Buehrle’s next Rogers Centre start his last?
Mark Buehrle knows the finish line is coming. He doesn’t know when. He doesn’t know how. He isn’t certain of the particulars.
For 16 major-league seasons, all he has done is be there. Every time his name has been called. As the consummate professional. The thoughtful pitcher. The innings-eater. The mentor. The nibbler. The all-world fielder. The leader.
And now, the uncertain one.
He will make one more start at the Rogers Centre and who knows if it will be his last. Last of this season. Last of a career, maybe. He understands that time is running out on this season. What he hasn’t yet determined, even though some others disagree, is whether he will pitch again next year, here or anywhere else.
“If I knew I was retiring, it might be different, but I haven’t made up my mind,” said Buehrle, after doing a reasonable job in a Blue Jays loss to Boston on Sunday. What he does know is that five doesn’t divide into four or three very well.
Should the Blue Jays maintain their first-place lead and have home-field for the American League Divisional Series, there is one sure thing in the post-season rotation. After that, there is supposition. David Price will start the opener, assuming the Jays have time to set their rotation properly. After that … not even Buehrle would speculate.
“We haven’t clinched and we haven’t got there yet,” said Buehrle. “I don’t think any of that weighs on us. We’re all trying to get there. That’s the goal.”
He admits they’ve talked about it privately amongst themselves. Who is likely to start, which game, and all that. Buehrle is like a baseball father-figure to Marcus Stroman, who is almost certain to make a playoff start. He has watched Marco Estrada toss an all but brilliant season. He has seen the second half of R.A. Dickey and seen the knuckleball dance.
And he knows the challenges he has faced, with a body fighting age and health. He leads the staff in guile. Always has. But can guile be enough to earn a post-season start?
“The other (playoff) situation, that’s why (management) they get paid the big bucks,” said Buehrle, who pulls in $20-million himself per season, not exactly the small bucks. “They’re going to look at the matchups, they’re going to look at who we’re playing, and then they’re going to go with the best three or four.
“There is a thought in your mind. Look, I’m trying to make my last couple of starts. We have to worry about trying to get there first and when we’ve clinched it, we’ll worry about the rest.
“It’s not our decision. We’ll probably get called into the office one at a time and find out for ourselves. As far as playoff roster, if it comes down to it (not starting) and I’m the odd man out, I’ll go in and talk to them and they’ll give me a reason and we’ll go from there.
“They’re going to do what they believe is best for the team.” It won’t be what he wants — if he’s the odd man out. And he might be that, should the Jays approach this statistically more than a team vs. team matchup.
Sometimes you can make the right call and it doesn’t always work your way. In 1991, general manager Pat Gillick thought Tom Candiotti was the right call for Game 1 against the Minnesota Twins. Manager Cito Gaston didn’t necessarily agree. Candiotti pitched Game 1, got lit up, and the Jays never recovered.
Their playoffs were over quickly and with difficulty.
Price would obviously pitch Game 1 and, if the Jays decide to go power-power, they will pitch Stroman in Game 2. Then comes the decision: Dickey, Estrada or Buehrle? And in what order. The pitching numbers would point to Dickey and Estrada.
In a world without feeling or emotion, it would be easy to turn away from the 36-year-old left-hander. But decisions such as these are made with feelings, with emotion, with reason, and manager John Gibbons would likely have great difficulty dealing Buehrle out of the equation.
For the past three seasons, since Gibbons’ return to the Blue Jays, he has told anyone who has asked what a gem Buehrle is.
He has, on more than one occasion, called him the easiest player he has ever managed. Probably his favourite player.
When the Jays couldn’t pitch, Buehrle could. When they didn’t get performance from the big trade players of two years ago, he performed. When all was falling apart, Buehrle wasn’t. If he hasn’t been the most important Blue Jay for three seasons, he’s been awfully close. All that, and he’s low maintenance, too.
There is every reason to want to believe in Buehrle, to cheer for him, to want him to be the guy. But time is running out. He’ll start one more game at home, one more on the road. And after that, there are decisions to be made on his present and his future.
Time is running out. Buehrle is not a sprinter, he’s a marathoner. The race isn’t over yet.
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