Well, That's More Like It

I’m slightly saddened as a Giants’ fan that Jonathan Sanchez’s “pitcher’s perfect game” (the only baserunner in his no-hitter came on an error) has so quickly been overshadowed by Mark Buehrle’s true perfect game, but I’m obviously happy for baseball and for Buehrle, who’s a great pitcher.

If, at the beginning of the season, you had to list the 10 pitchers in MLB most likely to throw a perfect game, Buehrle would certainly have been on my list. This was the 133rd win of Buehrle’s career, and he’s always had the kind of control that would make a perfect-game a possibility.

Someone recently asked me if Randy Johnson would be the last pitcher to win 300 games. I, of course, said no. It’s possible that none of the current generation of pitchers will reach 300, but someone will do in the next 40 years.

Of the players currently in their prime, Buehrle is one of the leading contenders. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s only 30 this year, and several factors make him a good candidate.

First, he’s won a lot of games already. 

Second, he’s shown a tremendous ability to stay healthy: he’s pitched at least 200 innings eight years in a row, and is on pace to do so again this year.

He’s also a big-bodied pitcher listed at 6′2″ and 230 lbs. Everything else being equal, solidly built pitchers tend to last longer.

The only thing I don’t like about Buehrle, in terms of his potential long-term success, is that his strikeout numbers are a little low.

Oh, and one thing to be said for Jonathan Sanchez’s near perfect game — he actually pitched better than Buehrle did tonight. Sanchez struck out five more hitters (11 to 6) and threw fewer pitches (110 to 116). You can’t blame Sanchez for Uribe’s error; it was a play Uribe should have made.