to go out and keep doing my job. At the end of the day, I have to show up next year and not worry about other people and the work they put in or the job they plan to do, how they plan to do it. My first priority is doing my job.''

Translated: Feel free to head to a batting cage for once this winter Mr. Dunn. Better be ready to hustle from Day 1 of spring training Mr. Rios.

Or be ready for a Sox sequel next year.

``With the moves that have been made, I don't think we'll have a team out there that isn't expected to win,'' Konerko said. ``Not only because of who we have in here now and who is still going to be here. Everybody would like to be the Yankees or the Red Sox, where you go into every year and say, 'OK, as long as we don't have a bad three weeks, we're probably going to make the playoffs.' A lot of teams feel like, 'OK, we'll have a good-enough chance if everything goes our way,' and that's probably where we are. If you're asking me if I'm afraid of breaking the whole thing up, I don't even think that's possible.''

Translated: The big-money players aren't going anywhere. Neither are the Sox if some players' approach doesn't change.

Hope you join Mully and me Friday between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., when we preview the Bears season-opening game against the Atlanta Falcons.

As always, thanks for listening.

--Hanley