Mike Nadel: Mike's Mailbag begins with Buehrle news
It's been many moons since I've used a column for Mike's Mailbag. With news Sunday about White Sox ace Mark Buehrle, let's start with a most topical letter.
From Jim David, Springfield: "Buehrle is cool with a four-year, $56 million contract. The stickler is the Sox won't give him a no-trade clause. Give me a break. The man is giving them a bargain price and they want to screw him. I am on Buehrle's side. He knows he can get far more that what he is offering himself for. I am sick of the way the Sox treat their guys. If (Buehrle leaves), my love for the game will diminish even more."
NADEL SAYS: Reader David and the rest of Sox City can take a deep breath - and maybe even crack a smile. The sides compromised Sunday, and the deal is done. Buehrle, one of the heroes of the 2005 title team and Chicago's pitcher of the millennium, is signed through 2011.
The Sox didn't give Buehrle full no-trade protection. Instead, they added a clause that gives him a $15 million player option for 2012 in the event the team trades him. He also will get an extra million dollars if he's traded in either the second or third years of the deal. It's a reasonable compromise. It's just too bad the White Sox had to make Buehrle -
and the team's fans - sweat before it was finalized.
In the end, the deal could be worth $72 million over five years. That's a lot of dough, but Buehrle could have gotten more on the open market. As Sox GM Ken Williams said: "I have to applaud Mark Buehrle and his camp. Without his extreme love for the city and desire to remain a White Sox, this would not have gotten done."
Good pitcher. Good guy. I'm glad I'll get to cover Buehrle for many more years.
Before I answer any more mail, here's a quick note to Peoria-area reader Lee Reed: Sir, please save yourself the postage (and save a tree or two) because I no longer read the profanity-laced, barely legible rantings you send via snail mail. As many of the following letters will demonstrate, I don't mind being harshly criticized (and I always respond to both detractors and supporters). But if I want to be cursed at and called names, I'll hang out with Bobby Knight. Love, Mike.
Now, onto the rest of this long-overdue Mailbag. And for those who enjoy reading letters, I regularly run them in my blog, The Baldest Truth (www.thebaldesttruth.com <http://www.thebaldesttruth.com> ).
From Darryl Fox, Springfield: "My nominee for best leadoff man - Non-Jerk - is Lou Brock. I don't like Rickey 'Hey Look At Me!' Henderson because when he broke Brock's record, Henderson said: 'Lou Brock used to be the greatest but now I am the greatest.' Yes, he was the greatest jerk in the park that night."
From Gary Davis, Peoria: "Great job on the top 25 athletes you've covered. A brilliant pick was Rickey Henderson, one of those guys who could have gone under the radar but an incredible player."
NADEL SAYS: Lou was a class act. Rickey, not so much. But even Brock acknowledged that a cocky attitude helped make Henderson the best leadoff man ever. On a related note, a sincere thanks to the dozens of readers who wished me a happy 25th anniversary as a sportswriter. It's been a fun, crazy ride.
From James Trimingham, Auburn (sent April 24): "The Cubs play the worst fundamental baseball in the majors. I have been a Cubs fan since 1970 and I see the same poor play every year."
From Jim Tilson, Peoria (April 25): "I hope Lou Piniella took the team out for ice cream. I mean, if you play like Little Leaguers, you should get treated like Little Leaguers."
From Gary Singley, Henry (May 5): "It takes an exceptionally skilled individual to change a culture, and that is what needs to happen there. If you do a good job presenting what you are going to change, 40 percent will grasp it with enthusiasm, 40 percent will go along, and 20 percent will fight change. To be successful, you have to quickly identify the 20 percent and get rid of them."
From Mitch Conover, Decatur (May 29): "Like so many long-time Cubs fans, I keep expecting the impossible: The Cubs Awakening. It hasn't arrived and appears nowhere in sight."
From Mike Sherman, Springfield (June 3): "It's time for these Cubs to go elsewhere: Jacque Jones, Cesar Izturis, Scott Eyre, Will Ohman, Bob Howry, Michael Barrett/Carlos Zambrano (or both)."
From Jeff Gilles, Hanna City (June 7): "The only way my beloved Cubs are going to win the World series is if someone clones the goat and brings it to Wrigley Field."
From Steve Winking, Springfield (June 8): "Believe it or not, Mike, I still think we can make some huge noise in the division this year."
From Robert Nolting, Springfield (June 18): "Why don't you put the blame for this year's fiasco where it belongs: GM Jim Hendry? The man turned down Pudge Rodriguez twice and we are stuck with Michael Barrett. Or how about him bidding against himself for Jacque Jones? Hendry caused this mess and should be fired."
From Alta Rule, Pekin (June 22): "I have been a Cub fan for 40-plus years. That will change soon if I witness any more shenanigans such as the way the Cubs mishandled the Zambrano-Barrett fight. One more violent outburst by Zambrano that is tolerated by management and I'm outta Cubbieland."
From Bill Mitchell, Rockford (July 2): "It's OK to say the Cubs are for real. They should be. Enough money was spent. As a White Sox fan, I actually feel sorry for Cub fans. For years and years they have deserved better. Being in the weak division they are in, there is no reason for them to not overhaul the young Brewers."
NADEL SAYS: As these letters show, it was quite a first half in Cubbieland. It looked hopeless for the longest time, but now the Cubs really might be for real. Unless they aren't. Stay tuned.
From Floyd Mathews, Jacksonville, Fla.: "Where is Mark Prior?"
NADEL SAYS: Mark who?
From Sean O'Brien, Peoria: "I am tired of you always bashing the Cubs and Bears. You live in Illinois!"
From Carol Thilmony, Paxton: "How come you never write about the White Sox any more? Is there such a thing as a bandwagon for writers and you have fallen off? I know you write about the Cubs when they're lousy, which is most of the time."
From Dorothy Evers, Petersburg: "It is really not good for you to harbor such hate, in your body and soul, for the Cubs. I've been a Cub fan for all my 90 years. We have a couple Cardinal fans here and we don't bad-mouth each other like you do. Grow up, get the hate out and be a nice person."
NADEL SAYS: Let's go over the drill, folks: I don't care if the Cubs (or White Sox or Cardinals or Bears) win or lose. I neither love nor hate any team. It's my job to observe and analyze, not to cheer. Generally, the way a team plays will determine if a particular column is "positive" or "negative." I usually write more about the Cubs than the Sox because the markets in which I am published have considerably more Cubs interest. When the White Sox were rolling in 2005, they obviously merited more attention. Some might call that being on the "bandwagon." I call it doing my job.
From Jim Pillar, Urbana: "I know you picked the Bears (to win the Super Bowl) but I really don't believe you were that dumb. Your thinking probably went something like this: 'While I know the Colts will win, I better pick the Bears or most of my readers will be angry. Then, if by some miracle the Bears do win, I can trumpet my clairvoyance.'"
NADEL SAYS: If only I had been so diabolical instead of so dumb.
From Daniel Gilbert, Rockford: "With regards to your comments about Joakim Noah, you are a good journalist but I would take John Paxson as my GM. He did a wonderful job picking the current Bulls. Mike, keep your day job."
From Greg Nergenah, Chatham: "After looking at Noah's picture, I thought if basketball doesn't work out for him then we have found a replacement for Bozo the Clown. We can call him Jokin' Noah."
From Pete Philhower, Rock Island: "The Bulls drafted another long, quick, lanky, energetic forward who cannot score much in the post. It looked like their needs, again, were not addressed."
NADEL SAYS: I'm not a Noah guy, but I am a Paxson guy, and he has been right far more often than he's been wrong. As is the case with any draft pick, time will tell about this one. Jokin'? That's too funny!
From Rod Hughes, Springfield: "Tank Johnson wasn't even legally drunk, so the Bears basically cut him for speeding. You ever been caught speeding, Mike?"
NADEL SAYS: Yes, but I've never been caught speeding after drinking at 3 a.m. just weeks after getting out of prison and just hours after my employer reminded me that I'd lose my job if I got in trouble again.
From Harry Milner, Sherman: "I got a big kick out of your student ID card, which you posted on The Baldest Truth. This past Christmas, my wife got out some old pictures and my youngest granddaughter was looking at them when she asked my wife who that man was. After my wife said, 'That's Granddad,' Shannon said, 'That couldn't be him; that man had hair!' Everyone laughed. As my dad always said, 'Grass doesn't grow on a busy street.'"
Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service.