CHICAGO -- Give Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams credit for trying, but in the case of Orlando Hudson, this experiment has not worked out.

The Sox were desperate for any offense out of the hot corner, so they took a flyer on the 34-year-old former Gold Glover -- after both injury and failure from Brent Morel – when they signed him late May.

Williams, as always, did his homework on Hudson, talking to the player himself and other industry people who had played with and employed the veteran infielder. The Sox’s GM is hamstrung by a situation in which the club cannot afford to spend money on adding any professional talent.

The road that led to the choice of Hudson was paved with both positive and negative signs along the way. Hudson, at his peak, was a team leader in the clubhouse. He was a base-stealing threat who was also known as an energy booster at most of his major league stops.

The results simply haven’t been there, however. Hudson is just 1-for-17 over his last six games and 4-for-30 in his last 10 games.

The down sides to signing the Hudson were two-fold. First and foremost, Hudson had suddenly stopped making consistent hard contact as a member of the San Diego Padres the past two seasons. (He hit just .238 in 154 games with Padres.) What was even more difficult to project was the fact that Hudson, a career second baseman, was learning a brand new skill position at the major league level with the Sox asking him to play third base.

A true pro, Hudson gave it his best shot, but at this point, it is time to go back to the drawing board and figure out a new plan for the very glaring hole at third base.