A Wise Decision - Burhle Throws a Perfect game

Manager Ozzie Guillen looked like a genius when he decided to put in Dewayne Wise as a defensive replacement for the 9th inning of yesterdays game. Bringing in a good defensive player into the game is not uncommon in baseball, but this was perhaps the most important move in quite some time considering the situation.


The White Sox starter Mark Buehrle was in the midst of going for history when he took a Perfect game into the 9th. The first batter, Gabe Kapler hit a shot to deep center, Wise went back to the track...to the wall...lept...grabbed the ball and brought it back from over the wall..jarring the ball loose from his glove, and grabbed it with his throwing hand as he fell to the ground. To come in cold and under that pressure and knowing what was on the line to make that play makes it just that much more impressive - one of the all time great grabs. I guess that is what a defensive replacement is supposed to do.

TO SEE THIS CATCH CLICK HERE - Dewayne Wise Catch

Mark Buehrle threw the second no-hitter of his career, this time perfection.
More people have walked on the moon in the last 40 years then thrown a perfect game. Only 18 perfect games have been thrown and 2 of them were in that late 1800’s. It is true that when a pitcher throws a perfect game, it is the team that plays a perfect game. The catcher has to call a perfect game and I guess Ramón Castro did just that. It takes no walks, no errors, and usually involves one or more great defensive plays. Sometimes that happens late when you know it is a big deal, sometimes it is in the first inning and you don’t know how important it is until after. A great example of this is the grab that Paul O’Neil made in the first to preserve David Cone’s perfect game.

Since Buehrle had been there before he seemed to be more at ease with the situation as he was seen talking to teammate Jim Thome in the dugout. Often in no-hit situations teammates won’t go near a guy with a no-no on the line... baseball players are some of the most superstitious in all sports.

To top it all off President Barack Obama, a very open White Sox Fan, called and gave some advice for Chicago White Sox White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle - Buy your center fielder a "big steak dinner." Obama called Buehrle from Air Force One.

Just Call Him The Machine

In honour of The MLB All Star Game I think it should be brought to the fore front the greatest player in the game Albert Pujols. Pujols was voted to be the starter at 1st base for the National League in his hometown in St Louis. In addition he has also been chosen to be the player to catch the first pitch by President Barack Obama ...not too shabby. Doesn’t hurt that he is ripping it up in the first half. (73 runs, 102 hits, 32 HR, 87 RBI, 10 SB, and a .322 AVG and .723 SLG). Those are just this years half season numbers, at least 85% of players would take those numbers for a full season. He is a former World Champion, gets along with the media and is a fan favorite (which is more then what can be said by some of the other "stars") and also holds a Gold Glove award. Just goes to show you that he is not just a one trick pony, he is an all around great player.

When all is said and done there is a good chance that we will be able to look back and say that Albert Pujols was the greatest slugger of his era. It is too bad that it will probably be grouped into the steroid era but maybe that makes it even more impressive as long as he stays out of the steroid cloud. You don’t want to come out and say that this is the one guy who is doing it clean because we have been saying that for years then are shocked when "anonymous" tests are leaked to the media but of all the people in the game we want to believe that Pujols is doing it the right way. If in fact he is clean, as most believe that he is, he has a chance of going down as one of the true greats. Over the course of his first 9 seasons he has continued to throw up gaudy numbers and not just in one category. He is an all around hitter, he hits for Average, Power and RBI Production. Nothing proves this more then his numbers from this year. At the All Star break his has a legitimate chance of taking a run at the triple crown (leading his league in average, RBI and home runs). The last time that has happened was 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski managed the feat.

He is so good that almost every time you hear his name on the radio or on TV during the highlights the announcers always say "Why do they keep pitching to this guy??" The guy is a machine (as seen in this SportsCentre commercial ). That is a good question, I hate seeing players intentionally walked all the time like Barry Bonds did when he was hitting everything in sight but the comes a point when you just can’t justify having this guy beat you every night. It should be that if you can’t get the guy out, get someone who can, but it isn’t that simple apparently. I suppose that the main problem with that plan is that there doesn’t seem to anyone out there who is up to that daunting task. You can’t really stop him you can merely hope to contain him. As Dan Patrick says that only way he can be stopped is with a shot gun and league rules frown upon that.

Fans are in for a treat every time he comes to the plate. If he makes a run for the triple crown then you will start seeing cut ins on other sports every time Albert Pujols steps to the plate.

Barack, A Sporting Mans President

When Barack Obama was on Monday Night Football talking about sports it shows that he is knowledgeable on the subject, I am sure that he was given a list of questions prior and he had his people writing for him, but he presented himself as a big sports fan and spoke as well on those subjects as that of the economy or foreign policy. He not only said that he would want to change the BCS College football system and get rid of the polls and ranking but also proposed that an 8 team playoff would be a fair alternative. Good insight. Also he stated that the NCAA Basketball March Madness was one of the most exciting sporting events with its one-and-done set-up. Another good point.
He is a Bears fan but we can excuse him for that I guess, nobody is perfect.

Where does he go in April for the first pitch? Wrigley, not likely? U.S. Cellular Field? He is not just a casual fan of the White Sox, he’s a devout supporter or does his position require him to go to Nationals Park in Washington. We know that he is a bit of a baller and enjoys shooting hoops and is apparently very good. Now, if you are one of the guys in his pick-up game how can you call him for a foul? Not many double dribbles, lane violations, or traveling calls I wouldn’t suspect.