He would have if the Tribune still owned the team. The difference was less than 3 million bucks, the hesitancy was far more on the "will Wieters sign at all" or "is Wieters worth his asking price" and not "will ownership be okay with this contract". Remember, this was the June after they went nuts in free agency, money wasn't exactly scarce. Hmm, I thought I had read something to the contrary. Something about Wilken really wanting him but not getting the OK.