CHICAGO -- Getting the pulse of the White Sox crowd in regard to their collective feelings for Mark Buehrle didn't take long during Monday's 7-6 loss to the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field.

Buehrle, who made his 16th start of the 2007 season, received a rousing cheer when the starting lineups were announced. As he walked in from the bullpen in preparation to throw his first pitch to Brian Roberts, the crowd gave Buehrle a standing ovation.

And some time in the first or second inning, a banner was hung out of one of the luxury suites, reading "Extend Buehrle." It's a reaction that the White Sox expected in the middle of these ongoing contract negotiations, even if Buehrle didn't really know what to expect when asked about the fan reception Sunday in Kansas City.

Extending Buehrle and keeping him a part of the White Sox family stands as a sentiment shared by the organization. Even with this past weekend's talk as to a contractual impasse over the inclusion of a full no-trade clause in Buehrle's proposed four-year, $56 million deal, general manager Ken Williams still seemed cautiously optimistic when grilled for 20 minutes Monday evening concerning his ace left-hander.

"Where are we with it? We're nowhere different," said a seemingly calm and upbeat Williams, with his team coming off an impressive 6-1 road trip. "We are at the same place, and in my opinion, I'm hopeful something can get done.

"Obviously his camp is motivated. Obviously we were motivated in terms of going to a level in terms of years and in terms of dollars that we have not gone to. I hate that it's out there publicly in the manner that it is.

"But I don't think I can sit here and run away from these questions and not talk about it when so much is out there," Williams added. "So, we are and will remain hopeful until he gives us a reason not to be hopeful."

As for the no-trade controversy, Williams clearly and succinctly explained the issue. Williams pointed out there's more trade protection for Buehrle's situation than "in my seven years that we've offered anyone."

With Buehrle becoming a 10-and-5 player some time around early July, 2010 he would automatically have no-trade power. Williams also mentioned a full no-trade clause provided for the first year in recent multi-year contracts for Jon Garland, Jose Contreras and Paul Konerko, with limited protection after that for Konerko.

Pulling all of these examples together, Buehrle would be left with about 18 months of exposure in the middle of the deal.

"If that's the only thing that's the roadblock at this point, then I have to be optimistic that something can be done," Williams said.

During Williams' long talk with the media, he was asked a question on the mind of many fans. With Buehrle's importance to the organization, both as a player and representative in the community, why couldn't the White Sox extend the full no-trade clause in this special case?

Basically, would this one exception cause a problem in future free agent negotiations? Williams explained how that maneuver could present a major issue with future high-impact players.

"As soon as you do that, everyone who comes through the door to the negotiating table is going to be expecting the same," Williams said. "Whatever free agents you go after, they will also be expecting the same treatment.

"Now, having said that, I can completely understand -- and I talked to [White Sox chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] about that today -- we completely understand him wanting and requesting it, and it's not really a matter of us not desiring to do it completely.

"It's a matter of business practice and how that's going to affect the next day, the next player I attempt to sign, future free agents down the line," Williams added. "The ramifications just are... Boy, they could turn you into a team you're not going to enjoy seeing."

After Buehrle's camp rejected the team's offer on Friday, Williams put in a personal call to the left-hander to explain the no-trade provisions the team was prepared to offer and how the White Sox were not planning to pull a sign-and-trade with one of the top commodities on the open market. Williams added how the White Sox have not heard back from Jeff Berry, Buehrle's agent, since the offer was turned down. When contacted on Monday night, Berry gave the impression of how his side is standing firm with the full no-trade desire.

"Mark is willing to forego free agency and has made no secret of his desire to remain in Chicago," Berry said. "In return, he simply wants assurance that he will stay with the Sox for the next four years."

Before moving on to exploring any sort of extensions for fellow potential 2008 free agents such as Jermaine Dye and Tadahito Iguchi, Williams wants to finish up the process with Buehrle. But after Williams said in Spring Training that the free agents would just focus on baseball after March and then worry about new contracts after the season, at least one individual seems to be somewhat bothered by the recent round of Buehrle talks.

"It's disturbing to a point," Dye said. "But that's the way baseball is. Right now, my focus is just to get back on the field, play for this team, and do what I can to help this team win.

"I've already told everybody I want to be here, so I'm not really worried about it. Just going out playing and having fun and whatever happens, happens."

When asked if he would like to start talks with the White Sox, Dye added, "It's not up to me. I just work here. I go out and do what I can to try to help this team win. That's about it."

One caveat presented by Williams to the no in-season negotiations edict was if a particular player's side came to the White Sox with a reasonable offer. That situation apparently played out with Buehrle, although a source close to the situation said the initial five-year, $75 million offer from their side was rejected by the team.

The White Sox have made concessions by coming up to four years, while Buehrle's side has done the same by taking less money to stay than he would command in the current market during free agency. Now, the true sticking point appears to be a no-trade clause.

With other teams getting more aggressive in their pursuit of White Sox players, Williams would like to reach a decision soon with Buehrle. White Sox fans on Monday gave the general manager some free advice, chanting "Re-sign Buehrle" during the top of the sixth inning.

"My gut is both parties want it to happen, so I would be hopeful that it would," Williams said. "It wasn't so long ago that I read about Paul Konerko not coming back, or Jon Garland not being extended, and there've been a number of others.

"But if [Buehrle being traded] happens, it happens. I know what's coming next because there's nothing that people can say, or people can write, or anything else that I haven't already heard when Magglio [Ordonez] left, or when Carlos [Lee] was traded, or Bartolo [Colon] and Frank [Thomas].

"The list goes on," Williams added. "We'll do what we do and that's try to put together a team that's representative of the city."