Is there a quick fix for Mark Buehrle?

August 8, 5:06 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago White Sox Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Mark Buehrle is 8-10 with a 4.07 ERA in 2008.

Things haven't been going very well lately for Mark Buehrle, the longest-tenured pitcher on the White Sox.

Buehrle has allowed 22 hits and 12 earned runs in his last two starts, coming against Minnesota and Kansas City. He's gone through stretches like this before in 2008, such as his starts on May 7 and 12 when he allowed a combined 19 hits and 13 runs.

On the other side, Buehrle has had stretches of great pitching—for instance, in his six June starts, Buehrle allowed just eight runs. So what has been the key for Buehrle?

It's easy, and it's a rule of real estate: location, location, location.

When Buehrle is going well, he has excellent command of his pitches—that is to say, when he wants them up, they're up. When he wants them in, they're in, et cetera.

If Buehrle is off, though, his pitches have a tendency to be up in the zone and out over the plate. For a pitcher whose fastball couldn't hit 90 mph with a gale-force wind behind him, Buehrle cannot afford to miss up or over the plate.

Lately, Buehrle's pitches have been missing up and out over the plate, and the results aren't a coincidence. His changeup has been fluttering out over the plate and he hasn't been able to jam hitters with his cut fastball as well as he can.

Is there a way to fix this? Well, the only way for Buehrle to return to his June form is for him to simply regain his good command. Pitchers lose command for a few reasons—namely, a problem with their mechanics, a loss of a good release point, a lack of a comfort zone, to name a few—and all these problems are an easy fix from start to start.

However, if Buehrle cannot regain his command this year, it won't be a fun last few months of the year for the White Sox left-hander.