Saying no to no-hitter

September 16th, 2008 at 07:59pm Matt Trowbridge

When did sports people become afraid of their own shadow?

ESPN’s John Kruk, a former All-Star, said on Baseball Tonight that the Cubs never should have let Carlos Zambrano finish his no-hitter, the Cubs’ first in almost 40 years. His reasoning: The playoffs are far more important than anything that happens during the regular season, even a no-hitter, and the Cubs need to do everything they can to keep Big Z healthy for the postseason.

That’s ridiculous.

First of all, the Cubs would have ticked off their own player — mightily — but pulling Zambrano. It’s never a good idea to irritate your own players, especially one as temperamental as Zambrano. Also, he only threw 110 pitches. Even if he hadn’t pitched in 11 days because of some arm concerns, that’s not that bad.

Besides, you can’t pass up chances for history. They don’t come along often. And the idea that nothing else counts except the World Series is insane. If that were true, why is Ted Williams one of the biggest legends in baseball history? He never won a World Series, and hit poorly in his only chance.

Recent Super Bowl losers such as the Bears, Seahawks and Panthers will be forgotten in a few years, if they haven’t been already, but people will always remember the 18-0 — oops, 18-1 — Patriots, even though they lost in the final seconds to the Giants.

What makes baseball great is the six-month-long every day journey, not just the finish. Zambrano, and then Ted Lilly, made a magical season that much greater up in Milwaukee. Besides, teams that play scared don’t win. Teams with nerve do — remember, the Giants played all their starters in their regular-season finale against the Patriots last year. The Giants lost the game, and a couple of players to injuries, but wound up shocking everyone to win three playoff games on the road, then the Super Bowl.

Entry Filed under: no hitter, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Uncategorized