Chicago White Sox: Let Them Play! Let Them Play! Kenny Williams' Mantra in 2012

Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams may be heading into uncharted territory after over a decade at the helm of the organization.

Could it result in an honest-to-goodness youth movement on the South Side?

Peter Gammons of the MLB Network quoted Williams via Twitter on Monday, with the head man in Chicago admitting that "We're going to let the kids play."

Those are bold words from an executive who never met a division race he didn't feel he could win.

Williams' strategy has long been to reload his roster with veteran talent in an attempt to stay competitive year in and year out. This has come at the expense of the farm system, which has existed to generate trade material over getting prospects to the bigs.

Will Williams suddenly change his stripes? He may not have a choice.

The White Sox came up well short of the promises of the "All In" campaign in 2011. Even before the season ended, Williams was forced to trim payroll, sending Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen out of town in July.

It's hard to believe the ultra-competitive Williams will completely blow up the team he built in an attempt to capture another AL Central title. Too many bad contracts are in place for that. However, giving the kids more opportunities serves him twofold.

The team can get the budget down closer to the $100 million mark. Williams can also bring in some talented prospects for a change, as opposed to shipping them out.

This means another year for Brent Morel and Gordon Beckham in the infield; Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza will receive full seasons in the outfield. Chris Sale will make his move to the starting rotation, with Williams filling the spot in the pen with a youngster like Addison Reed. Tyler Flowers should have first dibs at the backup role behind the plate.

Can Williams deal Carlos Quentin to free up a spot for Viciedo? Will the lure of youth prevent him from perusing talks of an extension with Mark Buehrle? Can Williams resist the urge to bring in a veteran piece to push Chicago up in the standings?

Does going with fewer veteran players mean that Williams has a particular type of manager in mind? It will be interesting to see if the hire is in line with this supposed influx of youth.

Part of life on the South Side is knowing that the team needs a winning club to draw fans. Can Williams afford to go young next summer, or will he have little choice but to go fishing in free agency?

We won't know if the talk of youth will hold up to a winter of possible deals, but Williams and the White Sox may indeed stay the course and keep trotting the new faces onto the field in 2012.