Curtain call for Buehrle with the White Sox?
Emotions were running high at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday night — again.
One day after manager Ozzie Guillen opted out of his contract to take a more lucrative deal with the Florida Marlins, Mark Buehrle made what very well could be his final start in a White Sox uniform.
The 32-year-old lefty — best known for pitching a perfect game, a no-hitter and helping the Sox win the 2005 World Series — is headed for free agency after the season ends Wednesday.
Buehrle pitched 7 shutout innings to lift the White Sox to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays.
In the eighth inning, Buehrle came back out to the field and was all by himself.
Interim manager/pitching coach Don Cooper brought the baseball out to Buehrle, gave him a hug and escorted the 12-year veteran off the field.
Buehrle stopped short of the dugout and was saluted by the announced crowd of 23,934, which actually was a small fraction of that total on a rainy, raw night.
After that, Buehrle embraced his teammates in the dugout and then came back out for a curtain call.
“During the game, it honestly felt like a normal game,” Buehrle said. “I was just going out there trying to win the game. Obviously coming off afterward and the crowd going crazy, Paul (Konerko) pushed me back out there and was like, ‘They're calling for you.' I said, ‘I've never had a curtain call.'
“Just hugging the teammates, hugging everybody that has been involved with my career, I got kind of emotional there at the end. But again, I keep on saying it, it's not 100 percent sure it's the last outing here.”
Buehrle figures to command at least $30 million over three years on the free-agent market, and his hometown St. Louis Cardinals are expected to make a strong push.
As for the White Sox, you have to wonder if they can afford to bring Buehrle back.
“We don't know where we're going with our plan just yet,” general manager Kenny Williams said before the game. “We don't know where our payroll is going to be.
“Mark's probably got to explore the free-agent market similar to how Paul did last year. And on the other side of it, we'll all have a better idea of where we stand.”
There is little doubt Buehrle already stands as one of the best pitchers in White Sox history.
In addition to the two no-hitters and World Series ring, the St. Charles, Mo., native ranks sixth all time with 161 career wins and has at least 10 wins, 30 starts and 200 innings for the 11th straight season, the longest streak in the majors.
The mere thought of pitching for another team baffles Buehrle.
“Obviously, doing this for 13, 14 years of my life, this is all I know,” Buehrle said. “It's kind of hard to think otherwise. It's hard to go home this off-season and think, ‘Hey, I'm going to go spring training somewhere else.'
“This is all I've known. So I don't know. Deep down inside I'd love to be back, but reality might sink in.
“It depends on which way they go. They've got a lot of decisions to make, a lot of pieces that they could trade, a lot of guys they could get back. It just depends on what Jerry (Reinsdorf) and Kenny want to do as far as what route they want to go next year.”