Embarassed

Current reports are that the White Sox and Mark Buehrle have reached and impasse. Apparently, Buehrle has offered the Sox a hometown discount of four years at fifty-six million dollars in exchange for a no-trade clause that the Sox do not want to give him. The two sides have now moved passed the unofficial Friday deadline and it looks like Buehrle’s White Sox career is ending.

Unfortunately, the Sox are not operating in good faith with him. The fact that they will not give him a no-trade clause has obvious ramifications, namely that they are considering trading him at some point. When you consider that Buehrle is only two years away from having a no-trade clause anyway due to the five-and-ten rule, they must be considering trading him in the near future. This is appalling. He is trying to get a hometown discount because he wants to stay with the Sox, but the Sox are trying to get him to accept the low-ball contract so that they can trade him to another team. This sends a bad message to players who might consider playing for the White Sox down the road, and it is a horrible way to treat a loyal, long-time employee. If they wanted to trade him, they should have been upfront with him rather than trying to trick him into a deal below market value. Frankly, their actions are disgusting, and they deserve to be called out for them.