It was a question asked so frequently during the first two months of the 2008 season that it seemingly began to slightly annoy the affable and accommodating left-handed hurler for the White Sox. In reality, there wasn't anything wrong with Buehrle or the way he was pitching from start to start.
Buehrle relies on location and movement for success, much more so than velocity, although his velocity has been up this year. When his ERA sat at 5.26 through May, Buehrle's location clearly was a shade off target.
By his own admission, Buehrle also lost focus a time or two after a couple of consecutive bloop hits fell in or a tough play in the field wasn't made. That issue led to big innings plaguing the left-hander, with 25 of his 46 earned runs allowed coming in four combined starts.
Those problems appear to be behind Buehrle, who has gone through this sort of funk previously in his career. The statistics support this hypothesis, with Buehrle carrying a 2-0 record and 1.50 ERA over his last three starts, working eight innings each time.
Comments from opposing hitters whom Buehrle has shut down also show he seems to be on his game.
"We were just looking to get a hit at one point," said Pittsburgh outfielder Jason Bay of Buehrle, who no-hit the Pirates through five innings on Wednesday. "He just pounds the strike zone, and you know he's going to put the ball around the plate and it's going to be quick, one way or another."
"He was pretty efficient," Pittsburgh manager John Russell added. "He kept us off-balance, especially our right-handed hitters. He hit his spots and changed speeds. If you do that, you're going to be pretty successful."
Even Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, a former teammate and friend of Buehrle, was impressed by Buehrle's work. Ordonez entered last Thursday's contest with 15 hits in 25 at-bats against the southpaw, but was held hitless in three at-bats.
"Cutter, up, down, here, here. And he's quick," Ordonez said. "He works fast. He went inside, then away, away, away."
That up-tempo approach stands out as another key for Buehrle, who helped finish off Wednesday's win in a shade over two hours. It was Buehrle's 10th quality start of the season, leading the veteran hurler to wonder about all the early fuss, but be happy with the lack of present worry concerning his work every fifth day.
"I'm giving the team a chance to win and going deep into games, and giving the bullpen a break," said Buehrle, presenting his matter-of-fact analysis. "I'm just throwing strikes and keeping my pitch count down."
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