If you thought what the White Sox violated blow-up dolls with baseball bats, you should see what they do to space heaters with them. Mark Buehrle didn't have a very strong performance to follow Gavin Floyd's near no-no on Tuesday night, as he allowed 7 runs in 5.2 innings and fell to 1-4 on the season.
With last night's game against the Twins being postponed thanks to rain, the White Sox had to adjust their starting rotation for the first time this season. Of course, the adjustments they made immediately caused an uproar that something must be wrong with Mark Buehrle.
It seemed logical that instead of jumbling the rotation around because of one day off, that the Sox would just push everybody's expected start back a day. Jose Contreras was supposed to start on Thursday, but instead will pitch tonight against the Tigers, and Gavin Floyd will get the start on Saturday. Then the "controversy!"
Instead of having Mark Buehrle pitch the series finale against Detroit on Sunday, Mark is going to get the start against Oakland on Saturday. In his place on Sunday, Javier Vazquez will get the nod. Why the change? Well, there's a pretty good reason for it actually.
“It keeps everyone out there as close as possible without sitting too long,’’ Don Cooper said. “And the big thing is Oakland might be more susceptible to lefties, as well as Tampa. This is the best way we figured it out with, No. 1 what’s best for the team, and No. 2 what’s best for the individual. The match-ups have a small part to do with it.’’
Buehrle went 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against Oakland last season, while Vazquez has a career 6.60 ERA against the Athletics. As far as Oakland against left-handers this season, they’re hitting .204 with two home runs. The Sox are hoping to take advantage of that with Buehrle and then Danks.
So that's settled.
It's also best to get Buehrle as much rest as possible whenever you can. He's never been a flamethrower in danger of blowing out his arm, but he has thrown over 200 innings each of the last seven seasons. I don't care how hard you throw, at some point, that's going to catch up to you. Arms just aren't supposed to undergo that kind of treatment.
Besides, while the month of April is littered with off days for teams thanks to weather concerns, once we hit May and the summer months, days off become a rarity. So it's best to get your guys as much rest as you can while it's still early.
In what is a bit of a surprising announcement, especially considering the season doesn't start for another three weeks, Ozzie Guillen came out on Wednesday and announced that Javier Vazquez would be getting the Opening Day start over Mark Buehrle.
"It's a great honor to pitch Opening Day," he said after Guillen revealed the recent plans.
"If they tell me Opening Day, that's a great honor. If they tell me the second game, that's great. Fifth game, that's great too. I just want to pitch."
I have to admit, I'm a little surprised by this. Mark Buehrle hasn't exactly been getting knocked around this spring, and he's always been the guy who starts on Opening Day, with the exception of last season. Jose Contreras got the honor last year, and got destroyed by the Indians.
I can understand why Guillen would give it to Vazquez, though. Javy has pitched very well so far this spring, so he's earned the right, plus it should be a reward for what he did last season. Vazquez was the best starter the White Sox had last season.
What scares me though, is the other bit of information Ozzie dropped about his starting rotation yesterday. Gavin Floyd is moving from the 5th spot to the 3rd spot in the rotation.
Guillen said Floyd's effort has sold him on moving him up from the fifth spot, with left-hander Danks tentatively scheduled to slide to the fifth spot.
"Gavin Floyd has the stuff to be the No. 2 pitcher," Guillen said. "Hopefully not too far away he can be a No. 1. But he has good enough stuff to be one of those guys."
I wonder if Ozzie and I are watching the same Gavin Floyd.
There are other reasons for the move besides Gavin's performance this spring, with the biggest one being Guillen doesn't want Buehrle and John Danks pitching on consecutive days since they're essentially the same guy.
Still, having Floyd as our third starter doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence in me about this upcoming season.
TheCactus Chronicleswill be a daily feature at Foul Balls from now until Opening Day 2008.
White Sox 5 Rockies 2
The Good
There was a lot to be happy with as the White Sox won for the second day in a row. The Sox had only managed three home runs in their first eight games of the spring, but they had two on Wednesday. One off the bat of Jermaine Dye, who went 2-for-2 on the afternoon, and another one by Brian Anderson.
Speaking of Anderson, the problem with Brian has never been his defense, and he showed off his arm in the 2nd inning when he threw out a Rockie trying to stretch a single into a double from deep left field.
Danny Richar also went 2-3 to bump his average up to .400 this spring, but he didn't gain much ground on Alexei Ramirez who continues to hit the hell out of the ball, going 2-for-4 on Wednesday.
On the mound, Mark Buehrle pitched 4 innings and allowed only one hit. Mark is yet to allow a run this spring. Ehren Wasserman worked a perfect 7th inning as he continues to battle for the 7th spot in the Sox bullpen. The Bad
The Sox may have had a power surge on Wednesday, but Nick Swisher, Jim Thome, A.J. Pierzynski, and Josh Fields all combined to go 0-for-12 against the Rockies.
Also, Octavio Dotel finally showed he's mortal, allowing a run and two hits in the 5th inning.
The Random
The starting outfield isn't getting any clearer as Carlos Quentin continues to come back slowly from shoulder problems, and Jerry Owens continues to experience pain in his upper leg/groin area. All of which could be fantastic news for Brian Anderson if he keeps hitting.
Diamondbacks 5 Cubs 4 The Good
Carlos Zambrano seems to be in mid-season form, as he pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. Oh, and he was one of three Cubs to homer on the day. Micah Hoffpauir and Luis Figueroa had the other two.
Felix Pie had a nice diving catch in the 2nd inning, and then doubled the runner off at second base. The Bad
The Cubs pitching staff only gave up 4 hits on the day, but they walked 6 batters, with Rich Hill allowing three free passes on his own.
Some guys named Campusano and Lahey allowed 4 runs in the 8th inning, but fortunately, they never had a shot at making the team anyway. The Random
Mayor Daley on relaxing Wrigley Field's landmark status: "I'm not going to be the mayor saying, 'OK, we're going to relax on the historic aspect of Wrigley Field. Mayor Daley says it'll be torn down.' That'll be a great headline for the Sun-Times. I'm not going to do that. You're not going to get that from me. . . . I'm a White Sox fan. I'm not going to say, 'We're going to change Wrigley Field.' That would be the end of me," Daley said.
While most of the sports world is focused on Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee right now, there's another scandal that broke late on Tuesday that I've turned all my attention to. I wrote about it at FanHouse last night, but I'm enjoying the story so much that I want to write about it again here.
Sure, the Illini are having their worst basketball season that I can remember in a long time, but with every dark cloud comes a silver lining, and I've seen the lining.
Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff violated telephone recruiting restrictions imposed because of his previous violations at Oklahoma, then lied about it to the school and NCAA investigators, the NCAA said Wednesday.
The NCAA has listed five major violations against Sampson, saying he gave "false or misleading information" to investigators. The university released the NCAA's report on Wednesday morning.
Major violations of NCAA rules can carry punishments including postseason ineligibility. Indiana already had self-reported violations under Sampson in October, but the new discovery could put the Hoosiers' season, and Sampson's career, under a cloud of uncertainty.
Awesome.
I heard he also had Brian McNamee inject him with HGH.
As for what Sampson and his assistant coach Jeff Meyer are in trouble for, here's a quick list of allegations included in the NCAA's letter to Indiana.
-That Sampson, assistant coach Jeff Meyer and former assistant Rob Senderoff failed to comply with sanctions imposed on Sampson for impermissible recruiting calls he made while he was the head coach at Oklahoma. Sampson was under such sanctions when he was hired to coach the Hoosiers in May 2006.
Sampson and Senderoff are alleged to have jointly participated in telephone calls at a time when Sampson was prohibited from being present or taking part when staff members made recruiting calls. Senderoff and Meyer are alleged to have made about 100 calls that exceeded the sanction limits.
Senderoff resigned his position Oct. 30.
-That Senderoff and Meyer placed "at least 25 telephone calls" to nine potential recruits that exceeded NCAA limits even if no sanctions had been in place.
-That Sampson "acted contrary to the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly violated recruiting restrictions imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions."
-That Sampson and Meyer engaged in an impermissible recruiting contact during a two-day sports camp held at Assembly Hall last June 30 and July 1, and that Meyer provided the potential recruit with an impermissible benefit -- at least one T-shirt and drawstring backpack.
Admittedly, I don't know all that much about recruiting and the rules that govern it, all I know is which players are being brought in. I also know that you can't buy the recruit a car, or buy his momma a house, or get his daddy a tractor (Thank you, Blue Chips).
What I do know about recruiting violations is that they're awesome when they're committed by a coach and a school you hate, and they get busted for it.
Now the school has 90 days to respond to the violations before the NCAA decides to bring down it's iron fist. (No doubt that fist is full of cash. Cash and justice.) So it's unlikely that the Hoosiers (who are currently 20-3) will be punished this season.
There's still a chance the school may ban itself from postseason play this year in hopes that the NCAA will be more lenient in their decision, but I'm not sure how "major" these violations are, so I don't know if Indiana would go that far.
All I know is that odds are the school is going to lose some scholarships, and may face postseason bans in the next few years.
And I can't wipe this smile off of my face. Foul Balls Mark Buehrle's Truck Is Quite Large - Rich over at Home Run Derby sent this to me yesterday, but it was too late for me to include it in my post, and I didn't want to just link to it in High Five so I saved it for today.
This titan is ten feet tall and weighs more than six tons. You need something akin to a commercial drivers license to thunder this monster on a road.
The Southpaw added four-wheel drive and some hydraulics that lower the bed to the ground. He didn’t say how much it exactly cost him, only divulging that it was in the six-
When he first saw it, he was stunned by it too …
“Oh shit, that thing’s a lot bigger than I expected.”
Of course, as a self respecting Simpsons fan, you all know what this post calls for.
Blackhawks To Play Outdoors - As I was getting ready to leave for work yesterday, I heard something on the radio that excited me greatly. I was listening to ESPN 1000's Mac, Jurko, and Harry when one of the hosts, Harry Teinowitz, dropped a bombshell.
According to what Harry was being told, it seems that within the next year or two the Blackhawks may be playing an outdoor game against the Detroit Red Wings at Soldier Field.
A Chicago Park District panel recommends that a new contract to manage Soldier Field go to SMG, which made a pitch of hosting an outdoor Blackhawks hockey game at the lakefront stadium....
"I don't want to get into where we're at in negotiations in terms of time frame, but there will be a game at Soldier Field. It's just a matter of when,'' said SMG senior vice president Michael Evans.
But Blackhawks president John McDonough said discussions about Soldier Field have "been informal on a what-if basis,'' adding, "I have friends at all of the venues: Wrigley, U.S. Cellular. I think they'd all like to take a run at it."
The final decision on whether to stage an outdoor game in Chicago is up to the NHL, said McDonough. Earlier this year, some 71,000 hockey fans watched the Buffalo Sabres play in an outdoor football stadium in Buffalo.
Let me just say that this needs to happen. When the Buffalo Sabres played the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the snow, it was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. I would love to go to Soldier Field, or wherever, to watch the Blackhawks and the Red Wings play an outdoor game.
I'm facing a bit of a dilemma here. You see, the only White Sox jersey I currently own is Joe Crede's. Well, odds are that Crede won't be on the White Sox by the time the season starts, and since I can't wear the jersey of a former player, I need to think of a new one to buy.
I have no idea who I'm going to get yet, though Carlos Quentin is in the lead.
Luckily, if I should want to, I can get my new Sox jersey in camouflage form. You know, in case I want to invade a foreign country and show my team pride at the same time.
I have no idea what to think about the White Sox right now. Going into the season it was known that if the team was out of it-though nobody thought they'd be this out of it-Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye were the two players likely to be traded.
Tadahito Iguchi's name came up too as a free agent, but there was never any real talk about an Iguchi trade. (Well, okay, I talked.) So now we sit here on July 31st and Mark Buehrle is signed for another five years, Tadahito Iguchi is hitting home runs against the Cubs for the Phillies, and now maybe Jermaine Dye is about to sign a contract extension.
Jermaine Dye remains a member of the White Sox, and the possibility exists that he could stay in Chicago despite strong interest from Boston.
The White Sox, according to an industry source, have made overtures about giving Dye an extension that wouldn't mortgage their long-term future. Dye can become a free agent after this season and seek a long-term extension elsewhere, even though he indicated last week that he wouldn't settle for a one-year contract.
From what I'm hearing, the Sox are offering a two-year deal, but Dye would like it to be longer. While I wouldn't be that upset if the Sox kept Dye, I still don't think it's the right move to make. As I've said before, Dye is the only valuable trade chip the Sox can afford to lose right now. It's a lot easier to replace corner outfielders than it is starters like Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez.
The White Sox were close to sending Jermaine to Boston yesterday for Wily Mo Pena and a couple of prospects, but the Red Sox aren't sure they want to hand over the prospects that Kenny Williams wants. The latest talk I hear is Pena and one prospect for Dye.
I think Kenny's just going to sit around and wait on this as long as possible in hopes that the Red Sox will relent and accept the trade. Williams is probably also fielding phone calls from the Angels who lost out on Mark Teixeira yesterday and might be a little more willing to part with young talent for Dye's proven bat. Even if it does leave a logjam in the outfield.
At this point I'd say it's 60/40 that Dye will be traded within the next two hours.
The ink's dry on the Buehrle deal and life is back to normal at US Cellular. (You know, Mark pitches a nearly flawless game, the Sox offense screws it up.)
It's hard to believe that only a week ago, fans were biting their fingernails, waiting to hear the worst, that their beloved ace pitcher would be leaving the Windy City.
Well, you needn't have worried.
See, while everyone focused on Kenny Williams, uber-agent Jeff Berry, the players' union, no-deal clauses, etcetera, no one seemed to notice the Sox had a secret weapon right in Buehlre's own camp:
His wife Jamie, eight-months pregnant with their first child.
Can you imagine the hormonally-charged exchanges going on in that household during those negotiations?
"Okay, honey, let me get this straight. We just painted his room and put the furniture in and he's due in less than a month and now you're telling me that because of a couple million we don't even need, we have to pick up and move it all to Boston. Are all our friends and family moving with us too, huh, Mark? And what I am supposed to do, get a new obstetrician? Maybe we should just fly my old one to Massachusetts? Or, I know, you can just leave me here... alone... to have our ...baby... boy... by... mysel -
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
(Kenny, you rascal, you factored this in all along, didn't you?)
So, next time you're about to let a crying infant wreck your meal at the local Applebees, just smile at the mewling tyke and remember: one of his kind probably kept your favorite White Sox pitcher here in Chicago.
Seriously, it has to have reached a point where the Astros wake up in the morning, see they're going against Carlos Zambrano, and quit right there. He owns them. Going into yesterday's game , Carlos was 4-0 with a 0.46 ERA against Houston in his last five starts, and he lowered that ERA on Friday. Zambrano lasted 6.2 innings allowing no runs and three hits. "We gave them a couple of runs and then we didn't get any offense going," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "That's what Zambrano has been doing to us. He sure enjoys himself when he pitches against us. He shows it on the mound and has been getting good results." Once again, the Cubs went homerless and still won.
Baltimore Orioles 2 Chicago White Sox 0
It's nice to know that the money hasn't changed Mark Buehrle. He still went out and pitched well, and he received absolutely no support from his offense. Erik Bedard picked up where he left off before the break, when he struck out 15 Rangers while facing the minimum in a complete game. He wasn't quite as good against the Sox, but did last seven innings and allow only three hits. "He's one of those guys that's not a mystery, just tough to hit," Paul Konerko said. All the offense in the game came from solo shots by Nick Markakis and Corey Patterson.
Now that Mark Buehrle has gotten his new deal from the White Sox, Chicagoans can focus all of their energy on the other free agent to be pitcher in town, Carlos Zambrano.
Buehrle's new contract is bad news for the Cubs. Now that they've seen the White Sox get a deal done with Buehrle thanks to more than a little fan pressure, Cubs fans are probably getting some ideas.
Zambrano would already have a new contract with the Cubs for about $72 million had the Tribune Company not put the team up for sale. Now nobody's sure what's going on. Bud Selig is stepping in and putting an end to a Jacque Jones trade because he doesn't want the Cubs new owner to incur anymore debt, so it doesn't seem likely that the Cubs will work anything out with Z during the season.
Which means Carlos will be hitting the open market this offseason, and he will have a ton of money thrown at his feet. If Mark Buehrle could command something in the 5-year $85-$90 million range, what's Carlos going to be worth? How much will be added to his salary now that Buehrle is off the market?
As they sit today, the Cubs are very close to contending with the Brewers for best team in the NL Central for the next few years. Losing Zambrano to free agency during the offseason would be a huge setback.
With every start Carlos makes without a new deal from the Cubs, it gets more likely that that's exactly what's going to happen.
Is it a coincidence that merely hours after I called Kenny Williams a moron, and told him letting Mark Buehrle go could cost him his job, that the Sox and Mark agreed to an extension?
Yes. But don't tell me that!
I'm totally taking credit for this one, White Sox fans. So you should probably thank me.
In case you haven't heard the details, which I know you have, here they are again.
It's a 4-year deal worth $56 million, and it also holds a no-trade clause for the first two years. After that the no-trade clause becomes unneccesary because Mark will be a Ten and Five guy. Meaning that since he's been in the Majors for 10 years, at least five of which with his current team, he has to agree to any trade before it can be official.
"There were a lot of people who had to be involved in working to get this done," said Buehrle before heading back home to Missouri for the All-Star break. "My agent [Jeff Berry], he works for me and listened to us. Me and my wife [Jamie] realized how much we wanted to stay here.
"Obviously, it came from the White Sox side, too. [General manager] Kenny [Williams], [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf], [assistant general manager] Rick [Hahn], all those guys. It takes two sides to get something done."
Even Kenny is all tingly inside.
"I have to applaud Mark Buehrle and his camp on the way that he's handled this entire situation," Williams said. "Without the extreme love for the city and the desire to remain a White Sox, this would not have gotten done.
"He expressed some desire to stay with us and we tried to make as many concessions as we could without hurting our future and ability to maneuver. It just kind of came together."
By make as many concessions as they could Kenny means, "We just kept telling him 'No deal.'"
Still, all that matters is that Mark will be here for four more seasons, and that's all that I care about. I'm still not too pleased with the way Williams and the Sox handled this entire thing, but I got what I wanted in the end, and as long as I'm happy that's all that matters.
Now we can get back to all this business about how bad this team has sucked this season.
It's a harsh statement, I know, but that's just the way I feel right now.
Yes, I still remember the moves Kenny made and didn't make that helped result in the White Sox first World Championship in a billion years, but lately....
Thanks to countless Sox injuries this season, we all get to see this wonderful minor league talent Kenny is bringing us. They aren't very wonderful, are they? Perhaps there's some promise in Josh Fields and Andy Gonzalez, but I see only doom and gloom in everybody else the Sox bring up from the minors.
Of course, what really seals the deal is the Mark Buehrle situation. It seems everybody in the world of baseball realizes that what Mark is willing to do to stay in Chicago is a gift that not many teams receive.
Everybody but Kenny.
Buehrle is willing to give a huge discount? Kenny wants to trade him anyway, so he won't accept a no-trade clause.
Now comes word that Buehrle would accept a deal without the no-trade clause, but with one minor stipulation, and Kenny tells him to go to hell with that one too.
Buehrle's future with the Sox appeared even bleaker Saturday night, when agent Jeff Berry issued a statement indicating contract talks have collapsed and a trade might come during the All-Star break that begins Monday. Buehrle reportedly backed off his stance on a no-trade clause, suggesting instead that if he were traded in the middle of the four-year, $56 million contract the two sides had agreed upon, a $17 million player option for 2012 would automatically kick in.
The Sox rejected the option idea, prompting Berry's statement.
'Mark loves playing for the White Sox,'' Berry said. ''He has the utmost respect for everybody in the organization. In an effort to bridge the contractual impasse, Mark offered a sensible alternative to the full no-trade clause. Those alternatives were rejected, and Mark hopes for resolution before the second half.''
Said Buehrle,
''I did kind of go to [Berry] and said something about taking an offer off the table just to get everything over with,'' Buehrle said. ''The only deadline there really is in my mind is July 31 [the non-waiver trading deadline]. So we've got about 3½ weeks for something to happen. I told them if something's going to happen to kind of hurry up and do it because it's getting kind of old constantly avoiding [the media].''
Great. So now Mark's at the point where he doesn't even really want to try and work out a deal. I can't say I blame him, either.
Way to go, Kenny. Maybe you can't hear all those chants of "Re-sign Buehrle" echoing through US Cellular from your skybox.
Word of advice, Mr Williams. If you continue to push Buehrle out the door for no good reason, even as he's begging you to stay, guess who could be the next person to leave?
You.
Cuz alienating the fans of the team you work for is always the best way to keep your job.
We can't really be sure whether it was the pitching of Mark Buehrle or just the fact that the Twins arms were tired from all the hitting they did on Friday, but Minnesota couldn't get anything done on Saturday. Buehrle - who I think I'm legally obligated to say could have been making his last start in Chicago - lasted 8 innings and allowed only 6 hits. He also induced four double plays from the Twins whenever he did let a runner on. Paul Konerko provided all the offense the Sox would need with a 2-run bomb in the 4th inning.
Chicago Cubs 7 Pittsburgh Pirates 1
I have to admit, after years of watching the Cubs I had a strong feeling that with them playing so well lately, it was almost certain they'd go into Pittsburgh and get swept. I also know I'm not the only one who felt this way. We've all seen it way too often. Well, Ted Lilly made sure it didn't happen, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing only a single run. He also got a ton of support from an offense in which everybody but Lilly and Koyie Hill had two hits. "We got the game started with a couple base hits, and we scored a few runs early and gave Lilly something to work with," Piniella said. "And then we added some runs, which is also good to see." Seattle Mariners 4 Oakland Athletics 0
You know what makes watching Felix Hernandez dominate a team even more exciting? When you know he's doing it after heeding the advice of bloggers. The guys at USS Mariner wrote an open letter to Seattle pitching coach Rafael Chaves asking him to make sure Felix mixes up his pitches better, a reader printed it out and gave it to Chaves, and Chaves shared it with Hernandez. The result was 8 innings of two hit baseball. Who knew we had such power? Also, Jessica Biel should have sex with me to further her career. Justin Timberlake will only ruin it. Seriously, look what happens to women after he's done with them. Britney has lost her damn mind, and Cameron Diaz is dating Criss Angel. Fornelli is the one true path, Jessica.
I figured just in case that was the last time Mark Buehrle ever walks off the field at US Cellular as a member of the Chicago White Sox, I should commemorate the moment by recording it off my television with my digital camera.
Those are the lengths I'm willing to go for one Mark Buehrle.
Sox fans also showed their appreciation during the 7th and 8th innings when a chant of "Re-sign Buehrle" could be heard throughout the stadium.
Of course the White Sox bullpen showed their appreciation for Buehrle by allowing 5 runs in their 1.1 innings of work to allow the Orioles to come back and win 7-6.
I kind of already went on a mini-rant about Mark Buehrle in the Morning Wood earlier, but that doesn't mean the anger has subsided.
You see, tonight's start against the Orioles could be the last time we ever see him pitch at U.S. Cellular Field in a White Sox uniform.
That seriously bothers me.
I can't help but think Greg Maddux when pondering Buehrle's future. I'm not saying Mark is going to be traded somewhere and go on to win four Cy Young Awards, but he's going to be a very good pitcher. Just like he's been during his entire tenure here on the South Side.
It seems that Mark has done everything in his power to stay in Chicago, and Kenny Williams has his heart set on shipping him out of town. Could this entire negotiation nonsense the last week or so have been nothing more than a PR move by the White Sox?
"Hey, we tried to keep him, but we just couldn't come to an agreement."
If so, it's blown up in their face. I'm more angry with them than I have been in a long time. Like, "White Flag trade" pissed.
I understand that changes need to be made if we're going to have another championship-caliber team, but I just don't get how getting rid of your most consistent starting pitcher helps you get better.
I just don't know what to say.
If you can get to US Cellular tonight, go. Go there and let Mark know just how much you've appreciated what he's done for this team.
According to a source outside the organization but familiar with the situation, talks between Buehrle and the Sox broke down because the club would not put a no-trade clause into a proposed four-year, $56 million deal.
The source also told the Sun-Times that general manager Ken Williams wasted no time taking phone calls from both the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers about a possible trade involving the left-handed starter.
Apparently, last night's 8-1 loss briefly pushed the two sides back to the table - nothing like full-on panic to inspire negotiation - but then someone inadvertantly dropped a bright, shiny object in front of Kenny Williams and the talks stopped again.
Williams had set Friday as the cutoff, so who knows when - or if - negotiations will resume.
Ozzie Guillen's as sick of it as everyone else:
"I don't even care anymore. If Buehrle signs, good. If he doesn't sign, good luck. I don't know how much they offered. Fifty-six million? It's a soap-opera thing. Now I can say that's between the front office and him. When you ask me, I will tell you because it's my job. But it gets to the point where he's here, he's here. He's not? Then we have to call somebody up. We have to find somebody else."
You know what I'm sick of?
People who could fuck up Christmas being put in charge of things that matter.
This ain't rocket science, folks. It's a pretty straight-forward negotiation. But it's clearly been hijacked by some over-amped MBAs and either egos or ignorance are getting in the way.
Whichever it is, I'm sure not holding my breath for a happy ending.
(And by the way, if you ever wonder, "Why can't those people in the Middle East work it out?" remember this.)
White Sox suits have descended on Florida for a last-minute push to get a contract signed by ace starter Mark Buehrle.
But according to the Chicago Sun-Times, the deal gets done tomorrow, before the team leaves Florida, or it's over.
A source close to the situation indicated that while Williams and [Buehrle's agent] Berry have yet to speak, everyone between the two men has been acting as a buffer to get a deal done before Friday, which Williams is believed to be calling the final hour. The intermediaries include relatives of Buehrle, as well as members of the Sox organization, including the coaching staff.
Hey, when you bring relatives in, you know it's serious. (Can a bundt cake to Kenny be far behind?)
Manager Ozzie Guillen offered up his hopes before Wednesday night's game.
''If Buehrle was my kid, hey, make your money. But Buehrle is my pitcher. I think he's going to sign. That's my hope, but there are so many things in the middle. Hopefully, we sign him before we get to Chicago [Sunday night]. That's everybody's hope, but you never know. It's not what I hear, it's what I read. But the way both parties love each other, I think he will sign."
You know, that dugout brawl with ex-Cub catcher Michael What's-His-Name did wonders for Carlos Zambrano's complexion and his pitching. He's won his last five starts and is up to 9-6 on the season. Yesterday, it didn't hurt to have Mark DeRosa hit a two-out, three-run homer in the third inning to make it 4-0, or Cubs infielder Mike Fontenot to homer and go 3-for-4, finishing 9-for-13 in the series. Zambrano's impressed with Fontenot. "He hits the ball like a man. I feel happy for him," adding, "I think I will buy him a donut."
Chicago White Sox 5 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3
Mark Buehrle (please don't leave) scattered nine hits over seven innings and repeatedly worked out of jams (do not leave) to give his team a chance to rally over the over the seventh and and eighth innings, with Paul Konerko contributing a two-run double. Buehrle (we love you) allowed two runs over the second, third and fourth innings even though the Rays loaded the bases in each frame. "He pitches with a lot of confidence. He's been to the World Series, so he's not an easy guy to get around," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "And even though we had him in trouble, I'm sure he never thought he was in trouble. And Panger asked me to mention to Buehrle, please stay in Chicago!"
You see, after I wrote this post the other day, Kenny Williams saw the light.* He now realizes that to get rid of Mark Buehrle would be one of the stupidest things that the White Sox could do, whether from a baseball perspective or pure dollars and cents.
Ken Williams' cell phone got a bit quieter Tuesday.
That's usually what happens when a team decides to pull its biggest bargaining chip off the trade table.
The Boston Red Sox, who had jumped out as the clear favorite to acquire White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle during the weekend, have pulled out of the sweepstakes, according to one source. And not because the asking price of top minor-league prospects was too high or because they no longer coveted Buehrle's services, but because Buehrle is no longer on the trading block for the time being.
...
The Sun-Times has learned that a change of heart in both the Buehrle and White Sox camps during the last 48 hours has led to talks about the sides somehow getting together and agreeing on a contract extension by the end of the week.
That sentiment also was expressed by one Sox player, who said the ''climate'' was right for Buehrle to sign an extension in the next few weeks.
''Call it a calm before the storm,'' the player said.
Now before we all wet ourselves with joy - too late here, actually - it's important to note that nothing has been agreed upon as yet. (Though there is speculation that it's a four-year deal on the table.)
Also, neither side is willing to admit that this is what's actually happening. Though when asked about it yesterday, a sheepish grin appeared on Buehrle's face as he said "It's wrong! It's wrong!"
This also doesn't mean that Kenny is done trying to make trades. It's just now he'll be doing it to move salary to accomodate Buehrle's new contract.
Which means that Jose Contreras is probably going to go to the Mets, and Jermaine Dye could be shipped to the Dodgers or the Yankees.
So just because the Sox may be re-signing Buehrle, it doesn't mean they're finished trying to re-tool this team.
At this point I don't think there's anything that's going to change the mind of Ken Williams. Mark Buehrle is gone. It sucks, I don't like it, but there's nothing I can do.
But the worst part is it doesn't have to happen.
The White Sox have a policy not to sign pitchers to deals longer than three years due to injury concerns. In most cases, it's a smart stance to take.
The problem is, I don't think it should apply to Buehrle.
Quick, how much time has Mark Buehrle spent on the disabled list since he began his career with the White Sox in 2000?
The answer is none.
There's no reason to believe he will, either. You see, that three-year policy is effective when it comes to the power pitchers. Those guys put so much stress on their arms from throwing so hard that they have a lot more arm problems.
Buehrle is not that kind of pitcher. Far from it. He's the real estate pitcher - everything he does is all about location, location, location. Same as Tom Glavine, Kenny Rogers, and Jamie Moyer.
What do those other lefties have in common?
They're all pitching into their 40's, and they're pitching well.
Buehrle is going to be the same kind of guy if he wants. So signing him to a 5-year deal is not going to bite the Sox in the ass.
The fact is, at only 28-years old, Mark could still have 14 years left in him, and the Sox want to get rid of him because he'll be 33 by the time the 5-year deal he wants would be done.
Nevermind the fact that trading one of the most popular players on the current team is bound to affect ticket sales. The White Sox just started to gain popularity in this city again, and now they're about to shoot themselves in the foot.
Unfortunately, Ken Williams has already made up his mind, and nothing anybody says is going to change it. Mark Buehrle is scheduled to make his next start on Wednesday.
Don't be shocked when it's in a Red Sox uniform.
All we have left to hold onto is the hope the Red Sox don't sign him to an extension right away, and that Kenny wakes up this offseason and brings Mark back home.
(UPDATE: Jesus, I hate when this happens. It's rare, but it happens. After posting this blog this morning - I wrote it last night - I go looking through the papers for other stories of interest and what do you know?Mariotti wrote the same fucking thing. I feel so....dirty.)
If you thought what the White Sox violated blow-up dolls with baseball bats, you should see what they do to space heaters with them. Mark Buehrle didn't have a very strong performance to follow Gavin Floyd's near no-no on Tuesday night, as he allowed 7 runs in 5.2 innings and fell to 1-4 on the season.
