Posts tagged MarkBuehrle at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

While most of the talk surrounding Joe Crede, his back, and his impending free agency that dominated White Sox spring training seems to have died down a bit, it hasn't changed the fact that the White Sox still aren't sure what they'd like to do with their third baseman. Crede got off to a real hot start in April, and is hitting .270/.345/.500 to be one of the only consistently productive hitters in the Sox lineup (though all seven of his homers and 22 of his 25 RBI came in April).

HIs back has also stood up to the beating that comes with playing third base on a daily basis, so overall, it looks like the old Joe Crede is back. So what are the White Sox going to do? They still have Josh Fields down in the minors waiting to take over the third base spot.

For Crede's part, he'd like to stay in Chicago, and is open to negotiating a new deal during the season. It's just the White Sox will have to be the ones who initiate it.

"We aren't the ones with the money, so I don't feel we need to make the offer," Crede said. "It's a situation were if they want to pay us, they will make the offer. We aren't going to go out and ask for money. That's not how I want to approach it."

"I don't approach teams about player contracts," added Boras, speaking from his suite at Angel Stadium a few hours before Tuesday's first pitch. "They are the employers. I let them know that Joe is happy with Chicago."

If you thought what the White Sox violated blow-up dolls with baseball bats, you should see what they do to space heaters with them. Mark Buehrle didn't have a very strong performance to follow Gavin Floyd's near no-no on Tuesday night, as he allowed 7 runs in 5.2 innings and fell to 1-4 on the season.

Needless to say, Buehrle isn't too happy with the way the 2008 season has been going for him, and he let the frustration boil over after being removed from yesterday's game.

Moments after rookie Carlos Gomez hit a two-out RBI double to cap a five-run sixth-inning rally, Buehrle already was off the mound when he gave Guillen the ball.

Buehrle went to the dugout, grabbed one of Juan Uribe's bats and whacked it five times against a space heater and a dugout bench before tossing his cap and shaking his head.

"It was everything building up," Buehrle said after the Sox lost for the seventh time in eight games. "It was the way I pitched, the way we're playing. It was one of those games where you can't hold it back."

As of now, the League of People For Space Heater Rights haven't filed a complaint, so Buehrle or the White Sox haven't issued a fake apology for Mark's actions yet. When asked about it after the game, manager Ozzie Guillen had this to say.

"It's bull[bleep]. What Mark did to that space heater is [bleep]ing bull[bleep]. That space heater is the [bleep] of Mark Buehrle. Two weeks ago, it was the greatest [bleep]ing space heater in the [bleep]ing history of space [bleep]ing heaters. Now it's horse[bleep]. I'm tired of it. [Bleep]. [Bleep]. [Bleep]......[bleep]."

As I mentioned in a post here at FanHouse last week, Carlos Gomez is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in all of baseball to watch. Even when he's tearing my favorite team up, as he did last night against the White Sox, I still enjoy just watching him play baseball.

On Wednesday night, Carlos became the first Minnesota Twin to hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett did it in 1986, which is fitting since Carlos may be the most exciting Twin since Kirby. Not to mention, he's also incredibly considerate.

After leading off the game with a home run off of Mark Buehrle, Gomez's home run trot around the bases was faster than half the players in the league can sprint full speed. Why'd he do it? Well, after a nearly two-hour rain delay before the game started he didn't want to waste any more time. "The game today started too late. I say, 'Let me run the bases quick so the game goes fast.' "

Gomez completed his cycle in reverse order, following that first inning homer by tripling in the fifth, doubling in the sixth, and finishing it all off with an infield-single in the ninth. He also managed to score two runs and drive in three others.

He's doing all of this, and his coaches will tell you that at 22-years old, he's still learning the game. Imagine what he's going to be capable of once he actually knows what he's doing.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. After getting off to a hot start in April, the White Sox had caught just about everybody by surprise when they found themselves atop of the AL Central throughout the month. Sure, it had something to do with the horrible starts that the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians had gotten off to, but really, the White Sox actually were playing like a first place team for the first 21 days or so of the season. It seemed as though the offense had returned after taking last year off, and the pitching was far outperforming the expectations.

Then the last few weeks started. The White Sox have lost seven of their last ten, including four in a row, and they've looked horrible doing so. It's gotten to the point where I've been watching and I came to the realization that I hate this team. Seriously, they drive me insane while watching them, and up until yesterday they were in first place.

How does one end up hating their favorite team while they're in first place? It's easier than you think. Especially when your favorite team is hitting an American League worst .235, and continues to waste solid starting pitching. For example, on Friday night Mark Buehrle pitched 8 innings allowing no earned runs, scattering five hits, and striking out seven Blue Jays without walking anybody. His reward? A loss. The Sox were only able to manage two hits of their own that game, both of which came off the bat of Orlando Cabrera.

Now it's pretty easy to just say that the offense is going through a funk right now, and that once they break out of it, I'll fall in love with them again. Unfortunately, I know better than that.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

San Francisco Giants (5-8) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (9-3) - 10:10PM Est.

The Diamondbacks are already playing the best baseball of anybody in the Major Leagues, and tonight they may get another boost. That's right, the mythical creature known as The Big Unit returns to the mound tonight in San Francisco. The 44-year old Randy Johnson is coming off of his second back surgery, but he won't be on a pitch count of any type tonight, and is free to just let it loose. Unit faced the Giants twice last season, not picking up a decision while posting a 3.00ERA, and is 2-2 with a 2.84ERA lifetime at AT&T Park (though he hasn't pitched there since 2004). If Randy is half as good as he used to be, he'll be giving the DBacks a top three in their rotation that can go with anybody else along with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Add to that the fact that everybody in the lineup looks like a Hall of Famer so far this season, and it's just not fair. The Giants will counter with Jonathan Sanchez, who pitched well in his last appearance against the Padres (6 innings, no runs, no decision), but is still looking for his first win of the season. He'll also be looking for his first win against the Diamondbacks, as he's 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in three starts against them.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Kansas City Royals (5-2) vs. New York Yankees (4-4) - 8:10PM Est.

The first week and a half of the baseball season has been somewhat odd. The Tigers are 0-7, the Orioles are 6-1, and even the Royals have gotten off to a 5-2 start to the season. Which one of those three teams is more likely to maintain it's current pace? I'd have to say the Royals. The Tigers are in a bit of trouble, but there's still plenty of time for the team to rebound and get back in the AL Central race, and I'm just not convinced that the Orioles have enough talent to stay ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox for six more months. The Royals, on the other hand, have a lot of good young talent and a pitching staff that's pretty underrated. Are they going to stay atop the AL Central all season? I don't know, but they aren't going to go away quietly either. Zack Greinke will be getting the start for Kansas City tonight, and he'll look to continue the performance he gave against the Tigers last week. Greinke went 7 innings and allowed only one run in the victory over Detroit, and tonight he'll be facing a Yankees lineup that's missing both Derek Jeter and now Jorge Posada. Of course, Zack is 1-2 with an 8.22 ERA lifetime against the Bombers. The Yanks will counter with Ian Kennedy, who got bombed in his first start. Kennedy allowed 6 runs in only 2 innings against Tampa last week. He's made one start against the Royals in his career, allowing two runs and five hits, but didn't pick up the decision in the Yankees victory.

Worst of the Best highlights (lowlights?) the players playing the worst ball in the MLB.

Alright. I know most teams have only played one game, but I was excited for this segment. Following slumping, or even downright crappy, players is as much fun to me as keeping up with the record breakers. It becomes ammo when that player's team comes to my town. So without further ado, your opening day losers:

Mark Buehrle
P Chicago White Sox
April 17th 2007. Mark Buehrle throws a no-hitter against a not-pathetic Texas Rangers lineup. Immediate interest from ballclubs with barrels of youth to dispense floods the White Sox' front office. March 31st 2008. Mark Buehrle, sensing an imminent fire sale, keeps his house off of the market by taking a dive in the 2nd round.

And what a glorious meltdown it was. He faced 10 batters in the second inning and still only managed to pick up 2 outs before Ozzie Guillen was forced to drag him back to the dugout. It wasn't even one of those lame control issue blowups, just a good ol' fashioned shellacking by the Cleveland Indians. Buehrle surrendered 2 homeruns, 4 base knocks, and a Travis Hafner double to the tune of 7 runs. Maybe he just has a lot of Indians on his fantasy team.

"Under The Gun" takes a look at one player from each team who will bear all the pressure for the upcoming '08 season.

There was a time when Jose Contreras was probably the best pitcher in all of baseball. For a 12-month period between the 2005 All-Star break through the 2006 All-Star break, Conteras couldn't lose. Literally. He went 17-0 during that span.

Ever since then, though, Jose has been atrocious. Since July 14, 2006, Jose is 14-26, finishing the 2007 season with a record of 10-17 and an ERA of 5.57. Not surprisingly, Jose's slide coincides directly with the slide of the White Sox.

So as the Sox enter the 2008 season with hopes and delusions of competing with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in the AL Central, they need Jose Contreras back. Since they sent Jon Garland to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera, there's quite a large void left in the starting rotation. Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez are the only two pitchers Chicago has that can be considered reliable. After that it's Contreras, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd.

Danks showed promise last season, but quickly burned out under the heaviest workload of his young career, and anybody who has seen Gavin Floyd pitch knows he's not going to be in the rotation very long. So if the White Sox are going to have any chance of competing for a playoff spot, Jose Contreras is going to have carry the back load of the rotation.

Given the fact that Jose has exhibited the mental strength of a toasted marshmallow in his career, I highly doubt it's going to happen.

Or at least they plan on looking like they are.

For years the San Diego Padres have been honoring the armed forces by occasionally wearing camouflage uniforms, and now it appears that the White Sox have decided to do the same thing. At last weekend's SoxFest Mark Buehrle answered fan's questions while wearing a camouflage White Sox jersey, and it looks like the team is going to wear them on Independence Day this season.

From Home Run Derby:

...on July 4, 2008, the White Sox will take the field against the Oakland A's wearing camouflage jerseys.

The rumor around last weekend's SoxFest was that the camouflage uniforms were Buehrle's idea and that he "requested" the Sox wear them as part of his contract negotiations last season. Buehrle had been pitching the idea to the White Sox' marketing department about the idea for a few years.

Knowing Mark Buehrle, he only did this so he'd have something new to wear when he goes hunting back home in Missouri. This isn't the first time the White Sox will wear specially designed uniforms, as they've been wearing green jerseys to celebrate "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" for years now.

Last season when Kenny Williams and the White Sox reversed ship and signed free agents-to-be Jermaine Dye and Mark Buehrle to contract extensions after everybody thought the two were as good as gone, he made a few promises to the two players. He let them know that the White Sox weren't happy with their performance in 2007, and had every intention of getting back to the World Series. To do this, Williams told the players that he'd be going after guys like Miguel Cabrera and Torii Hunter in the offseason.

We all know how that turned out.

So at SoxFest this weekend, fans came right out and asked Dye if he felt Williams deceived him by not keeping his promise. No worries. JD is cool with it.

''No, I don't think so,'' Dye said. ''I mean, Kenny, you can't really blame him. He's given a budget by the owners, and that's what he has to deal with. He has restrictions. As players, we understand that.''

''I'm not sitting here feeling like Kenny deceived [me and Buehrle] into staying. Guys like a Torii Hunter were going to command outrageous money. The Angels came from nowhere. Torii told me that it was down to the Dodgers and Sox, and [he] was leaning toward us. Then ...''

Then they got Carlos Quentin!

It's probably a lot easier for Jermaine to say these things now, in January. Come the end of May when it's obvious that the White Sox aren't going to be able to compete with Detroit and Cleveland, he may have a change of heart.

It's no secret White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle loves the call of the wild; he's quite the sporting outdoorsman. And he's so much the camouflage-wearing dude, that he recently took another outdoorsman, teammate Jim Thome, along with Jermaine Dye and A.J. Pierzynski on a hunting excursion in Canada. And he killed a bear. With a bow.

"[It was] just a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially going with Jimmy," Buehrle said. "When we got out there, the guy said we could hunt [separately]. But my main thing [was], I wanted to be in the stand with Jim Thome. I turned down hunting by myself to be with him.

"We weren't together together, but we were close enough [that] he got me on video. First, getting to bear hunt and then getting to hunt with him was more special."

Somehow I'm doubting Jim Thome has a YouTube account. Does he even know how to use the Internet? But if Thome did have a YouTube account and did know how to use the Internet, I'd love to see his footage of the Buehrle bear kill. He should set it to something hardcore, like Throwdown. Because using Paula Cole as your soundtrack for a bear kill doesn't work.

It's just not hardcore enough, bro.

The last few years it's kind of become a winter tradition here in Chicago. The White Sox season ends, and then the team tries to trade Jon Garland. If every trade rumor surrounding Jon Garland came to fruition, the guy would have been on 25 different teams already. Last winter he was traded to the Astros for Taylor Buchholz and Hunter Pence, but the deal apparently fell apart at the last second.

So now that the Sox are almost finished wasting an entire season, the organization is obviously thinking about the future. So are the players, including Garland, who is pretty sure he's going to be traded this offseason....again.

''If I had to guess right now, I would say that I'm more likely to get traded than to sign back,'' Garland said this week, ''only because looking around this clubhouse and depending on which way they want to go with the team -- whether [general manager Ken Williams] wants to go young or build a winner here -- at least on the starting staff, I bring the most attention.''

Keep in mind, nobody has said anything to Garland about this. It's just his gut feeling.

Garland will tell you it's because he would garner the most interest, but there are other factors that could contribute to him being dealt. If the Sox are going to fill the many holes on their roster, they're going to have to move a pitcher to do it.

Mark Buehrle has a no-trade clause, Javier Vazquez has been the staff's ace this season, John Danks is young and cheap, and nobody in their right mind will trade for Jose Contreras. That leaves Garland. There's also the fact that Garland is a free agent at the end of next season, and he's already told the team any extension would have to be done before the start of next season.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Los Angeles Angels (72-51) vs. New York Yankees (70-54)-ESPN2 10:05PM Est.

The one knock against the Yankees during their recent surge up the standings was their competition. They were playing teams like Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Chicago. The question was could they beat a good team? Well, they just took three of four from the Tigers, and whether or not you would qualify the Tigers as a good team at the moment, they still have a winning record. Now the real test comes as the Yankees head to the left coast to face the AL West leading Angels. Philip Hughes will have the task of stopping one of the American Leagues better offenses, but luckily he's on the road. In his two road starts as a Yankee, Hughes is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA. The Angels meanwhile are starting a stretch in which they'll play 17 of their next 20 games within the comforts of home. Dustin Moseley gets the start for the Angels tonight, and afterwards he'll be sent back to the bullpen. Moseley hasn't pitched bad since stepping into the rotation, but the Angels are 1-3 in his four starts. A win tonight from Moseley would be a boost for the Angels, because much like the Yankees are sneaking up on Boston, the Mariners are creeping ever closer to the Angels.

It's a cruel game, that baseball. The title of this post is the exact reason I rejoiced when I saw Carlos Zambrano's extension. The fact that both he and Mark Buehrle, two of the top would-be free agent pitchers in the off-season, signed for below market value, meant that the price for highly coveted future free agent pitchers such as Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, and C.C. Sabathia would be going down. It has been my hope that teams like the Padres, Twins, and Indians could hang onto their talent (homegrown with the exception of Santana). Instead, Jake Peavy can already see the future, and he predicts he'll have a new hometown by 2010.

"I'm not optimistic about staying here as much as I'd like to remain a Padre," Peavy said yesterday before Houston defeated his teammates 3-2 before 44,272, the seventh-largest crowd in Petco Park history.
...
"I hope it's not the case, but I think it's inevitable that I'll wind up somewhere else," said Peavy. "I am not looking to break the bank. I'm not saying I want a huge payday. I'm going to ask for what's fair. And although I hope it happens here, I just don't see the Padres spending that much on a player.

"And if they're not thinking in that direction, they might decide to trade me before it comes to the point of free agency."

He's probably right on all accounts. Both he and Santana are destined to make over $20 million per season, and there's a slim chance the Padres pay such an amount. Instead, Kevin Towers might do what Billy Beane did with Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, trading Peavy a year prior to his free agency in exchange for several young players. This is the unfortunate, sad reality in today's game.

(via Ballhype)

Carlos Zambrano isn't the only Chicagoan who's got himself a new contract. White Sox free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye has signed a two-year $22 million extension to stay in Chicago through 2009. There is also a mutual option for a third year that would bring the total value of the contract to $34 million. It's not the $91.5 million that Zambrano is getting, but I think Jermaine will be able to scrape by.

It's been an odd year for Jermaine Dye and the White Sox. Of their three potential free agents at the start of the year, only Tadahito Iguchi was expected to still be in Chicago in 2008. Now Iguchi is in Philadelphia, and Dye and Mark Buehrle have new contracts.

It's been a down season for Dye average wise, but he's still fourth in the American League with 24 home runs, and has been producing a lot better in the second half.

Personally, I'm happy that Dye will be staying in Chicago. I won't lie and say that I didn't want the Sox to trade him at the deadline, because I did, but that was before I realized he was injured. I had figured that Dye was breaking down, seemingly ignoring the fact that 33 years old is the new 28 in baseball these days. After basically being forced to take a week and a half off before the All-Star break (Since it was his contract year, Dye didn't want to sit out due to injury), Dye has begun to look more like the man that hit .315 with 44 home runs and 120 RBI's in 2006, and the guy who won the World Series MVP in 2005.

The move also reinforces what Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen have been saying all along. Despite the fact the Sox are currently tied with the Royals for last place in the AL Central, the plans for 2008 do not include a youth movement. The White Sox want to reload and make another run at a World Series title.