I sat down to watch Wednesday's Sox-Rangers game with an interest in seeing Mark Buehrle's second start since getting hit on the forearm in his first outing. The fact that Kevin Millwood was on the hill for the Rangers meant that it had the possibility of yielding a rare pitcher's duel in U.S. Cellular.

For those whom have never seen Buehrle pitch, the final time of the game says it all. The final out was recorded just 2 hours and 3 minutes after the first pitch. He works fast.

As I watched the game, it just didn't feel like a no-hitter. After all, Buehrle lets hitters put the ball in play often. His sub-90 mph heater and hit per inning career marks made him an unlikely candidate to throw one.

So, I just sat back and enjoyed thedefensive efforts and masterful pitch selection and placement. First, Jermaine Dye robbed Hank Blalock of a home run in the 2nd. Several fine plays from Joe Crede, a diving stop on the outfield grass from Tadahito Iguchi, and strong play from the rest of the defenders later, Buehrle induced the game-ending grounder.

He struck out an uncharacteristic eight hitter and walked one, appropriately enough, Sammy Sosa. And, on this night, Buehrle also demonstrated his superior pick-off move by prompting catching Sosa asleep at first. A.J. Pierzynski joked that Buehrle should still be credited for a perfect game for facing the minimum number of hitters. Maybe so.

I found myself inching forward in my seat each time the line score was refreshed coming out of the commercial break. Again, this was happening at U.S. Cellular!

Either way, it's all the same to fantasy owners - a win, stellar WHIP and strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. Sorry, no bonus points for the no-no in most leagues.

While the home run still rules the highlight reel, there's still nothing more exciting that a pitcher dealing at his best. Unfortunately, it's not something that can be easily translated into the 30 or 45 seconds that it's afforded (ok, maybe a minute tonight). We'll see the big defensive plays. But, it was the progression of pitches, watching his confidence build and the fact that he kept working on hitters even with a big lead that I'll remember from this evening. 

I must note as a post-script that all 15 runs in this series have come on home runs. That's got to be closing in on a record, too, right?