White Sox Quote of the Day: Mark Buehrle

by The Wizard on Jun 28, 2007 1:31 PM CDT in Quotes

Mark himself:

"I think everybody knows where my heart's at, where I want to stay, how badly I want to stay. So, if anybody has a question thinking I'm going to St. Louis after the season if I'm a free agent or if it gets to that point, they're wrong. I want to stay here and do everything I can to stay here."

And now some more rumors: Barry Rozner says Reinsdorf has OKed a 4th year:

With the Sox on record as saying they'd never go past three years on a pitcher's contract, and with Buehrle knowing there would be at least five or six years waiting for him on the open market worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million, there was no common ground. Until Jerry Reinsdorf said OK to four years. That, at the least, has given the two sides something to talk about, and that's all that's happening right now.

Joe Cowley says if a deal is reached it will have to be before leaving Florida:

A source close to the situation indicated that while Williams and 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 -- who, like Berry, happen to be in St. Petersburg -- as well as members of the Sox organization, including the coaching staff. It also was no coincidence that assistant general manager Rick Hahn, who handles a lot of the contract work for the Sox, arrived in the area Wednesday afternoon. So why the rush to get this deal done? Because if the Sox leave Florida without a deal in place -- the sides now are believed to be talking about a four-year contract -- all bets are off and Buehrle can start saying his goodbyes. Williams has a plan to retool the Sox, and he needs to start the ball rolling in the next week.

Nathaniel Whalen thinks it'll happen:

So, what's going to happen? This could be a short window in which the Sox and Buehrle camp are going to negotiate. If it doesn't happen now - and Ozzie even went so far as to speculate this - it won't happen. Just based on a feeling - and a little bit of knowledge (emphasis on little) - I'm saying it's going to happen.

*****

And congratulations to Big Frank on No. 500.

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"The intermediaries include...

...relatives of Buehrle"

So, whether or not Buehrle signs might depend on the opinions of Mark's Uncle Jedd or Cousin Cletus?

President - Johnny Dickshot Fan Club

by tailgater on Jun 28, 2007 2:26 PM CDT reply actions

I wonder how they become sports writer

Rozner is stupid to think White Sox can sign and trade Buehrle. Doesn't he know he would opt out of the contract in off season having traded in middle of multi year contract?

by indianguy30 on Jun 28, 2007 2:49 PM CDT reply actions

That rule was rescinded

In the latest CBA.

by Big Daddy Kool on Jun 28, 2007 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions

NY Post Rumor

NY Post (insert joke here) reported the following Konerko rumor:

Asked yesterday about the lack of pop in the Yankees' lineup - the team began play ranked seventh in the AL in homers - Joe Torre indicated it's a concern that could be addressed through a trade.
"We've lost a couple of first basemen this year, so that would be one area," Torre said. "You wouldn't replace any of the outfielders and you wouldn't replace any of the infielders or the catcher, so it's a matter of finding someone who can give you a little pop or would be a threat."
Paul Konerko of the White Sox and Tampa Bay's Ty Wigginton are two of the more attractive possibilities at first base.

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere. Didn't see it if it was... What would the Yanks be willing to trade that we want? I don't see this one as realistic. Thoughts?

by echo on Jun 28, 2007 3:15 PM CDT reply actions

The Yanks

are stacked in the pitching prospects department, so any deal would almost definitely involve multiple pitchers. The two guys usually brought up are Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. Joba is a hard throwing possible number 1, while Kennedy is a finesse-type, meaning back of the rotation. The thing that makes it attractive to me is the prospect of getting a true number 1 type pitcher, which Joba might be. Most right now see Gio and Danks falling short of dominance, but becoming very good 2/3 types. Floyd is probably no better than a 4 and Broadway, McCullough, Egbert, Cassel and Edwards are varyingly productive versions of the same type of pitcher: the groundballing 3-5 type. Faustino de los Santo is the only guy right now who supposedly has a shot at Dominant Number 1 Status and he's 21 and at Low-A.

In general, though, I'd like to point out that our system is at least a little bit underrated. The kind of guys that we've been drafting have been railed on, but they've also been experiencing success. You've probably heard about Egbert and McCullough, who seem to be breaking out, so here's some stuff on Justin Cassel:

Cassel is throwing up ridiculous GB/FB ratios right now. From minorleaguesplits, Cassel has allowed 92 balls in play and 60 of them have gone for groundballs. Batters are slugging a minute .275. He's gotten help from a low BABIP, but I'd bet he's the sort who has some control over it anyway. He skipped low A, so it's pretty obvious that the Sox think he has potential, too.

by colintj on Jun 28, 2007 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah but

Cassel hasn't pitched since May 6th which probably means he had some kind of season ending surgery.

by bhoov on Jun 28, 2007 5:13 PM CDT up reply actions

All I could find

is that it's a shoulder injury. Which, if it's not some kind of tiredness/tendinitis, doesn't bode well. My guess is that, since it was fairly early in the season, that it's probably serious, because he was a college pitcher, so he should have been used to the workload. Siiiggghhh.

by colintj on Jun 28, 2007 5:32 PM CDT up reply actions

I guess the better question...

revolves around reloading for next year or restocking for the future. Taken as a whole, all of the trade rumors don't add up. Some feel like a reload, while others have us looking at the distant future. Is a quick reload even possible??

by echo on Jun 28, 2007 5:46 PM CDT up reply actions