What is with the Rays proclivity for being no-hit?
Twice in a season, only the 9th team in history to "accomplish" that feat. And THREE times in 140 games, with two of them being perfect games. No team has ever been no-hit three times in nine-inning games* in 12 months. Ever.
Until now.
How is this even possible?
It's one of those weird statistical anomalies that brings a twinkle to the eyes of baseball geeks who love the fact that in spite of millions of baseball games having been played, things that have never happened before still occur.
Unless you're a Rays baseball geek, in which case you're seeking treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, you probably also want something done. You want certain players benched. You want certain other players sent to Durham. You want hitting coach Derek Shelton fired. Something has to be done! Arrrggghh!
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that it is just One Of Those Things. Alanis Morrisette writes songs about stuff like this. All you can do is shake your head and turn off the radio, muttering "that's not irony, you idiot."
The thing about baseball is it's like spinning a wheel at the carnival. Even though the wheel appears to be stuck on "NO HITTER!", it really isn't. If you only rolled a 7 or 11 three times out of 140 at a craps table, you'd be broke.
Still, none of that alleviates the embarrassment of being fans of the go-to guys for no hitters, or the anxiety we're liable to feel every time the "H" column displays a "0" after the third inning from now on. I have no idea what the mental state is in the clubhouse after last night, but I sure hope the players don't feel the same way.
No, the only reasonable thing we, fans and players alike, can do is try to put it behind us, dismiss it as One Of Those Things and go forward.
Unless it happens again, in which case, heads must roll.
*The 1906 Brooklyn Superbas were blanked three times between May 1st and September 24th (Johnny Lush of the Phillies, Jake Weimer of the Reds, and Stoney McGlynn of the Cards), but the last two were only seven-inning games.