103 mph screwball

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jul 8, 2007 -> 01:59 AM) I was thinking the same thing for awhile... but Mark's been slapped in the face and he should tell the Sox to screw off. He should. Why would he even want to stay here now. It looks like the negotiations were fake, the team is bad and will get worse, and he can get more money and respect elsewhere. Nice job sox management. I hope someone comes to their senses and calls Mark to apologize and get him signed. Instead, we will get someone else's over hyped prospect who our system will fail to develop. BOOOOOO!

QUOTE(iamshack @ Jul 8, 2007 -> 01:11 AM) He will be signed. Denial is a stage of grief. I choose to be delusional. The Sox are going to trade Mark for a truck load of talent, then Mark will wink and be back next year with a couple extra mil and his NTC. It has to be something like this right? Otherwise, it's just organizational suicide. I know the Sox have holes and need talent, but they also need butts in seats for payroll and organizational integrity to attract free agents. What a PR disaster. This could rank up there with the white flag trade in fan alienation. If they don't sign him, the whole negations were a charade and they have been playing the fans for fools. Thanks. This sucks. What a horrible season.

Stuck at work. What kind of reception did Mark get? I would have standing O'ed him if I could be there.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Jul 2, 2007 -> 03:08 PM) or the sox immediately signing Buehrle after the contract extension was in place to make him more valuable? No way. It would be GM/franchise suicide to do that. It would be just unethical to do that to anyone and Mark is supposedly loved throughout the organization. The Sox would be seen as bad faith bargainers and would never get free agents or be able to resign players with any sort of home discount unless there was a no trade clause. This is the same reason why Konerko will not be traded unless he wants to be traded. Sox can work this out with option years/bonuses that kick in if Mark is traded. I know this can be worked out. The only thing that can keep this from happening is if the Sox do not want to invest such a large percentage of their payroll in him and have no intention of working out a deal. Mark deserves trade protection of some sort if he is giving what many believe to be a huge discount in terms of years and cash.

Give him a 5th year option and a full NTC for years 1-3 and a list o 10 teams he can veto a trade to in years 4-5. I do not blame Mark one single bit. I wouldn't take less money to stay if I was just making myself a more valuable trading piece. If I'm sacrificing millions to play with the Sox, I'd expect a guarantee that I'd be with the Sox. If this is really over, and I refuse to believe it is until he is traded and signed by another team, this stinks like the Sox never really intended on signing Mark. If the Sox don't think 15-20% of their payroll going to Mark fits their plans that is another issue. If this was some sort of plan to appease and fool the fans or raise Marks trade value, I'm disappointed. This is particularly painful during such a dreadful season. If you get rid of Mark, the Sox might as well clean house and rebuild. The guys left will see what happened to their friend who was a great teammate and high performing player who was along with Konerko was the face of the franchise. Employees who do not feel appreciated do not perform up to their potential. If you think Rowand was the heart of the team, wait until Mark is gone. This sucks so bad, I can't believe it.

If the union blocked a player from taking 14 million a year because it was "unfair", I don't think that would sit too well with the fans. I took a 20% pay cut to be happy and I have no regrets. The extra money is meaningless if you are miserable. If Mark wants 14 and his happy home instead of 17 and uncertainty, he has that right. 56 million can set your family up for generations and that is just 4 years.

Gut tells me they wouldn't be smiling and coy if talks fell through. I'm hoping they have an agreement that they will leak Mon AM and announce Monday during the drive home to get lots of good PR.

QUOTE(jhart05 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 09:36 AM) I believe the sane, rational Brewer fans like me, think they have enough right now to hold off the sCrubs. That would be enough for me, as this is happening a year earlier than we anticipated, so any post season this year is gravy, imo. I would hope Melvin sees that as well. Aim higher than holding off the scrubs. Win it all. You never know what might happen next year. Sheets might get hurt, or your team might hit 230 for some unexplained reason. Next thing you know those youngsters start to get expensive and the team can't afford them all. With the Sox dominant pitching and increased payroll after the Championship, I thought we could have a several year run of success. Now, we are sellers. The Brewers look to be good for several years, but I hope they take the opportunity to win a weak NL. Good luck to the Brewers.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jun 28, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) Told by whom? Why is asshole ok to say on this site? Isn't that vulgar? Perhaps Cubs fan should be filtered. I find being called that much more offensive than a@@hole.

Please keep this in Pale Hose Talk BIG FRANK will always be remembered as a member of the White Sox. Continued success to Frank Thomas To Frank

After Scottie was injured, the Sox tanked. With Scottie back in the lineup, he's been a spark. He's only making 3 mil. He's making less than Mackowiak. Pods is not this team's problem. From what I've seen, he seems to have brought back some heart and winning attitude back to the team. Pods should shave his head and grow a beard. That way he won't be so threatening to guys with girlfriends. Have confidence in your own sexuality folks. Well, I'll stop now or I'll end up starting the Scottie wars of this past off season. As long as the Sox can get something better than 2 comp picks and save some of Dye's salary, I'd love to see him go to the Dodgers. Heck, I'd pay some of his salary or add a player to get Billingsley. No disrespect to Dye, he's been great for the Sox and will be remembered by me as the World Series MVP he was.

If Contreras is to be traded, I hope there is enough rumors so that the fans can give him a big ovation. He put the Sox on his back the 2nd half of 2005. I'll always be grateful to Jose. Trading him may be what's best for the Sox. I think saying stuff like don't let the door hit you in the ass or dump him is low class.

QUOTE(briguy27 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 03:34 PM) Bruce Levine is saying he talked to Buehrle's agent. Buehrle HAS NOT agreed on anything That is a back peddle from have not talked. I'm getting sucked back in to hoping this is true.

ILSOX7 at WSI posted the following link Chicagosports.com

Stuck at work, gotta ask. Still BS? In other words, anything other than the score?

I believe Steff's thoughts more than score reports. I feel so gullible. Just proves if you are hungry enough, you will eat bulls***.

turn off the radio and start e-mailing their advertisers.

mike murphy is on now, I'm sure it will break his heart to tell us it is bull. He was just saying congratulations Sox fans your work and your threats to cancel season tickets are why Mark is being resigned. Now he is going to pleasure himself as he tells us that it was not true and that the Sox don't love you. blah blah blah Here's mike murphy, he' the man with the worst on the Score Here's mike murphy, he's a cubbie lovin blow hard nothing more

If this is a fabricated story, the score is dead to me.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 27, 2007 -> 10:46 AM) "heard" where? I really doubt the tarp sliding issue would be anything relevant. That sounds like a joke to me. Yea, joke, sorry. I thought it was too obvious for green. I'm just pumped up at the great reports we are hearing. But seriously, let him slide on the tarp.

Man, I hope this is true. If it is, it shows how much Mark wanted to stay here and how much he wants to win by not screwing up the payroll so much that they can't afford to get him some teammates. I just heard there is one more thing holding the contract up. The tarp sliding clause. He deserves to slide on the tarp. He has earned it. I'm sure the players union is pressuring him not to sign unless he can have fun during rain delays. KW and JR=Awesome if this happens too. Yep, It's time for a home white Buehrle jersey if this happens.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jun 26, 2007 -> 02:37 PM) I know. I just feel like people asking for coaching changes when you can tell that it is not a coaching issue are looking like Cub fans and it is embarrasing to me. I thought our fans were known as the more knowledgable fan - yet we are looking for the so called easy fix? We are looking for window dressing changes? Something that will just appeal to us for the moment so it looks like we are trying and changing? I thought our fans were supposed to be smarter than that. I thought we weren't supposed to be sheep. I am very disappointed and embarrassed in certain fans that consistently look for coaching changes as a soluting to every issue. Cub fan? Thanks. Just because my opinion differs from yours, I don't deserve that. Do we know if it was Walker? No. Would we know now if we had fired Walker a month ago? Yes. Would you want the GM to make decisions that can shape the franchise for years without knowing the problem? No. Look, I'm one of the most optimistic people to ever post here. I know that Walker is not the root of all evil. His replacement would have been an inexpensive way to try to jump start the offense. Cooper has 2005. Even in 2005 the offense was anemic. I appreciate your opinion. I do not believe in firing a coach because of a slump. This is no slump. This is a trend that began last summer.

The Brewers sure could use a pitcher with successful post season experience.

US Cellular Field is the 3rd rated hitters park. The Sox have the runner up for the MVP last year, a 12 million dollar 1B who has been an all star multiple times, and a future Hall of Fame DH. The 3b hit 30 homers last year. And yet, the Sox are 30th in EVERY MAJOR OFFENSIVE STAT! They have been slumping for almost a year. Think about that for a while. All of the Sox prospects who were expected to be good hitters have struggled. Even Crede and Rowand took a long time to get going. The fact that Walker was not replaced as an attempt to fix this team or at least to appease ME a fan is the ONE thing I can not forgive about this season. Last place doesn't anger me as much as last place while being to stubborn / loyal to at least try the obvious solution to fix the problem. Losing Mark if it happens, I can understand. The bullpen fiasco, I can understand. Not trying a new hitting coach is inexcusable. For that, I am disgusted. I agree with KW, I'm sick of watching this. I wish Walker well, but he should have at the very least been reassigned within the organization.

FWIW, the sporting news guy was also talking about the Brewers being interested in Mark at about 1 am. The Brewers have not gotten close in a long time. They should and I believe they will take a shot. The increased revenue and fan good will of a World Series would be MUCH more valuable to that organization. I'm not saying that this is an important factor, but all things equal, helping to make sure the scrubs do not go to the playoffs would be good for the Sox. Who would JR rather see Mark win with, the red cubs or Selig's team. The mets don't want to give up top guys because they are not as hungry as the Brewers.