Chicago ? Mark Buehrle does belly flops on the tarp during rain delays, catches ceremonial first pitches and eagerly douses rookies with a beer shower after their first major-league wins.

Buehrle knows how to pitch and how to enjoy some of the sideshows and traditions that surround the game.

That’s why tonight, when he makes his fifth straight opening-day start for the Chicago White Sox, he’ll be sure to soak up what could be a once-in-a-career celebration and then tend to business.

The White Sox will hoist the World Series championship flag over U.S. Cellular Field before facing the Cleveland Indians in the first game of the season.

“I’m able to control my emotions pretty good. But it’s a little different situation this year,” Buehrle said. “I know I’m going to be more pumped than I have been in a little while.”

The White Sox waited a mere 88 years to win the World Series. Now a little more than five months after sweeping Houston, they’ll be back on the field for a regular-season game.

Even though they rode in a victory parade through Chicago last October, the White Sox did most of their celebrating on the road. Chicago clinched all three of its playoff series wins – over Boston, the Angels and Houston – away from U.S. Cellular Field.

Now they’ll put up a banner and reflect on the accomplishment in their own stadium.