5 Minutes With Mark Buehrle

     In order to satisfy my ever-growing need for baseball at this time of year I have turned to the MLB Network as my go-to TV channel.  I’ve been watching the Caribbean World Series, historical programs discussing stadiums and players of years past, and, of course, The Hot Stove, an hour long program discussing present day MLB happenings.  So you can imagine my delight when, towards the end of the program, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle called in to chat with Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds and the boys when they did a segment of Gold Glove pitchers.  As you all should know, Buehrle won his first ever Gold Glove Award in 2009, and, in case you missed it,  here’s how the conversation went…

     To start it off, Vasgersian did a quick recap of Buehrle’s career numbers including 2009 stats, and asked how it felt to finally win the award after all this time.  Buehrle’s response was pleasantly humble as he discussed pick off moves and holding runners close to the base.  He then added that when it comes to shots right back to the mound, he works strictly on instinct.  “Anytime a ball comes my way, I know I’m going to get hurt one of these days when I do it, but I just try to throw any body part I can at it. Sometimes I’ll just kick out my leg, it looks like I’m doing a hockey stop or something…it’s just reaction.”  And while yes, there is the potential of breaking a hand or a finger or bruising a knee, it’s that self-sacrifice and that lack of “thinking” that enables a pitcher to make the kind of plays necessary to, not only win the award, but to always give his team the best possible chance of making a play and winning a game.

     So then the roundtable began and Vasergian turned it over to Sean Casey for his question, which unfortunately had nothing to do with Buehrle’s Gold Glove, but was a nice way to bring up his [Buehlre's] perfect game last year.  Casey’s question was “What did you think of DeWayne Wise’s catch to save the perfect game?  Did you buy him a car or a Rolex?”  For me, it wasn’t the best question to ask when talking about a pitcher’s defense on the hill, but it did add a little humor to the moment as Buehlre commented that he got off cheap with Wise because the team was immediately headed to Detroit and was only on the hook for an airline steak dinner.

     Former pitcher Al Leiter thankfully chimed in with a 2 part question; the first about how and where he learned to pitch so quickly from the mound and the second about the addition of Jake Peavy.  I guess the topic of Gold Gloves can only go so far.  Buehrle handled the first part with ease as he basically said there’s no reason to waste time on the mound;  no need to walk around the mound or play with the rosin bag.  He said “…the quicker the better as it also helps the defense behind him.  It keeps them ready and on their toes when they know it’s all going to happen quickly.”

     The second part, Buehrle handled like a seasoned vet and a consummate professional.  While I, personally, have questions about Peavy, both with respect to being a fly ball pitcher in U.S. Cellular Field and with his full recovery from the elbow problems, Buehrle simply stated that Peavy’s presence alone would “make the team better, especially the way he finished last year.”  In fact, and what surprised me the most, he added that with the group of players they have, he is “the most excited he has been in a long while to get into camp and Spring Training.”  For a guy who has played in the bigs for a full decade, and has watched players like Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome move in and out, that’s something about which to get excited.  To hear him speak with such confidence, management and the fans have to be pumped up.

     So that left Harold Reynolds with the final question.  He also took a two parter, but only after he claimed that Leiter stole his question with his impromptu follow-up.  He asked Mark about the long term deal he had signed and what he thought about the direction the team has moved in since that signing.  Again, being the professional that he is, Buehrle explained how happy he was about what the Sox have done in his time spent on the South Side.  He was happy with their moves and explained simply that everyone understands that baseball is a business and the player movement, while it can get you down after playing with a guy for a few years, is a necessary thing.  He failed to mention any names, but he seemed very content with the rebuilding the Sox have done and how the rookies that have been brought in (I’m assuming he means Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham) have all made a positive impact on the team as a whole.

     And that left Reynolds’ follow-up to cover the elephant in the room.  I remember when Buehrle first uttered the word ”retirement” and frankly, I was a little shocked when he did.  After signing a deal that extends your term with the team until 2012, the last thing you’d expect a player to do is talk about walking away from the game after the contract expires.  So Reynolds jumped on it and asked.  I have to say, I was fairly impressed with Buehrle’s honesty on the matter.  He spoke about wanting to be there for his kids, watch them grow up, and not miss out on the finer moments of fatherhood, and while he quickly followed it up with a “…my wife says that I’m full of it,” he also said that doesn’t want to waste the time and when he’s ready to be done, he will be.  A nice breath of fresh air after all the Roger Clemens stuff and, of course, the annoying Brett Favre saga.

     It might not have been the best series of questions I’ve heard a player asked, but it was a nice little 5 minutes at the end of the program.  Buehrle said all the right things, was candid in his responses, and definitely put forth an air of excitement and confidence that Sox fans have to be jazzed about.  I’ll be doing a full player profile of Buehrle in the coming days, but for now, I like what I’m hearing.  So much so, that I can’t help but bump him up on my fantasy baseball draft charts too!

     If you’d like to hear the full interview on the MLB Network for yourself, just click here.  Enjoy!

Tags: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox, DeWayne Wise, Gold Glove Award, Gordon Beckham, Jake Peavy, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Mark Buehrle, MLB Network interview, perfect game, White Sox