There was an excellent Buehrle article in the Sun Times today. Apparently, he proposed to his girlfriend while sitting in a tree stand hunting for deer on his 1,200 acre property in rural Missouri. Also, he drove a car with a cracked engine block for most of his major league career before spoiling himself with a luxury car last season.

 

If someone can post the Padilla story, that would be great. Here's the opening passage:

 

Call Mark Buehrle a hillbilly, country, or a redneck if you must.  He really doesn't mind.

 

Edited February 20, 200521 yr by hammerhead johnson

f***, he got engaged??  Mine as well trade him because he won't be as effective anymore  

 

Seriously though, I expect another great season out of Mark.  All the guy does is win, he's not on the schilling, johnson, santana level but he's the level right below them.  Buehrle is a great pitcher and is an ace imo.

He may or may not do it, but I think he has a shot at reaching that level. I think a guy like Leo Mazzone could help him get there. No, I don't want to see him traded to Atlanta, I just think he's right on the cusp.He's almost there and just needs a little refinement. Buehrle is a finesse pitcher who needs to stay sharp, and keep the hitters off balance. Except for the first half of 03, he's been fairly consistent. I'm looking for big things from Mark in 05.

You don't have to have a mlb ace to win. I can think of the old Indians teams of the 90's, the 02 Angels, and the 04 Cards as great teams without a major ace. It'd be nice to have a Jason Schmidt, but it's more of a luxury