The Hook

Does Wednesday's Gem Mean Buehrle's Back?

First off, congratulations to Mark Buehrle on throwing the first no-hitter of the young season. Buehrle not only stunned us with the fact that he was able to blank one of the better hitting teams in the league, though. A finesse lefty who has relied on inducing weak contact for much of his career, Buehrle fanned eight in the game, the third highest single game total of his career.

While Wednesday's effort doesn't necessarily mean that we should expect him to suddenly emerge as a strikeout pitcher, we can safely assume that he's back to doing what he does best: working fast and locating precisely. He needed just 106 pitches (66 strikes) and 123 minutes to dispose of the Rangers.

When at his best, Buehrle almost looks like he has dinner reservations that he's trying to get to after the ballgame. What this does in his favor is keep his fielders alert behind him. They always have to be on their toes because there simply isn't time for them to not be ready for a ball to be smacked in their general direction. He was rewarded with a handful of outstanding defensive plays behind him in this one.

- A Jermaine Dye leaping catch at the wall in the second inning.

- A phenomenal dive and a quick snap throw from Joe Crede to beat a sliding Jerry Hairston on a bang-bang play at first (Hairston was ejected for arguing the call, and may have been right)

- A terrific diving stab by Tadahito Iguchi in the fifth

- A nice play in the hole by Juan Uribe in the seventh

Without great defense behind him, we're certainly not talking about a no-hitter. However, Buehrle's quick work on the hill is a major factor in always keeping those guys behind him on their toes. This is one of the things that Buehrle (pre-second half of 2006) has always been known for. I often remember wondering if he and Roy Oswalt could try and fit in a game in under an hour.

Apart from that, his location and his ability to change speeds are his most effective weapons. Buehrle doesn't have a dominant fastball, and didn't top 89 on the gun once in the entire game Wednesday. However, the fact that he was able to vary speeds so much makes that fastball look like it's coming at the hitters at about 95 when he's on. He mixed in his outstanding changeup and a sharp slider to throw hitter's timing off in this one. Again, a sign that Buehrle is looking like he did from 2001-2005.

When Buehrle's on his game, he's a legitimate number two fantasy starter because he'll provide big help in every area except for strikeouts. The question of whether Wednesday's start was an aberration is something that time is going to have to tell us. The fact that his location has been on in each of his past two starts (he was dominant after a three-run first last time out as well) tells us that Buehrle may be ready to dominate over the long haul again. You can put it on the....... aw, to heck with it. Heave the Hawk!

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