You Can Put It On the Board…PERFECT!

Mark Buehrle throws perfect game against Devil Rays.

Wow. My apologies if the rest of the this post comes out rapid-fire and incoherent. I am so excited right now I can barely type. My boss had to delay a conference call because I was screaming in my office.

What an unbelievable performance by Mark Buehrle and what an unreal catch by Dewayne Wise to save the perfect game in the ninth inning after being put into the game as a defensive replacement.

Buehrle stuck out six en route to the perfect game, and the White Sox have moved into a virtual tie for first place with the Detroit Tigers. To all those who say Mark Buehrle is not an ace (I’m looking at you 857), what do you have to say now?

Oh yeah, the score. The White Sox won 5-0 thanks to a second inning grand slam by Josh Fields. It is nice to see Josh Fields and Wise, two players have struggled for so much of the season, come up with two of the biggest plays in today’s game.

But I’m just so happy for Mark Buehrle. He has been such an underappreciated star in this league for so long, and hopefully today’s perfect game will shine some light on his incredibly consistent and effective career. And for anyone who thinks this was a fluke of any kind, just remember: He’s already thrown a no-hitter.

Hawk Harrelson described Wise’s catch as one of the greatest catches he’s ever seen, considering the circumstance. I agree. It came off the bat of Gabe Kapler with no outs in the ninth inning and looked like it would be a home run that would end the perfect game and no-hitter in one swing. But Wise broke back and to his right, tracking the ball the entire way, and then leapt with perfect timing at the wall to bring the ball back. He even bobbled it into his other hand and as tumbled back to the earth.

It was incredible. I am beside myself. That was awesome.

The perfect game by Buehrle was the first one thrown in the Major Leagues in the last five years, the most recent being by Randy Johnson in 2004.