Balky balk calls? I don't think so

Somebody needs to get Mark Buehrle a pacifier and a blanket, and gently rock him to sleep.

Before I write more about Buehrle and his balks, I do want to say something brief about the way the game ended. The Indians went into the bottom of the ninth with a 5-1 deficit, and were facing White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in a non-save situation. They quickly put three runs on the board and had the bases loaded with just one out. Jenks managed to strike out Austin Kearns and retire Russell Branyan on a lazy fly ball to left to end the threat. It's disappointing that they lost, but at least they managed to make it interesting.

Now then, back to Mark Buehrle. First, a little background. I've never liked Buehrle, especially since he hit Travis Hafner in the head with a pitch a couple of years ago that caused Hafner to miss a few months, and I think he hit him intentionally. His manager, Ozzie Guillen, is a colorful character, but speaks freely enough to prove that he generally has his head up his rear end. So when I heard Buehrle and Guillen had been ejected for arguing balk calls in yesterday's game against the Indians, I couldn't help but feel a perverse pleasure.

It was a noon game, and I have a job, so I didn't see it until I watched the highlights on SportsCenter this morning. They showed both of the pickoff moves that got Buehrle called for balks, and they were clearly both balks. Buehrle made a move toward the plate, then threw the ball to first. That's deceiving the runner, which is the very definition of a balk. Buehrle told reporters afterward that those moves were no different from the ones he'd made on previous throws to first; those other throws were not shown on SportsCenter, so I can't speak to that, but the balk calls that first base umpire Joe West made were 100% correct.

Guillen got ejected for arguing the first one, and Buehrle got thrown out for tossing his glove to the ground after the second one. He then argued vociferously and tried to advance upon West, while his teammates held him back. Buehrle said after the game he was just trying to get his "money's worth," but I can't imagine what he thought was going to happen when he dropped his glove. Did he think West would apologize and send the runner back to first? If he'd given it just a moment's thought, he'd have known it was an ejectable offense.

But Buehrle isn't much of a thinker, I guess. Neither is Guillen, for that matter, who said after the game that West thinks people pay to watch him umpire. But one of Buehrle's comments really rankles me. Taken from the Associated Press report on yesterday's game:

"I think he's too worried about promoting his CD [West is a country music singer and songwriter with his own website] and I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little bit too much instead of worrying about the rules."

Does he realize what a serious accusation that is? Does he care? He's suggesting that Joe West called two balks on him, not because he actually balked, but because he wants people to see his name in the paper and buy his CD? What kind of sense does that make? That's not a post-game comment, that's a tantrum thrown by a person who always thinks he should get his way.

Would somebody please change his diaper and fix him a bottle? He's cranky and ready for beddy-bye.