ESPN MLB

Originally Published: April 21, 2005

Buehrle vs. Bonderman in under 90 minutes?

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By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
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• 1:05 p.m. ET: Best pitching matchup of the day: Chicago's Mark Buehrle and Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman dueling. Given Buehrle's recent history, fans might be doing the seventh inning stretch by 2 p.m.

	Buehrle

	Bonderman

• 1:05: John Smoltz tries to win a decision, in Washington. John Patterson will try to show again that he's worked all the way back.

• 7:05: Grudge match in South Florida. Al Leiter matches up against his old team, while Pedro Martinez works for the Mets.

• 7:07: Gustavo Chacin is the best AL pitcher nobody knows – yet – and the Yankees will meet him up close and personal in Toronto. Mike Mussina hurls for New York.

• 10:05: The Padres can't win unless they occasionally beat the Dodgers. And they're getting their rears kicked by L.A. so far. Adam Eaton throws for the Padres against the Dodgers' ancient warrior, Scott Erickson.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Wednesday
The Good: We're not quite halfway to the first turn in this season and Josh Beckett is among the early leaders for the NL Cy Young Award. He's 3-1 after beating the Mets, and he's got 30 strikeouts in 27 innings, with a 1.00 ERA.

The Bad: The Padres have scored four runs in four games against the Dodgers this year. We'll go out on a limb and say they need more if the NL West is going to have a pennant race.

The Ugly: When Clint Barmes swings, he seems to cave in half the baseball. Woe to NL pitchers so far, because Barmes is doing some serious damage: .463 average, 12 RBI, four homers. And outwardly, he projects the demeanor of a pro wrestler.

Buster Olney is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book, "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," is being released in paperback May 1 and can be ordered through HarperCollins.com.