Wise and perfect move for White Sox

Mark Buehrle did the heavy lifting in his perfect game Thursday, but he couldn't have finished it off without the instant-classic catch Dewayne Wise delivered in the final inning.

It went without saying that Wise, who came on as a defensive replacement and stole a home run from Gabe Kapler, was probably due for a bit more than a high-five or a steak dinner from Buehrle as a token of thanks.

"He might wake up tomorrow with a new car in his driveway," Rays designated hitter Pat Burrell said.

The spectacular grab by the journeyman, whose continued presence on the White Sox roster has been a source of much fan irritation locally as his batting average hovers at .196, was the snapshot in everyone's minds following Buehrle's 123-minute pitching clinic.

It wasn't a game the entire world was watching such as a World Series, and other outfielders undoubtedly have pushed the limits of their athleticism a bit farther than Wise had to in sprinting to the fence and outjumping Kapler's ball. But considering the stakes, this one has to rank right up there.

"One of the best plays I've seen - especially in that situation," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Wise upped the drama by juggling the ball as he crashed into the wall and fell to the warning track, but he kept a tight enough grip to be able to flash it triumphantly to a flabbergasted crowd after he recovered himself.

"It was kind of crazy, man, because when I jumped, the ball hit my glove at the same time I was hitting the wall," Wise told reporters in the White Sox clubhouse. "So I didn't realize I had caught it until I fell down and the ball was coming out of my glove, so I reached out and grabbed it."

Kapler gave Guillen credit for inserting Wise into the game for the top of the ninth and shifting Scott Podsednik to left field to replace Carlos Quentin. Many managers in the midst of a game that is going along so perfectly are loath to do anything that might compromise the atmosphere created the previous eight innings.

And as an outfielder himself, Kapler certainly could appreciate what Wise had done.

"It happens real fast," he said. "As a defensive player, you think about doing something like that for your teammates, and there's not a more overwhelmingly positive experience than doing something like that for your teammate.

"So I think you visualize something like that - it's the only way you make a play like he made, by kind of seeing it happen before it happens."

The White Sox didn't have much time to celebrate after the game, as they had to hop a plane to Detroit before a doubleheader against the Tigers today. That kept Buehrle from following through on Burrell's suggestion, but he'll have to come up with something. When he threw a no-hitter against Texas two years ago, he bought watches for the entire team.

"That was an expensive no-hitter," Buehrle said, "and this one will probably be a lot more expensive."