Toronto's Pitbull Ban Will Separate Mark Buehrle and His Family This Season

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle, who was traded from the Miami Marlins in November will have a unique perspective on the old phrase "dog days," because he will spend much of his season apart from his family on account of one of his dogs, an American Staffordshire terrier named Slater, according to Deadspin.com.

Because of a ban on pit bulls and related breeds, Buehrle was faced with the choice of living outside Toronto and dealing with long commutes to the ballpark, boarding the dog at a kennel, or living apart from his family during the season so they could stay with the dog. The Buehrles decided to split time between their homes in St. Louis and Florida, while Mark stays in Toronto. The separation from his family and canine buddies was salt in the wound from a trade that Buehrle was very unhappy about.

Buehrle has said that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told him he would not be traded without his input, and then was not consulted before being dealt to the Blue Jays. "Just like the fans in South Florida I was lied to on multiple occasions," Buehrle is quoted in the Deadspin article. Both Buehrle and Jose Reyes complained that Marlins ownership had reneged on verbal assurances that they wouldn't be traded without consultation. Sun-Sentinel.com reported Buehrle's agent Jeff Berry said in a statement "Throughout the recruiting process, the Marlins made repeated assurances about their long-term commitment to Mark and his family and their long-term commitment to building a winning tradition of Marlins baseball in the new stadium." Marlins executive Larry Beinfest said that he was unaware of any such agreement and that any promise like that would be put into writing.

The trade shipped Buehrle, Reyes, starting pitcher Josh Johnson, utility man Emilio Bonifacio and catcher John Buck to the Jays for shortstop Yunel Escobar, infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, pitchers Henderson Alvarez, Justin Nicolino, Anthony DeSclafani, veteran catcher Jeff Mathis and outfield prospect Jake Marisnick.

Buehrle was 13-13 last season for the disappointing Marlins, and posted a 3.74 ERA while throwing more than 200 innings for the 12^th consecutive season.