"Two weeks of downplaying the upcoming winter meetings.

Two months of pointing out that he couldn't ''spend a dollar if he only had 50 cents.''

Even the nonchalant way in which Ken Williams took his time to make the drive from Chicago to Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, one of the last general managers to arrive, as if it was a party for which he had no problem being late.

It had all the makings of a GM planning to have a quiet week.

In other words, Williams has everyone right where he wants them.

''One thing about Kenny, when he's going to make a real trade he does it and no one knows about it,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said on Day 1 of the meetings. ''That's how he does it now. So if things seem quiet, well, you never know with him.''

Playing possum is nothing new for Williams these days, a far cry from the GM that was disgusted just two years ago with the frequency in which talks with other teams leaked and then blew up in his face.

So he handled Monday's latest leak with the usual poker face.

Sources with Tampa Bay and the Sox said the sides had talked several times this offseason, not only checking out closer Bobby Jenks and his availability in a deal, but more specifically a trade that would have sent Carlos Quentin to the Rays for Carl Crawford.

Guillen sounded like those talks are all but flat-lined."