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Welcome to the Buehrlesque show
By: David Carty

Gas = success. The equation for success amongst many baseball scouts over the past century. Blow it by your opponent, rattle him a bit with a slight break, and then back for some more hot tamales. Anything less doesn't cut the mustard. It's not easy to deny their logic. All in one instant, a 90-MPH fastball is laughed at by hitters, measured up, and sent on a complimentary ride to the bleachers, where alcohol-fueled fisticuffs determine the rightfull owner of the doomed baseball. To succeed at this level among the world's best, you've gotta be able to put a little zip on the ball.

Luckily, Mark Buehrle doesn't buy into what scouts have to say.

A lowly 38th round selection out of lowly Jefferson College (located in Hillsboro, Missouri, in case you forgot), Buehrle's plane ticket would be much harder to earn than many of his cohorts. 38 rounds deep, for many players, is too far to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

But Buehrle and his 6'2", 200 pound frame were built for one thing. Speed.

Mark made 36 total minor league appearances, less than half of which were made above Class A, before making his Major League debut in relief in 2000. He was the league's third youngest player that year. Buehrle allowed one run in one inning in his first Major League appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers. Three days later, he made his first career start against the Minnesota Twins. He hasn't looked back.

Stop-watch enthusiasts would find a Buehrle pitched game to their liking. To the naked eye, it may seem as though Buerhle rushes from pitch-to-pitch. To the trained eye, however, it is easy to see that he works deliberately. Deliberately fast.

Ironic, isn't it? A pitcher who bears down for a low 90's heater is among baseball's quickest working hurlers. Just ask the 2005 Seattle Mariners, who wrapped up an afternoon at the ballpark in 1 hour and 39 minutes, just 63 minutes discounting the time filled by a lovely word from sponsors.

Of course, that was hardly the highlight of an action-packed 2005 White Sox season. Backed by Buehrle's career-best 3.12 earned run average, Chicago finished atop the baseball world, defeating the Houston Astros in a sweep for the World Series Championship. It would be their first Championship since 1917; 88 years of waiting, but who's in a rush?

The celebration stopped early in 2006 for Mark Buehrle as White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams ordered Buehrle to stop performing on the field. No, Buehrle was not restricted from pitching. He was forbidden from sliding on the tarp covering the field during rain delays. The lack of rain may have dried Buehrle's mojo. He finished with his first career losing season, 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA.

The team supported Buehrle in his other favorite past time. Pitching. Despite his losing effort the previous season, the White Sox exercised a $9.5 million option on him for 2007.

The southpaw would earn his paycheck.

Last night, Buehrle goose-egged the Texas Rangers in the White Sox' 16th career no-hitter. One walk to a soon-to-be hall of famer broke up Buehrle's bid for perfection, but Buehrle, all the wiser, didn't let it affect his game. In the next at-bat, Buehrle wound and delivered a strike...to first base, picking off Sammy Sosa, fresh off his not-so-retirement vacation.

But are the scouts correct? How can Mark Buehrle, who has been marred by inconsistency, blank a team that perennially rank amongst the league's best in offense?

In May 2006, Buehrle allowed seven runs in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins. Winning pitcher in that game, Mark Buehrle. He became the first pitcher to accomplish such a feat since 1900, the year the American League was founded.

Is the answer simply good support from his teammates?

Forget for a second that Buehrle got the win in Major League's Baseball's Futures game in the year 2000, started and won the 2005 All-Star game, and ranked first in innings pitched in 2004 and 2005. How does a pitcher who better fits in a wiffleball tournament stymie nine batters three times?

The answer, deception. Buehrle has been throwing those plus-plus changeups to baseball scouts for years.

After you get your fill of watching the Bobby Jenks' of the world, take a minute to watch the shear wizardry of Mark Buehrle.

He'll make sure you leave the stadium happily and quickly.