Al Hamnik/Times Columnist

Mark Buehrle's radio sound bite after his recent loss in Oakland didn't receive much media coverage, but it made you wonder about the mental toughness missing from these stumbling, fumbling, bumbling White Sox.

And from their No. 1 pitcher as well.

Buehrle went off on this strange tangent, saying how the Oakland area creeps him out on the team bus ride from the hotel to ballpark; how the crowded streets and scarred neighborhoods make him feel uncomfortable. "I don't want to start nuthin, I'm just a country boy," he said.

So why say anything? The gang graffiti on some buildings and fences didn't cost you the ballgame. Oakland isn't any more unsavory or dangerous than parts of New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Based on that brief radio interview, you would've thought Buehrle had a built-in excuse for failing.

As angry as that may make some Sox fans, ex-player Ron Kittle suggests cutting the lefty some slack.

After all, isn't everyone in this country armed to the teeth in 2007? Isn't street crime, murder, on the rise? If so, then Mark Buehrle isn't a coward. Having just become a daddy, he's simply being human.

"I did it twice, once with the White Sox and once with the Indians -- I walked from downtown Manhattan to Yankee Stadium," Kittle recalled. "They saw this guy walking in a sport coat and a tie and probably thought he's either the craziest guy on the planet or big and strong and nobody bothers him.

"I've never had an ill feeling about going anywhere, so I don't understand (Buehrle's) comments."

Kittle said he never felt "uneasy" going to Network Associates Coliseum, formerly Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. It's near the freeway, so there's some litter and debris along streets you wouldn't want to be caught alone on at night. Yes, there are gangs. And high unemployment. And deserted buildings.

Even Chicago has those.

Kittle retired during the 1991 season, when people settled their differences with fists, not assault rifles.

"I'm sure there are incidents that happen during the course of any season that might make you a bit more cautious if you're riding through a bad stretch of town or things are thrown against the window," Kittle said. "You want to hide it, but if the bus is full of your whole team, they're seeing the same thing.

"It shouldn't mess up your whole preparation for the game, though."

That's my point exactly. The Sox have fared poorly in Oakland for years. Why not just blame that poor track record, without becoming a critical tour guide? Most, if not all professional sports team, receive a police escort from their hotel to the arena or ballpark.

If Buehrle still gets goosebumps on the way over, perhaps he can ride with the Oakland cops next time. Just don't yell shotgun! He may faint.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at ahamnik@nwitimes.com