What seemed like a nice gesture and a form of tribute to Mark Buehrle’s long career turned into something of an embarrassment, and perhaps a questionable decision by Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.
Buehrle was given the start in Toronto’s regular season finale versus the Rays, with the idea that the left-hander would pitch two innings and crack 200 innings for the 15th consecutive season. Instead, the best of intentions turned into a nightmare for the 16-year veteran and the AL East champions.
Pitching on one day of rest, having started on Friday, Buehrle was rocked by Tampa Bay for eight runs and five in just two-thirds of an inning. To be fair, Buehrle wasn’t charged with any earned runs as the inning began with an error by Ryan Goins on a ground ball from Brandon Guyer. After a fielder’s choice and two singles, Buehrle was again victimized by another error by Edwin Encarnacion, allowing a run to score.
The left-hander looked as if he might escape the first inning allowing only one run, following a foul pop-out by James Loney. But Buehrle then walked Tim Beckham to load the bases and then served up a grand slam to Joey Butler. From there, it only got worse as Buehrle allowed a double and single for a 6-0 deficit and Gibbons had no choice but to pull him from the game.
Could this Buehrle start be any more painful to watch? The Baseball Gods clearly no fans of sentiment.
— Mike Cormack (@MikeCormack) October 4, 2015
It might be worth asking why the Blue Jays skipper didn’t just leave Buehrle in to get his two innings when the game was already out of hand. But by that point, you’re kind of making a mockery of the game for a personal milestone and risking humilation of a veteran player you were attempting to honor.
As a result of Sunday’s appearance, Buehrle ends the season with 198.2 innings pitched and a likely 15-8 record and 3.81 ERA. Amusingly, since Buehrle wasn’t charged with an earned run, his ERA actually lowered from 3.82. Hopefully, he can find the humor in that, as this couldn’t have been a fun day on the mound.
What looks like a probable loss that costs the Blue Jays the chance getting home field advantage throughout the postseason opens up Gibbons to potential criticism. Should he have started Buehrle in a game Toronto arguably needed to win, instead of someone like Drew Hutchison who was fully rested? There’s no guarantee Buehrle could have gotten those two innings in relief, and no one surely envisioned things going as badly as they did. But it’s a question worth asking with home field still within reach.
