I won't claim to be one of Mark's biggest backers here. Still, I'm very happy to see him stick around. I understand why the Sox were hesitant about a full NTC, and I don't blame them. But even with that, I don't think anyone can deny that Mark gave up a lot of money to stay in Chicago and, overall, made the largest sacrifice to get this deal done. For that, for the championship year, and hopefully for a future championship year , THANK YOU.

 

I won't promise that I'll never call for the Sox to trade you, or never regret the signing, no matter the result. Of course the results matter most. I'm a Sox fan foremost. I can only say that I am grateful, and I won't question your motivations in the years to come. Best of luck, to you and the Sox (hopefully at the same time).

 

 

Fantastic post Jackie and thanks for everything you've done so far Mark and I look forward to you doing a lot more in a Sox uniform!!!!

simply put, mark buerhle is the man.

For him to take that contract in this day in age proves that he's a VERY rare case in sports: a guy who thinks it's not all about the money and is willing to do whatever it takes to be loyal to his organization and fans and stay with them.

 

He's showing his worth in a contract year (5th in the AL with an ERA around 3 even at the All Star Break), was treated pretty rough by our FO during negotiations, and still signed. Other than Frank and Konerko, I think he might now be my fav White Sox of all time.

He's been responsible for the two greatest moments of the 2007 season:

 

Today with the resigning and of course the no-hitter.

If he wasn't on any of your favorite player lists before, he certainly has to be now. He WANTS to be a white sox and proved that today.

 

:

I love the fact that we will have 2 lefties potentially rockin it in our rotation the next 4 years. This news made my day. Buerhle and Konerko are what the White Sox are all about- i love it! This takes a ton of pressure off us fans, now its time to relax, play spoiler, and cheer on KW as he slowly starts improving our team for next year. A little trade there, a little trade here, a couple of awesome offseason signings and POOF we will be right back there in 2008.

What a crazy game when you have to praise a guy for "settling" for $14 MILLION dollars for 7 months of work.

We appreciate you Mark, more than you can know. And his being here will help Danks.

What a crazy game when you have to praise a guy for "settling" for $14 MILLION dollars for 7 months of work.

I don't see anything crazy about it when someone can get more elsewhere -- a LOT more. I don't doubt Mark could have been guaranteed $2 mil more per year, with one more guaranteed year. In terms of career OPS+, Mark is neck-and-neck with Zito, even with the disastrous 2006. It was one hell of a concession, imo.

 

For that matter, I think $5 million/year is an ungodly amount of money. Doesn't mean I wouldn't be grateful if ARod settled for a 4 year, $20 million contract (hint, hint ).

Mark Buerhle exemplifies the Sox tradition and along with guys like Konerko and Thome and Perz make the Sox a real team.

Edited July 9, 200718 yr by elrockinMT

 

Really happy to see this got done.

long before today, i loved the guy for pitching relief in Game three of the world series.

 

and sliding across the tarp.

 

being nice to fans.

 

and always volunteering to catch the pre-game first pitch.

 

seems like a really decent guy. Glad we're keeping him.

Easily the happiest moment for me of this dreadful season. Kinda like watching Gale Sayers run the football in the late 1960s/early 1970s...the team was dreadful, but among the junk was something VERY special.

 

Thumbs up to Mark....been my favorite player and thankfully will remain so.

He said while remaining a closet Cards fan he wanted to remain in Chicago. He said after the 2006 World Series - a series that he attended and rooted for the Cardinals - that he wanted to remain in Chicago. He spoke all offseason about how he wanted to stay in Chicago. He has repeated exactly that this season too, in his contract year, that he wanted to stay in Chicago.

 

I think the man wanted to stay in Chicago above all else, and was willing to give up a ton to do so. If he can help reset the market trend - no way it's possible, just quietly hoping to myself - then all the better.

 

Buehrle

and sliding across the tarp.

 

That's a great point, maybe he had it put into the deal that he can slide on the tarp again during rain delays. Perhaps that was what REALLY was holding this deal up.

:headbang :headbang :headbang

Great day. The Sox looked interested again when the they went into the dugout after the game. They looked like they were having fun. Is that a spark? Maybe. Is that enough of a spark? Probably not. But the Indians closed a looser gap in less time and damn near won it in 2005. The 69' Mets... there is hope. We all knew this team was better than what we have gotten so far.

 

One interesting note about the NTC in his contract is that regardless, he can't be traded to a short list of teams. I doubt you will ever find out the teams on that list but I would be willing to bet that three of them are the Mets, the Red Sox and the Yankees. Mark is a Midwest guy. He is the definition of 'face value'. The east coast media and the 'what have you done for me lately' attitude make my stomach turn. For a guy who likes to roll across a wet tarp during a rain delay, the east coast would make his skin crawl. I am speculating, of course, but that is just my gut. Being a Cardinal fan, I wonder if he crossed the Cubs off the list too. Hmmm....

I still wished he showed up to the press conference in a Cardinal hat.

Thanks for proving me wrong, Mark.