Buehrle Signs with Marlins | 4 yrs $58 mil

[TitoMB345]

Calling him a hypocrite has been and continues to be a disgrace.

Seriously. That is just embarrassing. This guy has been, by all accounts, a class act, on and off the field. He will go down as one of the most beloved White Sox players ever.

 

I miss him already

[Marty34]

The Sox are in this no man's land in part because they made decisions with their heart. Long past time to get back to being the heartless bunch I loved. Sentiment is for Chicago's other team.

[caulfield12]

The Sox are in this no man's land in part because they made decisions with their heart. Long past time to get back to being the heartless bunch I loved. Sentiment is for Chicago's other team.

 

 

The decisions they made with their heart were to keep Buehrle the first time and Konerko the last two times he could have left.

 

If they had heart, they would have kept Thome around in 2010 instead of ceding to Ozzie's ego.

 

Of all the other bad contracts, Contreras after the 2005/2006 seasons was the only one that was made more with heart than a realistic prediction of what he would accomplish going forward in the future.

 

Maybe Ozzie THOUGHT Juan Pierre's "heart" was enough to justify his presence in the leadoff role these last few years, but that was a dubious decision as well.

 

And questioning Hudson's heart, that was idiotic.

 

If anything, they think too much with their brains (Rios must turn it around, Dunn will be great, Peavy has a Cy Young) and not enough about what's inside of a player. And they failed miserably in getting through to Beckham. (I'll admit Peavy at least SEEMS to have a heart at all times, Dunn and Rios, who knows...) And, if you think about it, Jermaine Dye had as much heart and pride as any player on the Sox...the way they dumped him unceremoniously for an underachieving Rios in 2009 was bad as well.

 

As you have questioned often Marty, they've never really gotten through to Alexei Ramirez on a consistent basis, either.

Edited December 10, 2011 by caulfield12

[greg775]

Buehrle just on CSN, called today a sad day. Said he never received an offer from the Sox, said when things were going to go down, went back to the

Sox for some sort of offer, not neccessarily a match, and the Sox declined. So he confirmed the Sox never made him an offer. I think its pretty hard to call a guy a hypocrite when the team apparently didn't want him.

 

The White Sox are a complete and utter joke.

So Jerry didn't get involved with this one. Hmmmm me thinks he's starting to smell the saved money.

[Flash Tizzle]

The White Sox are a complete and utter joke.

So Jerry didn't get involved with this one. Hmmmm me thinks he's starting to smell the saved money.

You need to wake up. If Williams is intent on rebuilding, or whatever our equivalent is that would basically concede this season, there's no need to have Buehrle around.

 

Can we have someone leave and just accept the circumstances involving it without assigning blame for once? Buehlre wanted his money/years (his decision), perhaps wanted a team better constructed to compete (his decision), and the White Sox are going another direction (JR/KW's decision).

 

 

[Princess Dye]

Sox weren't able to extend an offer because there's a chance he could've accepted

 

There's no reason to spend tons of $ on Mark right now. We dont need him, b/c this isn't going to be a year we go for the championship. I'd rather spend that $ in 2012, 2013.

[Flash Tizzle]

Sox weren't able to extend an offer because there's a chance he could've accepted

 

There's no reason to spend tons of $ on Mark right now. We dont need him, b/c this isn't going to be a year we go for the championship. I'd rather spend that $ in 2012, 2013.

I'm glad they didn't too. What happens if they came up with an offer just below the Marlins. Then it puts Buehrle in the position of looking like the bad guy signing with the highest bidder and abandoning the "home town discount" crap every team hopes their fan favorite players sign.

 

Of course, he may have returned -- but I don't feel it's right for Buehrle to have his last big contract for this team when we'll probably have some tough years ahead.

 

Let the White Sox look bad in the eyes of the few who can't see this team for what it is.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Flash Tizzle

[Dick Allen]

I'm glad they didn't too. What happens if they came up with an offer just below the Marlins. Then it puts Buehrle in the position of looking like the bad guy signing with the highest bidder and abandoning the "home town discount" crap every team hopes their fan favorite players sign.

 

Of course, he may have returned -- but I don't feel it's right for Buehrle to have his last big contract for this team when we'll probably have some tough years ahead.

 

Let the White Sox look bad in the eyes of the few who can't see this team for what it is.

I think to have a pitcher of Buehrle's calibur, one where it was reported there were 14 teams on him, to NEVER even make him an offer looks bad. Not before he became a free agent, not at the end of the process when from what he said and I was watching, he wasn't looking for a match. Buehrle signed a 4 year $58 million contract and he called it a sad day. What's even sadder is where the White Sox apparently are at right now, and the people most responsible for that are still making the decisions. I can't fathom why anyone would be optimistic with a rebuild with KW at the helm.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Dick Allen

[caulfield12]

I think to have a pitcher of Buehrle's calibur, one where it was reported there were 14 teams on him, to NEVER even make him an offer looks bad. Not before he became a free agent, not at the end of the process when from what he said and I was watching, he wasn't looking for a match. Buehrle signed a 4 year $58 million contract and he called it a sad day. What's even sadder is where the White Sox apparently are at right now, and the people most responsible for that are still making the decisions. I can't fathom why anyone would be optimistic with a rebuild with KW at the helm.

 

 

Because we won our only World Series in most of our lifetimes with him as the GM, Rick Hahn's still around and we've added some experienced guys in scouting and development.

 

I get it....the last 3 years have been brutal and it's easier to look at the glass as half empty rather than half full, but we've been fooled before when we had high expectations (2001/2006/2009/2011) and we've excelled when we were the underdogs and nothing was expected out of us.

[Dick Allen]

Because we won our only World Series in most of our lifetimes with him as the GM, Rick Hahn's still around and we've added some experienced guys in scouting and development.

 

I get it....the last 3 years have been brutal and it's easier to look at the glass as half empty rather than half full, but we've been fooled before when we had high expectations (2001/2006/2009/2011) and we've excelled when we were the underdogs and nothing was expected out of us.

The Bulls won 6 championships with Jerry Krause as the GM. At some point it becomes obvious that people lose their touch. No one came knocking at Krause's door to build them a winner. I doubt any team wants a guy who has a $127 million payroll in the AL Central and finishes 3rd.

 

Now you want to trust KW to rebuild your team. Lets look at the first round picks since Kenny has been calling the shots:

 

 

SEASON PLAYER POS SCHOOL/HOMETOWN PICK

2010 Chris Sale LHP Florida Gulf Coast University 13

2009 Jared Mitchell OF LSU 23

2008 Gordon Beckham SS Univ. of Georgia 8

2007 Aaron Poreda LHP San Francisco 25

2006 Kyle McCulloch RHP Texas 29

2005 Lance Broadway RHP TCU 15

2004 Josh Fields 3B Oklahoma State 18

2003 Brian Anderson OF U. of Arizona 15

2002 Roger Ring LHP San Diego State 18

2001 Kris Honel RHP Providence HS, New Lenox 16

 

 

You really think it would be a 2-3 year process with this bozo? He needs to go, pronto. Say thanks for 2005, but we actually want to win, not come up with excuses and catch phrases like "Chicago tough". How JR can't see through all his BS, especially his Ventura story, and make no mistake, I actually don't mind his hiring, but the whole BS about interviewing for a managerial position while he was playing, is beyond me. Trying to make himself actually be what most erroneously think he is, a Stanford educated intellectual who happens to have a background in baseball is more BS. The reality was he was there on a football scholarship and lasted one semester. He's a phony.

 

If JR was only going to get of one, he did the right thing and launced Ozzie. Ozzie would have been a huge problem if he won out over his boss. But he really needed to get rid of both.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Dick Allen

[caulfield12]

The Bulls won 6 championships with Jerry Krause as the GM. At some point it becomes obvious that people lose their touch. No one came knocking at Krause's door to build them a winner. I doubt any team wants a guy who has a $127 million payroll in the AL Central and finishes 3rd.

 

Now you want to trust KW to rebuild your team. Lets look at the first round picks since Kenny has been calling the shots:

 

 

SEASON PLAYER POS SCHOOL/HOMETOWN PICK

2010 Chris Sale LHP Florida Gulf Coast University 13

2009 Jared Mitchell OF LSU 23

2008 Gordon Beckham SS Univ. of Georgia 8

2007 Aaron Poreda LHP San Francisco 25

2006 Kyle McCulloch RHP Texas 29

2005 Lance Broadway RHP TCU 15

2004 Josh Fields 3B Oklahoma State 18

2003 Brian Anderson OF U. of Arizona 15

2002 Roger Ring LHP San Diego State 18

2001 Kris Honel RHP Providence HS, New Lenox 16

 

 

You really think it would be a 2-3 year process with this bozo? He needs to go, pronto. Say thanks for 2005, but we actually want to win, not come up with excuses and catch phrases like "Chicago tough". How JR can't see through all his BS, especially his Ventura story, and make no mistake, I actually don't mind his hiring, but the whole BS about interviewing for a managerial position while he was playing, is beyond me. Trying to make himself actually be what most erroneously think he is, a Stanford educated intellectual who happens to have a background in baseball is more BS. The reality was he was there on a football scholarship and lasted one semester. He's a phony.

 

If JR was only going to get of one, he did the right thing and launced Ozzie. Ozzie would have been a huge problem if he won out over his boss. But he really needed to get rid of both.

 

 

The first clear sign that the rebuild is going wrong, I think KW will finally be moved upstairs.

 

He was owed the chance to at least try to fix his own mess without Ozzie around to sabotage things.

 

Everyone knows the history of first round draft picks, and our barren minor league system. Just a year ago, Beckham looked like a future All-Star, and Sale a future rotation fixture, if not Randy Johnson Lite. Mitchell was doing great the year he was drafted....unfortunately, that ankle injury set him back 1 1/2 years. There's nothing KW could have done to prevent that one.

 

It's not like everything he's done has been horrible recently. They got more than anyone in the majors could get out of both Humber and Santos. Have nurtured Dayan Viciedo along quite nicely. Selected a future closer in Addison Reed. Picked up DeAza for nothing. Morel showed lots of promise the final six weeks of the season, if only he can continue to build on that. Tyler Flowers finally showed some signs, Lillibridge even moreso.

 

We're we saying the same kinds of things about KW after 2001, before 2005, after 2007 and again now? One way or the other, we have to live with JR's decision, so I've decided it's easier to think optimistically rather than just be upset about the last 3 seasons.

 

The NBA is all about superstars, and everyone knew that Jordan and Pippen were 60% of the reason for the Bulls' success. That's so hard to replicate in baseball or the NFL.

Edited December 10, 2011 by caulfield12

[witesoxfan]

Having let it soak in, and having seen the photo, I do have a lot to say. Most of it is profanity laced, so I'll keep that 3/4 of it out, best as I can. These 3 posts generally sum up my reactions.

 

Buehrle just on CSN, called today a sad day. Said he never received an offer from the Sox, said when things were going to go down, went back to the

Sox for some sort of offer, not neccessarily a match, and the Sox declined. So he confirmed the Sox never made him an offer. I think its pretty hard to call a guy a hypocrite when the team apparently didn't want him.

Calling him a hypocrite has been and continues to be a disgrace.

 

Two people CAN be hypocrites in the same exact situation, because there are multiple ways of interpreting the situation. The only thing we can do is base things off of context. Buehrle mentioned multiple times that he had intentions of retiring after this previous contract. I do not blame him for taking the $58 million from the Marlins and the 2 years he'll be stuck with that loudmouth Venezuelan of a manager. I do call him a hypocrite for taking it, considering it is probably the furthest away he could get away from the Midwest (which, as an assumption with some mediocre inferences within quotes along the way, is where he wanted to end his career).

 

However, I do not call Kenny Williams a hypocrite. I do not recall him saying that resigning Buehrle was a priority, nor did he make it a priority. Instead, I would say Williams failed miserably at his job over these past 2 weeks. Resigning Buehrle should have been at the same priority as resigning Konerko was, if not more so, yet he did not have the funds. His biggest (and only move) was trading the cost-controlled relief pitcher for a guy who might be Jose Contreras out of the rotation and will hopefully be Jose Contrereas out of the bullpen (dude does look good).

 

I'm more pissed at Williams because it's going to take a cold day in Hell for this team to win more than 85 games next year. More likely, even with good years from Beckham, Rios, AND Dunn, this team is going to win 83 games and spending like $20 million on a bullpen, which might give the Sox 300 innings (if they're lucky) when, instead, he could have dealt Danks for the best offer received, dealt Thornton for the best offer received, and NOT TENDERED FRASOR A CONTRACT, the Sox could have actually made an offer to Buehrle (I would not have been surprised to see him take 4/$50 from the Sox), they'd have some pieces for the future, and we wouldn't have to see Buehrle pitch in the worst uniform in all of Major League Baseball.

 

Williams failed, and not only on Buehrle. He had, by far, the most disappointing Winter Meetings of any and all GMs. This should have been his litmus test. I hope, and I really, really do hope, that it was. And I hope he failed.

 

Williams needs to go, regardless of whether he is a hypocrite.

This guy has been, by all accounts, a class act, on and off the field. He will go down as one of the most beloved White Sox players ever.

 

I can't not agree more.

 

I do love Buehrle. I saw him make his first career start and get his first career win - in Minnesota, July 19th, 2000 - and I will never stop loving him. That doesn't matter to me. As a White Sox fan, first and foremost, I want him on my team, and when he is not, I do not wish for his success. I genuinely do not care how he performs with "Miami." He burned a bridge at which he will not ever care to look. It matters not to me. I won't care if he wins a Cy Young or is Barry Zito Jr. Mark Buehrle is Mike Pelfrey as far as I'm concerned.

 

I miss him already

 

Unfortunately for me, I also agree with this.

[witesoxfan]

Reading that now, it is not quite as well written as I wanted. In fact, it looks like a drunken asshole wrote it. It doesn't change the general point(s) of the post. Both Williams and Buehrle are assholes. Fu** em both.

[caulfield12]

Good thing you are not a Cardinals fan, then....can't imagine what you would be saying about Pujols.

 

At least Albert HAD the option to come back for something like $40-50 million less in total dollars, and he was offered more by the Marlins.

 

Mark never was offered by the Cardinals or the White Sox, to our knowledge.

 

As far as grading the Winter Meetings, it's way too early. Most of baseball has been waiting on Pujols and Wilson. Fielder's still out there....I just read an article praising Boras for not striking too quickly, so the same thing has to be true about holding onto Quentin, Danks, Floyd, Thornton and potentially AJ/Ramirez/Konerko.

 

There are 7 teams out there (at least) still looking for a 1B. I would actually rather they traded Konerko and stuck Dunn/Viciedo/Quentin at 1B and let DeAza play everyday. Now that Buehrle's gone, they aren't so much better off waiting for Konerko to recede back to norm/mean. They could actually get something decent back in return and clear more contract space for 2012/2013.

 

Frasor was all about KW's ego and having to prove the value of that Jackson deal. But with Sale, Santos and probably Thornton gone, they thought he was needed for additional depth.

 

In reality, the pen will probably be Reed/Crain/Frasor/Ohman/Santiago/Molina or Stewart.

 

The only expensive pitchers in that pen are Crain and Frasor, the two veterans. Ohman's 'meh' as far as contract dollars, sure, a bit of an overpay, but he's going to have to earn his money this year.

 

But there's just no way to possibly grade KW at all until we see what our final roster is heading into April.

 

That's 4-7 players who could all be traded, which is obviously a significant portion of the payroll going forward.

 

 

[Dick Allen]

The first clear sign that the rebuild is going wrong, I think KW will finally be moved upstairs.

 

He was owed the chance to at least try to fix his own mess without Ozzie around to sabotage things.

 

Everyone knows the history of first round draft picks, and our barren minor league system. Just a year ago, Beckham looked like a future All-Star, and Sale a future rotation fixture, if not Randy Johnson Lite. Mitchell was doing great the year he was drafted....unfortunately, that ankle injury set him back 1 1/2 years. There's nothing KW could have done to prevent that one.

 

It's not like everything he's done has been horrible recently. They got more than anyone in the majors could get out of both Humber and Santos. Have nurtured Dayan Viciedo along quite nicely. Selected a future closer in Addison Reed. Picked up DeAza for nothing. Morel showed lots of promise the final six weeks of the season, if only he can continue to build on that. Tyler Flowers finally showed some signs, Lillibridge even moreso.

 

We're we saying the same kinds of things about KW after 2001, before 2005, after 2007 and again now? One way or the other, we have to live with JR's decision, so I've decided it's easier to think optimistically rather than just be upset about the last 3 seasons.

 

The NBA is all about superstars, and everyone knew that Jordan and Pippen were 60% of the reason for the Bulls' success. That's so hard to replicate in baseball or the NFL.

None of the players you have mentioned have actually proven themselves as of yet. If all goes perfectly, which is highly unlikely, the Sox still would need some top of the line guys who also panned out. I also don't understand the idea of "kicking him upstairs". I guess it was because Paxson was kicked upstairs but that's only because he wanted to still do GM stuff without having all the GM responsibilities like dealing with the press, and JR wanted him to still be part of the decision making process. I don't know how anyone would call the Sox GM job a good one knowing JR's boy KW is still around carrying a voice. You'd be a fake GM just like a lot of the GM jobs in baseball.

[Dick Allen]

Good thing you are not a Cardinals fan, then....can't imagine what you would be saying about Pujols.

 

At least Albert HAD the option to come back for something like $40-50 million less in total dollars, and he was offered more by the Marlins.

 

Mark never was offered by the Cardinals or the White Sox, to our knowledge.

 

As far as grading the Winter Meetings, it's way too early. Most of baseball has been waiting on Pujols and Wilson. Fielder's still out there....I just read an article praising Boras for not striking too quickly, so the same thing has to be true about holding onto Quentin, Danks, Floyd, Thornton and potentially AJ/Ramirez/Konerko.

 

There are 7 teams out there (at least) still looking for a 1B. I would actually rather they traded Konerko and stuck Dunn/Viciedo/Quentin at 1B and let DeAza play everyday. Now that Buehrle's gone, they aren't so much better off waiting for Konerko to recede back to norm/mean. They could actually get something decent back in return and clear more contract space for 2012/2013.

 

Frasor was all about KW's ego and having to prove the value of that Jackson deal. But with Sale, Santos and probably Thornton gone, they thought he was needed for additional depth.

 

In reality, the pen will probably be Reed/Crain/Frasor/Ohman/Santiago/Molina or Stewart.

 

The only expensive pitchers in that pen are Crain and Frasor, the two veterans. Ohman's 'meh' as far as contract dollars, sure, a bit of an overpay, but he's going to have to earn his money this year.

 

But there's just no way to possibly grade KW at all until we see what our final roster is heading into April.

 

That's 4-7 players who could all be traded, which is obviously a significant portion of the payroll going forward.

Considering all the missteps that have occurred since 2005, the White Sox are in this mess because of 2 moves. Picking up Rios on waivers and not re-signing Thome when he was willing to do so for pennies. They sign Thome, he has a decent year like he did when he first went to MN, he gets resigned . Adam Dunn, even with all his consistent numbers doesn't even enter the equation.

[caulfield12]

Considering all the missteps that have occurred since 2005, the White Sox are in this mess because of 2 moves. Picking up Rios on waivers and not re-signing Thome when he was willing to do so for pennies. They sign Thome, he has a decent year like he did when he first went to MN, he gets resigned . Adam Dunn, even with all his consistent numbers doesn't even enter the equation.

 

 

And both Swisher deals...but especially losing Gonzalez, who would have been the heir-apparent to Danks/Buehrle.

 

No Dunn, they would have had another 1st round draft pick this year and the money to keep Buehrle and either Danks or Gonzalez, despite what happened with Rios and Peavy.

 

Of course, if Chris Sale becomes an ace as some suspect, then it's not as hard a blow....but losing both Hudson and Gio with nothing to show for it, other than Stewart/Frasor, really really sucks.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

Considering all the missteps that have occurred since 2005, the White Sox are in this mess because of 2 moves. Picking up Rios on waivers and not re-signing Thome when he was willing to do so for pennies. They sign Thome, he has a decent year like he did when he first went to MN, he gets resigned . Adam Dunn, even with all his consistent numbers doesn't even enter the equation.

 

Another Ozzie Guillen present.

[TaylorStSox]

Regarding Frasor, its apparent the plan is to get real young as far as the rotation. If that's the case, having some dependable, veteran presence in the bullpen makes a lot of sense. We've got some kids about the thrown into the gauntlet and that bullpen is gonna get some work.

[Milkman delivers]

Having let it soak in, and having seen the photo, I do have a lot to say. Most of it is profanity laced, so I'll keep that 3/4 of it out, best as I can. These 3 posts generally sum up my reactions.

 

 

 

 

Two people CAN be hypocrites in the same exact situation, because there are multiple ways of interpreting the situation. The only thing we can do is base things off of context. Buehrle mentioned multiple times that he had intentions of retiring after this previous contract. I do not blame him for taking the $58 million from the Marlins and the 2 years he'll be stuck with that loudmouth Venezuelan of a manager. I do call him a hypocrite for taking it, considering it is probably the furthest away he could get away from the Midwest (which, as an assumption with some mediocre inferences within quotes along the way, is where he wanted to end his career).

 

However, I do not call Kenny Williams a hypocrite. I do not recall him saying that resigning Buehrle was a priority, nor did he make it a priority. Instead, I would say Williams failed miserably at his job over these past 2 weeks. Resigning Buehrle should have been at the same priority as resigning Konerko was, if not more so, yet he did not have the funds. His biggest (and only move) was trading the cost-controlled relief pitcher for a guy who might be Jose Contreras out of the rotation and will hopefully be Jose Contrereas out of the bullpen (dude does look good).

 

I'm more pissed at Williams because it's going to take a cold day in Hell for this team to win more than 85 games next year. More likely, even with good years from Beckham, Rios, AND Dunn, this team is going to win 83 games and spending like $20 million on a bullpen, which might give the Sox 300 innings (if they're lucky) when, instead, he could have dealt Danks for the best offer received, dealt Thornton for the best offer received, and NOT TENDERED FRASOR A CONTRACT, the Sox could have actually made an offer to Buehrle (I would not have been surprised to see him take 4/$50 from the Sox), they'd have some pieces for the future, and we wouldn't have to see Buehrle pitch in the worst uniform in all of Major League Baseball.

 

Williams failed, and not only on Buehrle. He had, by far, the most disappointing Winter Meetings of any and all GMs. This should have been his litmus test. I hope, and I really, really do hope, that it was. And I hope he failed.

 

Williams needs to go, regardless of whether he is a hypocrite.

 

 

I can't not agree more.

 

I do love Buehrle. I saw him make his first career start and get his first career win - in Minnesota, July 19th, 2000 - and I will never stop loving him. That doesn't matter to me. As a White Sox fan, first and foremost, I want him on my team, and when he is not, I do not wish for his success. I genuinely do not care how he performs with "Miami." He burned a bridge at which he will not ever care to look. It matters not to me. I won't care if he wins a Cy Young or is Barry Zito Jr. Mark Buehrle is Mike Pelfrey as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

 

Unfortunately for me, I also agree with this.

 

Thank you.

[StrangeSox]

How did buehrle burn a bridge?

[Balta1701]

How did buehrle burn a bridge?

Drove over it with that truck of his and the thing just ignited. Not sure exactly how, but that's how it happened.

[Kalapse]

[Steve9347]

What in God's name were the Fish thinking with that logo. The colors are ho-ho-rendous.

[ScottyDo]

Looks unnatural, like it's his Halloween costume or something. Like he's gonna put his Sox cap back on when the party's finally over.