Yes, the play by Buehrle was that good

C'mon.

No way.

Did that just happen?

Just when you thought it was impossible for Mark Buehrle to add to his legend on the South Side, the veteran White Sox pitcher turns in a play like the one he did on catcher Lou Marson's hot smash up the middle in the fifth inning of Monday's season opener against Cleveland.

Making a kick save Antti Niemi would be proud of to start the play and a no-look, between the legs, glove-only, shotgun-like snap right to Paul Konerko's bare hand to seal the deal, the man who captivated last year with a perfect game virtually guaranteed himself more TV time over the next few days then that dude who won't talk until he gets his coffee.

And if Buehrle isn't accepting a handful of awards for his performance (hello Espy's), there's no justice in this world.

"I was talking to the second-base umpire Bruce (Dreckman) and he said 'Turn off the cameras now; it's the best play of the year,' " Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham said.

"That can be one of the best I've ever seen," manager Ozzie Guillen gushed.

"A very unique play," Konerko said. "You don't see many guys kick it into foul territory and run after it like that.

"He won a Gold Glove last year. He makes plays most people don't."

A big reason for that is that Buehrle is willing to sacrifice his body like most people won't.

"I have a tendency when the ball comes my way to throw any body part at it," Buehrle said with a smile.

His initial kick-save sent the ball just into foul territory, where Buehrle sprinted after it. Just don't ask him what he remembers about it or what was going through his mind at that point.

"I think when I was about halfway over there everything went blank," Buehrle said. "It just kind of happened. I didn't know I got him until the crowd went crazy."

"I saw it hit his foot and he made a really good play," Marson said.

That there wasn't a collision on the play made the whole thing all the more remarkable.

"I didn't know how close he was to me," Buehrle said of Marson, who was chugging down the line.

"I almost hit him," Marson said. "It was pretty close."

After the play, Buehrle hobbled off his pain while his teammates gathered around the mound laughing and shaking their heads in amazement over his heroics.

"They were saying that's why I got the Gold Glove," said Buehrle, who again hobbled a bit into his meeting with the media.

"He's going to be sore for a couple of days," Guillen said. "But when you make a play like that, everyone in the dugout gets pretty pumped up."

Yes, that includes the always low-key lefty who made his franchise-record eighth opening-day start Monday.

"I didn't plan on doing that," Buehrle said. "I don't expect to make great plays like that."

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<h2>Related links</h2>

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<li><a href="http://espn.go.com/chicago/video/clip?id=5058253" target="new">Highlights from Sox opener, including Buehrle's defensive gem</a></li>

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<h2>Stories</h2>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=370969">For openers, White Sox had everything working <span class="date"> [4/5/10]</span></a></li>

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