Finally, something Sox fans can cheer

Both were arguing for the right reasons. Buehrle has earned the right to stay, but Kenny had to think of the Sox's future. The next Santana or Rivera is out there somewhere on a farm system plugging away. Kenny wanted that door left open and I don't blame him. Mark Buehrle has cemented his face on the franchise. How could you not root for him. He has it all and should be able to make a killing in endorsements from here on out. The split with Minnesota and that news certainly made my day in what's been a dismal weekend and season on the southside.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.........do you hear that? It's me jumping up and down..........ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump. Yippie!!!!!!!!!

It's killing me with the latest post-mortem being crafted by the Sox apologists (and I'm a Sox fan). Injuries, injuries, injuries..."if that team lost the 3B, LF, CF, ". yada, yada, yada

This team was BAD coming out of Tucson and it showed with no relief pitching and the every day lineup forgot hot to hit. What was Crede hitting when he went down...about .230? The reality is that they could easily have 5 (all of the OF, SS, 2B) new position players on next years' team.

Just watch...at the end of the year, and before spring training next year, that is all you will hear about.

Mark Buerhle is a either very stupid or very loyal. I think he's very loyal but the discount he gave the White Sox is insane. I'm glad I can see this guy pitch for at least four more years with the White Sox but lets hope the 2006 Buehrle never shows up. Roman, what kind of contract do you think Buehrle would have received if he became a free agent at the end of this year?

Roman responds: I think he would have gotten Zito money if Zito weren't so bad this season. I wonder if owners are going to second-guess those contracts now. But you're right, he would have gotten much more on the open market.

Buhrle is great. I continue to believe he is the next Greg Maddox. He also has the no hitter.... I like being a White Sox fan. I was worried they might never win the World Series before I died, but that has been taken care of. Even tho I am a Cubs hater, I hope they win a World Series.

JT is right. They were awful! But I listened to Kenny Williams yesterday and he said the last thing they ever thought was that the lineup would hit like that. He said he added pitching to bolster the pen and knew there could be problems, but the hitting is probably the biggest cause for where the team is this year.

Love my Sox REGARDLESS! Hope they turn it around and help Kenny to make the right moves.

Love the buehrle signing. I give Mark lots of props for stepping up to the plate and showing his loyalty after people had questioned it for years with the expectation he'd leave for St. Louis. The Sox still have a deep starting rotation and minor league starting talent, and I think that's the #1 priority for any team. It's a good start moving forward.

As for JT's comment, I agree to a point. The team waaaay underachieved offensively and the bullpen has been horrid, but I don't think the starting unit is that bad. They've played terribly, but there's no way anyone expected the team to hit like this. And the injuries do play a huge part. You can deny it all you want, but it the amount of injuries they've had would take a major toll on any team. Not that a healthy Sox team would be 20 games over .500, but I bet they'd be much closer to .500 with a healthy squad. And that would put the Sox in the position to play for something in the 2nd half.

There are plenty of reasons for the pathetic year, but I don't agree with completely discounting the injury excuse.

What class (and intelligence, if you consider endorsements) by Buehrle to take a pay cut to stay with his team. I've never been his biggest fan, but he usually gets the job done, and if the Sox had let him go it would have been A VERY BAD SIGN.

Go Cubs, and Sox too.

Buerhle's extension certainly gives some hope. Sox have many holes to fill .The bullpen,all outfield positions,second,short & some decent players off the bench.Extending Buerhle shows at this point GM Williams plans to keep his starters possibly exception Contreras . Contreras like Thome (for most part) plays old. Biggest Williams blunder is dealing Rowand for Thome. Rowand was the energy sox have lack last two seasons.Fields about the only one called up that probably will last in mlb. Dye & Iguchi ..two I hope won't get extended.Dye has been the biggest under achiever on a club full of them. Batting .216 & he wants a extension! lol... Iguchi = poor defense,plays dumb in general & a average bat at best.

We need a speedy outfielder, and an infielder of the same. Contrearas will probably go to Mets. Maybe one of our relievers will go somewhere also. Thorton maybe. Mcdougall is another flop. Third reliever we got from Kansas....Wake up Kenny.

this is the equivalent of the cubs extending Jason Marquis. A one year wonder without any really great stats. It really is not a big deal, and the consistent lack of responses shows it. I get a kick out you people who say the Sox 'forgot how to hit'...they never really proved they could.....the one year wonders have established no consistency whatsoever. Now if players like Derrick Lee's numbers dropped to .280 or so(Sox would love someone with a 280 average)..then you can say they 'forgot how to hit'. After all most of the Cubs have consistently produced year in and year out. A tribute to the hardest working man in baseball. Jim Hendry. Now about Kenny williams................

Flashing Headlines

Big News Break:

This Just In - Brian Urlacher text messages the hell out of his baby's mama who is giving him drama! Did this just happen to another famous guy? Oh yes Alec Baldwin - for shame the words he used and his ex-wife causes more baby mama drama.

Quick turn to Muary Povich to get DNA testing! Whose baby is it Maury?

Guess what Tank, w _ _ _ _ America has similar problems to yours, no wonder your buddy Brian was standing up for you. Do you think the Bears will release him for this public display of acrimony or say it is simply between him and the COURTS?

"this is the equivalent of the cubs extending Jason Marquis. A one year wonder without any really great stats."

Keep telling yourself that. Maybe someday you'll be able to understand the stats on the back of their respective baseball cards.

"After all most of the Cubs have consistently produced year in and year out."

Yes, consistently produced no WS Championships.

"A tribute to the hardest working man in baseball. Jim Hendry."

Hard work doesn't make up for one's failure to accomplish anything of substance. Last I checked it was KW=1 WS, JH=0 WS.

I'm glad you're a Cubs fan - - you make the Ligues look smart in comparison.

Time for my "rippings"

Dean H - Greg Maddux strikes people out sometimes. Mark Buehrle is in no sense a Maddux.

John - We have speedy outfielders. Their names are Scott Podsednik and Jerry Owens. Owens is brutally bad. Podsednik, just regular bad, and one of the most overrated players ever. We don't need speed anywhere NEAR as much as OBP right now.

Joe H - Rowand for Thome was a great move. If the pitching didn't completely flop in '06, we would have been a far better team. We scored more runs in '06 than '05, and Brian Anderson is a better CF than Rowand. You can look it up yourself, Anderson was our best defensive player last year by Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA), whereas Rowand is a middle of the road CF, no matter how many walls he runs into. To you and all other Sox fans out there, stop misattributing our failure last year to a lack of "Rowand energy". We lost because the pitching gave up more than a full extra run per game in '06 and we couldn't repeat the insane good luck we had in '05. Plain and simple.

stuckinwisconsin - that was the least informed thing I've ever seen. Jason Marquis is a bad pitcher. Mark Buehrle is a good pitcher. Extending a bad pitcher and a good pitcher are two very different things. Mark Buehrle is not a "one year wonder", unless you mean last year, when people wondered for one year why he was bad. What do you mean the Sox never proved they could hit? They scored the 3rd most runs in the American League (the better league) last year! You really think that Thome, Konerko, Dye, Crede, and Iguchi never proved they could hit? This is why Sox fans have such a problem with Cubs fans. You just sit there and spew ignorance and don't even care if you're right as long as you're making noise.

Bears Fan - ummm....read the title of the thread next time?

Congratulations to everyone else, you didn't say anything offensively wrong!

NICE JOB LARUSSA!!!! WAY TO LEAVE THE MOST FEARED HITTER IN THE GAME ON THE BENCH WITH THE BASES LOADED BOTTOM OF 9TH 2 OUTS.

NICE WORK...I guess the SoxFans can cheer about that right??

Kudos to Mark! He passed on a potential 100 mil deal for 4 more years with the White Sox. He could have just sat back, wait for Kenny to trade him to a contender before the deadline, & then go for a monster deal in free agency. I don't believe he would have gotten Zito money, but I do believe he would have gotten a deal in the 100 mil range.

Mark has enjoyed success in USCF. It's been called a pitcher's nightmare. That's a very big selling point for his agent. Mark also has enjoyed success as a big game pitcher. Whether it be playoffs or all-star games he's gotten the job done. Mark has also proven to be a stopper over the years. The one starter who you can count on time and again to end a losing streak. Finally Mark is as durable as they come.

Add all that up & you are probably looking at a minimum of a 7-8 yr deal in the neighborhood of 90-110 mil.

This signing means a great deal to the White Sox. First it gives Garland hope that he too can get a 4-5 yr deal to stay with the Sox. Secondly it solidifies the rotation for another run. I don't think Cleve, Minn, or Det will produce a better front 4 than Buehrle, Garland, Vazquez, & Danks.

The 2007 White Sox have a lot of holes but there is still a lot of promise there. If they can just start winning series again they will definitely close the gap. The schedule favors the White Sox to gain ground they lost in the first half.

This is good stuff..."the one year wonders have established no consistency whatsoever".... John... 90 or more wins two seasons in a row..... come on.... are you convincing yourself it's OK that the Sox won the Series?

The Buehrle signing shows me that Jerry and Kenny are serious about the commitment they made to Sox fans regarding building a consistent winner... The starting pitching is there to make a run again next year.... This signing shows that the Sox organization isn't afraid to spend money...

John, by the way... stats below for one of Hendry's "consistent" boys, Corey Patterson

2000 ChC .167
2001 ChC .221
2002 ChC .253
2003 ChC .298
2004 ChC .266
2005 ChC .215

it always amuses us what sox fans say when faced with truth, and reality. If he was a good pitcher..they would have traded him. As mediocre as Json Marquis is, the Sox could not even have gotten that by trading him. That's why they are stuck with him. Paying too much for under proven players is what happens when you accidentally win a world series. this is the rest of the world speaking. Not just me. So save your bitter retort.

gogoSox7:

Point of information: it was stuckinwisconsin that posted the "consistency" comments. If you're new to the forum you'll see lots more of this inane blather from him (her?) in the future.

stuck--surely you jest when you assume that Buehlre is a one season wonder---he is infinatley better than any pitcher the cubs have had since Maddux was there the first time. But what can you expect from a sheep

Pitching is the name of the game. Buehrle and Garland are the wheels of this team and must stay with the team at all reasonable cost. Javier Vazquez although a .500 pitcher lifetime, should also be kept by the team until the end of 2008. I would rather keep him than resign Contreras, who was already a veteran pitcher when he left Cuba. If there are teams interested in Contreras, trade him for a steady bullpen pitcher.

I disagree with Julie B's comments that some of us are excusing the team for poor performance. How do we account for the reality that several key players were/are/will be injured? Erstad, Thome, Pablo, Joe Crede. This happens a lot in baseball and there is no choice but to sit and wait, and sign or buy other players if by the end of the season these key players are still injured. Chicago has not yet seen so much success as it has seen during Guillen's and Kenny's tenure (Al Lopez was successful too, hats off to him because he was a gem of a manager).

BTW, most worrisome about the Sox is the inability of many players (Konerko, Crede, Uribe, Dye, Anderson, and Podsednik now) to usually hit well during the first three months of the season. This power shortage has spelled disaster this year due to the collapse of the bullpen. I don't know what is the solution to this problem, though it is obvious that Uribe should be replaced by a steady-hitting shorstop with better hitting discipline and ability to get on base and draw bases on balls. Dye also seems to be declining.

Victor, where did I say that? I was the crazy girl jumping up and down. I'm not an apologist, either. My comments regarding the White Sox have been consistent all along. Injuries and a horrible bull pen are killing us this year. Nobody's picking up the slack for the stars that are underperforming. (although, Pauly is hitting much better recently) No energy, no excuses. We suck. Kenny Williams needs to deal someone fast so as to salvage what's left of this year and potentially next year.

Can you start a blog about Jay Mariotti Roman? I have a few questions about his latest "article" that I don't feel would be appropriate to this blog. If not, that's fine, but I will ask you a question.

Is Mariotti a journalist or an entertainer in your opinion? I only ask because the way he talks in his columns comes dangerously close to being personal(that's me being nice), and I always thought that journalists were supposed to at least appear professional and neutral. Notice I said "appear". Now whether they are or not can be debated. In fact, maybe you can name the Blog "Is Mariotti a Journalist or an Entertainer"......I think it's a fair question.

Roman responds: Columnists are supposed to get personal.

Pen was stronger last year, but never lights out. Our team under Ozzie has gotten by with Timely hitting, Great Starting Pitching, Speed at the top of the lineup, and Great Defense. Always had a mediocre pen.

Roman responds: Columnists are supposed to get personal.

If that's the case, Mariotti took it to a new level years ago, and frankly, he is pathetic. Nothing like personal vandettas getting in the way of providing honest critiques. While it must give him great pleasure to work in an industry that allows him to disseminate his venom to a wide audience several days a week, I get greater pleasure from the fact I stopped reading his tripe two years ago. I'm doubting he's changed much in that time.

"Our team under Ozzie has gotten by with Timely hitting, Great Starting Pitching, Speed at the top of the lineup, and Great Defense."
You forgot homers...lots and lots of homers. This grinder ball is the biggest marketing garbage I've seen in quite some time. How did they win it all? Great pitching and lots of homers. Pods had a real nice 1H in 2005 and then his running game has disappeared since. Where else is this speed you're referring to? I think they were 1st or 2nd in runs last year and their starting pitching stunk. Now, they can't hit and their relief really stinks. You need 2 of the 3 to have any chance.

Bryant, you ever watch Around the horn? There you will see that Mariotti's sole purpose in life is not to be a 'homer'. He will always go against the grain when adressing the topic of Chicago sports. I would just take him as he is. He is so far fetched sometimes that he actually will open closed minds once in a while. However, I do agree. His conviction to be neutral is rather extreme and has left him as more of an entertainer than a sports writer. Those few times he actually entertains. Thank goodness for Woody, J.A (former Chicago writer), and Cowlishaw (introduced the game of hockey to Espn it seems).

Thank you Jack for pointing out my error regarding stuckinwisconsin. My apologies to John, who actually had some valuable comments about KC relief pitchers.

Signed, Retorting Bitterly

JC, I did forget homers, but there were not just gaudy numbers, but from timely hitting. Usually with men on, or in critical situations; Walk-offs, tied games, close games, late inning hits. I used to look up and down the lineup and only saw two "easy" outs. Anderson and maybe Uribe. Everyone else was solid except Paulie, but he was there when needed - he and Crede. Kenny should run it again. All we can fix without tearing the team apart is the pen. Jermaine Dye is historically an on year, off year guy. Second half will certainly be interesting. I was so mad yesterday I threatened to go through the screen several times.

Yesterday's loss is what our entire season has become. NO ONE getting a hit when we desperately needed one. No timely home runs, when we needed one the most last night. That pitcher wasnt that good!!! We just lit him up last week! Had men on 2nd and 3rd TWICE, and lost by two measly points. Pitching was on point! Need some hitters. I don't endorse moving Dye, but if Kenny moved him, I couldn't blame him. I personally watched him give that game away with his bat yesterday. He just refused to swing... I almost teared up... Was just that painful.

Why is Greg Walker still employed?

Julie...please..is there a more irelevant coach in all of sports than a hitting coach?
I'm shocked this blog has gone this long and nobody has pitched a fit about why Burhrle got his and Dye hasn't gotten his. Cue the usual suspects...

Julie must've watched Saturday's game. Ruined my day, and it was pretty hard to do that (yesterday was just about perfect weather)

I love Greg Walker and Coop and all the guys. Tis a shame, but alas, someone must be sacrificed. Something is wrong with our hitters. Not saying its Walker, but someone has to be made to feel like we do.

Kenny Williams says that if the W.S. doesn't turn it around in the next week or so he would have no choice but to start trading players. Who is untradeable on the Sox? Name 5 who is worth staying and five who should go..

Jason, why is the hitting coach irrelevant? I've never heard that before. Maybe that's our problem - we need a more relevant hitting coach to help us get more relevant hits. BTW, I would've thought the bench coach would be more irrelevant than the hitting coach. What does he do? Pass out the Bubble-Yum?

And yeah, Keith - I saw Sat's game. Sunday's game was no better, only I just knew they weren't going to win for a longer period of time. It's gettin' ugly.

Just my opinion Julie but hitting coaches are there for 2 reasons - make sure the guys look at film, and be there to get the ax when the GM isn't quite ready to fire the manager.
For crying out loud, Rickey Henderson is now a hitting coach...case closed.

I think Henderson is going to be the first base coach. A hitting coach should be the least paid coach on the team. He's not as vital as the bat boy because at least you can see the bat boy doing his job. If he WAS vital every member of the team would be hitting 280 or better. But hey,no one understood what a strength coach was to the BEARS until we got Rusty Jones,so who am I to say.

I wish Roman or someone can answer a simple question. I have followed baseball since the 1950s but I am still unable to get an answer to mine.

Right now the game score is 11-5 Sox. After scoring nine runs, the Sox bullpen gave three runs back, and so it goes in every game. The current bullpen is bleeding this team to death and my educated guess is that the team has lost about 15 games solely because relief pitchers are so kind to other teams. So my simple question is, why not ship Thornton, Logan, McDougal and others out of town? These blokes will not be able to get Willie Mays out if Willie comes out out retirement.

I don't care how fast a guy can throw a ball if he cannot pitch at a ML level. That being said, I'm sure there are three guys in the 30 or so ML teams and in the minors who may be able to keep the team from losing big leads, more often than not.

Is thre anything to lose?

Is anyone listening? HEEEELP!!!!

Roman responds: Is this Ozzie Guillen? The sad truth is there's a reason the relievers in the minors are in the minors. But it does appear that moves are coming.

It's a crazy world in baseball this year for the Sox. One of only two American League teams with 3(three) starters in top 20(twenty) E.R.A. Unfortunately the bullpen and batters decided to take the year off. Kudos to Mark, Javier, Garland and Danks. Jose, can you see?

If Ozzie could he would have taken a flame thrower to that "Bull" pen last night!!!! Ozzie looks like Walter Matthau! Nothing but Bad News!!! No lead is safe with these guys. Its not the coaching staff, its these headcases we have. Sox have NEVER displayed this kind of "basesball", and I use that term loosely. We might as well bring up ALL of our prospects because they just couldn't be any worse than these guys. And AT LEAST they would have an excuse. Kenny needs to be patient and wait for the phone to ring. It'll ring, and when it does he needs to make teams PAY for it.

Roman, did you read Mark's comments in the paper today? He said it's hard not to laugh when the bullpen whittles/blows a lead. So tell me something. Why aren't you journalists raking Williams over the coals? Why is it that Mariotti all but ignores Williams role in the demise of the 2007 White Sox? Why is he fixated on Ozzie all of the time?

Roman, do you honestly believe Mariotti helps the Sun-Times circulation numbers? Why don't you put up a poll and find out?

Poll: Does Mariotti hurt the Sun-Times circulation numbers?
YES or NO.

Include a blog so fans can explain their vote.

7th inning, Sox ahead 4-3. Out comes Charlie Haeger in relieve of Garland. I have used all my aspirins, so I am heading to the convenience store to get some aspirins, in anticipation of my next headache.

Roman responds: Hope you got back in time to see big Jenks.

No need to vote. Suntimes can count sales and responses to his articles. Jay is, as Ice Cube put it "the man you love to hate". Money in the bank!