The countdown to the trade deadline has reached ten days and I’m getting frustrated that no big deals have been made.

Where’s Kenny Williams? My fear is that he is so ignorant he still thinks his team can still compete. There’s a fine line between stubbornness and stupidity and Kenny keeps jumping from side to side.

Kenny has been quoted as saying he’s going to be a buyer at the trade deadline. I assume that’s just him reaching out to fans who are mad as hell that this team isn’t performing the way it did two years ago. Again, Kenny doesn’t actually believe he’s a buyer does he? How frightening is that…

Do fans of Kenny’s notion of being buyers think that such a strategy would be helpful for this team? Do these fans think getting Mark Teixeira and Luis Castillo will cure what ails this team?

If you listen to sports radio as much as I do, you’d emphatically say ‘Yes, a lot of fans want to get expensive free agents to heal this team.’

Well, let me speak directly to those people for a moment. Such a strategy would be like putting a Band-Aid on a stab wound. You might be able to stop the bleeding for awhile, but eventually, you will almost certainly die. And there will be painful infections and scabs in the process.

You can’t just conceal this team’s problems with a few high-price free agents. That’s not a good short-term solution and it’s not a good long-term solution.

Start in the bullpen. There are at least three pitchers that don’t belong in the majors pitching for the White Sox. You need a couple low-level prospects to bring in some viable relievers. The Sox don’t have that. They have one of the worst farm systems in all of baseball. Without that, they need to spend, spend, spend. They’re already spending a ton in this losing effort. It’s time to cut losses.

Sorry if I ramble a bit, but it’s just so frustrating watching this team continue to play horribly and have Kenny Williams sitting on his hands.

With that in mind, I’m just going to stop there. I had a whole long rant planned but I think my point is already made.

Get moving, Kenny.

Just, out.

Check out this win probability graph.

It says what I am about to say in a less confusing way. Also in a less angry way.

As I finished pounding out that Mark Buehrle post a few minutes ago, I realized the White Sox had a day game against the Minnesota Twins.

I went to the online scoreboard and saw they were losing 18-8. In the 7th inning.

Leave it to the Sox to have mashed out 12 hits and 8 runs and be losing by 10.

Not only that, the Sox have committed four errors, which is more than some teams do in a week.

Seven Twins hitters have multiple basehits, and everyone except Lew Ford and Jason Tyner have scored or driven in a run.

I haven’t looked it up, but I have a feeling Jon Garland’s 3.1 inning, 12-hit, 11 earned run performance is the worst of his career. He also walked three and struck out none, not that it even matters at this point.

The sad thing is the Sox weren’t even out of the game when Nick Masset came in to clean up the mess. Having scored eight runs in the game as of the bottom of the 7th, Garland’s 11 runs allowed doesn’t seem so bad.

UPDATE: two runs now in the bottom of the 7th just gave the Sox 10 runs.

So, 11 runs doesn’t seem like THAT big a hurdle to climb…but Masset allowed six over HIS 3.1 innings to sink the Sox even further.

Check out the Win Prob. graph after that 2-run 7th. There isn’t much to see. The chart didn’t move.

The White Sox are horrible.

But Masset allowed six earned runs of his own

How much can Kenny Williams get for the much-sought-after Buehrle? Apparently not as much as he thinks. (AP Photo)

ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported today that teams are “balking” at the price Kenny Williams is demanding for Mark Buehrle.

Williams is reportedly asking for three players, two of which are big-time prospects.

Today’s Chicago Sun-Times reported that Williams was going to continue trying to re-sign Buehrle, but I have a feeling that ship has sailed.

I was very encouraged by the last line in ESPN’s rumor mill regarding Buehrle:

A source told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that talks with the Cardinals about Buehrle have been “ongoing.” Anthony Reyes has been among the names mentioned in a possible deal.

I’d love to see Buehrle in Cardinal red. Not because I particularly like the Cardinals, but because I know he does. And given his dedication to the White Sox the last several years, I’d be happy knowing Buehrle went where he wanted to go. He’s going to get big bucks no matter where he goes, so he might as well pitch somewhere he likes, right?

In addition, I think Reyes would be an incredible asset to the Sox and his diminished value right now only makes me want him on the South Side more.

Just, out.

It’s never good when each side of a negotiation thinks he’s the one putting out for the other.

Mark Buehrle is willing to give the Sox a discount at 4 years, $56 million, much less than he’d make testing the market.

Kenny Williams is willing to give Buehrle 4 years, something he won’t do for pitchers.

So neither side is willing to budge when it comes to a no-trade clause. And negotiations have floundered as a result.

Tonight may well be Buehrle’s last start for the White Sox. I expect a nice home ovation for the veteran lefty.

Is it too dirty to think Williams was thinking of signing Buehrle and THEN trading him away to a team at the discounted price. I’m not sure Williams would stoop to such a level, but you never know.

Business is business.

Good luck tonight, Mark.

Just, out.

I was harping on the Cubs and White Sox run differentials earlier this season, pointing out that they are a great indicator of what the future holds.

While the Sox were still above .500, they had a negative run differential (meaning they’d scored fewer runs than they’d allowed).

While the Cubs wallowed below .500, they had a positive run differential.

Now, their positions are seriously inversed. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

The White Sox currently sport a -58 differential, making them every bit deserving of that 35-43 record.

The Cubs, meanwhile are still playing somewhat below their expected winning percentage given their +27 differential. Not enough to be significantly meaningful, though.

Some other quick musings about current run differentials:

-The top three teams in the AL Central are very good. But we knew that already, right?

-The Padres should be further ahead of the Dodgers than they currently are. But the Dodgers’ 5-0 lead over the Padres in the 8th innings right now will change that considerably.

-The Yankees aren’t winning, but I’m still not ready to say they’re finished.

Just, out.

John Danks. Remember him? Yea, I wish I didn’t, either.

But Danks went eight innings against the Royals on Saturday and achieved his longest outing of the season.

In his previous six starts, Danks was unable to get out of the sixth inning. Not good.

You know what else isn’t good? His near 4.5 ERA and 1.5 WHIP. I also don’t care much for his less than 2:1 K/BB ratio.

As I mentioned with Homer Bailey earlier, it’s one thing for a rookie pitcher to get knocked around, but we need to at least see the signs of good pitching. Less walks. More strikeouts.

Danks has been starting all season and even Mark Buehrle is on pace to strikeout more batters. Even if it is only by two. Don’t forget Buehrle was the guy that K’d 98 hitters in 204 innings in 2006 (shiver).

A lot of the focus on the Sox struggles this season have been the bullpen. Now, I won’t make any excuses for that bullpen because there isn’t a single usable spare part in it. But, if Danks could go more than four or five innings once in a while, perhaps the entire bullpen wouldn’t be expended every fifth day.

Just a thought.

Just, out.

Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reported today that the terms of Buehrle’s deal have nearly been agreed to — 4 years, $56 million to remain a White Sox.

The snag right now is the Sox refusal to provide Buehrle with a no-trade clause.

According to Gonzales: “But if a deal can’t be struck by this weekend, expect Buehrle to be traded shortly after despite his strong preference to stay with the Sox. Neither side is commenting on negotiatons, but these are tense times for the Sox, Buehrle’s party and the White Sox Nation.”

When I know more, so will you.

Just, out.

Should the Sox sign Buehrle…I don’t think so. (AP Photo)

As a big proponent of the White Sox firesale in April, I’m not particularly happy the White Sox have pulled Mark Buehrle off the trade market and begun considering a four-year-deal with the durable lefty.

It has been Sox policy not to give a pitcher a contract for more than three years, but an exception is being made for Buehrle…why?

The skeptic would say it’s a good investment because Buehrle might be all anyone comes to U.S. Cellular to see in the next four years.

The optimist would say Buehrle is a critical piece of the puzzle that the White Sox need to build around.

I was listening to the Score, 670 radio the other day and a caller had a perfect solution to the White Sox problems. He thinks the White Sox should trade Tadahito Iguchi, Juan Uribe, and Jermaine Dye and then sign Mark Teixeira, Torii Hunter and Luis Castillo.

What that particular caller did not understand is how stingy Kenny Williams is. The White Sox won’t help their cause by signing two or three expensive free agents. Those particular players don’t even solve the team’s biggest problems.

I’d love to see the Sox go on a spending spree — if they spend intelligently. Because if they do sign Buehrle for the four years, $50 million it will likely cost them, the Sox will have much less to spend on the open market. Jermaine Dye, Iguchi and the other likely trade candidates aren’t costing the White Sox that much money right now. A team that is already outspending most teams would have to dig even deeper into their pockets… like the Cubs.

I probably fall somewhere between the skeptic and the optimist when it comes to Buehrle, but closer to the skeptic side. I want him to be traded.

He’s a left-handed pitcher who is always healthy and is having a good season. That means his value is very high right now.

Let’s get something good for him.

Just, out.

The White Sox and Yankees entered the eighth inning with a 1-1 tie on Thursday.

Ozzie ball, Shmozzie ball. (AP Photo)

The Yankees left with a 10-3 win over the dreadful Sox.

As awful as the bullpen was and as inexcusable as their performance was, I’m putting this one on Ozzie Guillen.

The Yankees had a 4-3 lead with two outs in the top of the ninth. The bases were loaded and Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Then Ozzie decided to go with his ace reliever, Bobby Jenks.

Wait, no, that’s what a manager who isn’t trying to get fired would have done. Guillen instead went with Ryan Bukvich, who hadn’t even thrown a full inning in the major leagues entering the game.

Rodriguez hit a grand slam, and the Yankees scored two more runs in the inning, both off Bukvich.

Every White Sox reliever gave up at least a run in the game to confirm what we already know: This team doesn’t deserve to have won 26 games this season.

My only question is who gets fired first: Ozzie or hitting coach Greg Walker?

Just, out.

P.S. I will be out of town this weekend. On Tuesday I will have posts on Homer Bailey, Roger Clemens and White Sox bullpen collapses.

From ESPN’s rumor central:

Jun 5 - The White Sox are grappling with what to do about Jermaine Dye, the Chicago Tribune reports. Dye, a relative bargain at $7 million this year, hits free agency after the ‘07 season and has his eye on a contract approaching Carlos Lee’s yearly salary ($17M).

Sox GM Ken Williams has had talks with Dye’s agent, Bob Bry, about an extension, but isn’t sure he wants to commit that much money to one player.

“There’s no doubt we have strong interest in bringing him back, but those are numbers where we have to take a step back and wrestle with them,” Williams told the newspaper. “Once you do these deals, if you are wrong, they can cripple the club with ramifications for a lot of years. … We just have to consider all the variables.”

If Kenny Williams is going to trade Jermaine Dye, which it sounds like he is, he should get on it now.

The Bobby Abreu for Dye deal was ridiculous and pointless. Why would either team want to deal with those head aches?

I just wish Williams would stop pretending the Sox have a shot at winning the AL Central. Most of the fans are already jumping ship, so why isn’t Williams?

It is the proper response of fans to encourage rebuilding once the team is out of contention. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be much of a fan.

Just, out.