I can kind of understand where Kenny Williams is coming from with his refusal to give Mark Buehrle a full no-trade clause. It goes against his method of management, which is directly affected by Jerry Reinsdorf's tight grip on the pursestrings. His first priority is cost certainty; his second is roster liquidity. While the Sox have a $100 million payroll (though they're not playing about 8 percent of it), none of the contracts are egregiously large, and all of them can be moved.
But as I watched
tonight's events unfold -- Buehrle turning in a typical quality performance, fans pleading for an extension with signs and chants, Buehrle tipping his cap to a raucous standing ovation with the Foo Fighters following -- it hit me why this feels so wrong:
Even when talking a contract extension, the Sox are more concerned with getting rid of Buehrle than keeping him.
Money and contract length are no longer issues; the last stumbling block is Williams' desire to have the option of flipping an underpriced Buehrle for a boatload of goods if the Sox need to take more drastic measures in rebuilding. Simply put, he's asking for the moon
and the stars.
The funny thing is, maybe he'll get it. The awkwardness of the open/closed negotations combined with Buehrle's personal preferences have made this process so convoluted that anything could happen.
At the same time, this is precisely the reason why the Sox have the reputation they do. It's always been a tough franchise to embrace, and even in the afterglow of immense success, the stone face always seems to make itself evident. Even at the Cell, where green seats and the black facade have injected vitality into a once-sterile baseball environment, "Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox" still can ring hollow.
It often seems like the Sox organization is businesslike on good days, cold on bad days, and vengeful in the ugliest of times. And that's why fans get so worked up when a guy like Buehrle is on the cusp of leaving, because he's none of those things. Aaron Rowand's presence is demanded on every message board, mailbag and call-in show for the exact same reasons. Sox fans' love often goes unrequited, so it's hard to blame them for clinging when they actually feel a pulse.
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Minor league round-up:- Charlotte 4, Pawtucket 1
- Andrew Sisco had his first truly dominant outing in Triple-A, whether starting or in relief. He struck out seven over five inning, and the only run he allowed was on a solo homer.
- Vladimir Nunez, Dewon Day, Carlos Vasquez and Ehren Wassermann threw four scoreless innings, but Wassermann had to bail out Vasquez, who walked two out of the four batters he faced.
- Danny Richar went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and hit his fourth triple. Brian Anderson also had two hits; a double was one of them.
- Montgomery 9, Birmingham 4
- The only bright spot pitching-wise was Corwin Malone's two-inning, four-strikeout scoreless outing. Ryan Wing and Kris Honel were hit hard to put the Barons in a big early hole.
- Donny Lucy went 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.
- Kinston 10, Winston-Salem 5
- Kyle McCulloch started his outing with three scoreless innings before hitting a wall. He allowed four runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings, and all eight were earned.
- Micah Schnurstein and Cole Armstrong had two RBI apiece.
- McCulloch's outing could've been worse -- Daron Roberts had two outfield assists and Dave Cook had one, and Winston-Salem turned four double plays on the day.
- Kannapolis 11, Greensboro 4
- Brandon Allen had a big game, going 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI. Maurice Gartrell added three RBI.
- Chris Carter went 2-for-5 with a double, and Sergio Miranda keeps hitting -- a 2-for-5 night raises his average to .333 over his first 24 pro at-bats.
- Justin Edwards pitched well enough to win, giving up four runs over six innings on 10 hits. Kanekoa Texeira struck out the side to end the game.