Straight Buehrlin': Buehrle Goes Complete, with help from Collabello



Mark Buehrle looked a little rough in the first inning last night, giving up four runs and generally not being able to execute the way he needs to to be successful. But I was eerily calm.

I've given up trying to explain how Buehrle operates and how he does what he does, because the man is a freak. Everything about his career is weird and we should just appreciate the show every five days while we still have it.

And appreciate smiling Buehrle, too. 

I knew Buehrle would settle down and keep them in that game. It's what he does. I also knew that four runs is cake for this offense. Of all the things this team has failed to do so far this season, scoring more than four runs is not one of them.

As Buehrle himself put it, "I came up and had a drink and told myself I need to relax. Obviously when you give up four runs in the first you realize you've got to go out there and throw up zeroes as long as you can to give your team a chance to win. We've got some guys on this team that can score some runs."

Yes, you do.

Buehrle also inspires money quotes from his teammates. Chris Collabello, who hit the game winning two run homerun, had this to say:

“I looked at him and I just told him I loved him,” Colabello said afterward. “Because that’s a pretty epic outing. That’s a character outing. That’s how you hope everyone responds to giving up four in the first — come back and throw a (complete game) and get a win. That’s special stuff. That’s why he’s been doing it as long as he has. Just proud to call him a teammate.”


Buehrle inspired a similar feeling from me last night:



The skip didn't publicly declare his love, but he was pretty impressed. "Tonight was a masterpiece,” said Gibbons. "I think he gave up one hit after the first. It’s pretty special, but there aren’t many guys who can pull that off."

While Collabello has been scary on defense (in a bad way), he's also been scary on offense (in a good way.) 

“He’s coming up with big hits and shoot, he’s getting two or three hits a game it seems like,” Buehrle said of Colabello. “When he goes 0-fer it almost seems like the world is coming to an end.”

His homer last night inspired closer Glen Perkins to make this face:

Four games under .500 and 2.5 games back. I love this terrible division. Be the least worst.