In the postgame press conference tonight, manager Terry Collins repeatedly grew too choked up to finish his thoughts when the subject turned to Santana’s workload. Few things have defined the New York Mets these past few disappointing years like the awful spectacle of Johan Santana’s injury and agonizingly long recovery. Expectations were lowered; it was too much to expect to see anything, ever again, like the Johan Santana who starred for the Minnesota Twins.
Yet by the ninth inning, the fans, cheering raucously at every pitch, recognized that that’s what they were seeing. Few had been around for the last of Seaver’s no-hit bids that lasted into the ninth. Now, in a season in which their depleted team was fighting gamely just to stay relevant, they were watching a little bit of a miracle.
...Then David Freese came up.
Freese was considered an afterthought in baseball until his walkoff home run in Game 6 of last year’s World Series. That’s how he’ll be remembered in St. Louis, and most everywhere else.
But now Mets fans will remember Freese, forever, for something else entirely: David Freese is the guy who struck out on a Johan Santana changeup to end the first no-hitter in New York Mets history.
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1. Shredder Posted: June 02, 2012 at 01:57 AM (#4146143)Cross-posting: DiMaggio didn't have a 56-game hit streak either. So what?
It's time to institute instant replay into baseball. There are administered blood tests for HGH that deal with cutting edge science, but baseball can't even incorporate moving pictures into it's decision making process. Moving picture cameras were invented in the 19th century.
Clearly, with the technology available to the casual viewer, this was not a no hitter. The umpires don't have the luxury that the casual fan does, however, and then they take a ton of heat for it. For everybody's sake, including the objective truth's, let's go to the tape from now on. It's a lot less messy.
One more thing: 134 pitches from a guy coming off reconstructive arm surgery? I hadn't realized the Reds had traded Dusty Baker to the Mets.
One more thing: 134 pitches from a guy coming off reconstructive arm surgery? I hadn't realized the Reds had traded Dusty Baker to the Mets.
I think this is the perfect time to dust off a classic: Are you the biggest idiot ever?
Maybe he's a Phillie fan. Same thing, really.
Instant replay was not needed, competent eyesight was.
Too bad Johan can't give his "no-hitter" to Armando Galaragga.
Now I feel sad for John Maine and his rain-shortened no-hitter, lost to history.
but i'm still against instant replay. i can't help it, bad calls are part of the game.
You've got Carlos Beltran. In exchange, Met fans finally get their no-hitter. I fail to see how you don't come out ahead on this one.
When did we decide that bad-hop grounders should be scored as errors? In fact, when have bad-hop grounders ever been scored as errors? Or does this only apply when the batter is in the midst of a long hitting streak?
Sure, much has been made of Daniel's scoring decisions in the intervening years, but it's not like we have the benefit of replay to settle the question. ;-)
And Drysdale didn't have a particularly impressive consecutive innings streak.
"i'm putting this non-no-hitter on the shelf alongside the cardinals' 1985 world series trophy."
yes
we all can agree that if a team is ahead 3-2 in a series, and ahead by 1 run in the 9th inning of Game 6, and the leadoff man reaches first base because of a bad call, there is not a single team in baseball history that could possibly overcome such a hardship and win the series anyway.
you have to realize that Cardinal fans now remember that play as being with two outs in the 9th inning of game 7, with the tying and go-ahead runs scoring on the blown call.
and if that's not the case, i don't understand why they haven't gotten over it yet.
yes, most fans seem to believe it was Game 7, and that the play resulted in a crucial run even though it didn't. the most overrated bad call in baseball history.
Instant replay was not needed, competent eyesight was.
While the call was obvious on instant replay, slowed down, it was a hard hit ball that barely grazed the line. There was not a big cloud of chalk. It was a hard call. Yes, afterwards, there was a ball mark, which showed he blew the call, but he already made the call so he can't go back on it. The ump knew he blew the call, which is why he didn't run the 3rd base coach or the manager for arguing.
And of course, since we're on this subject, David Freese only hit that home run in the World Series because the umpire (Gary Cederstrom) made a terrible strike call on the previous pitch. Freese should have walked.
Interesting that Cederstrom was also behind the plate, last night. Clearly he is a vessel of the GOBs.
Thankfully it wasn't Oliver Perez.
It wasn't the GOBs trick that made that ball a foul ball last night.
And Drysdale didn't have a particularly impressive consecutive innings streak.
And when Hershiser was on the verge of breaking Drysdale's record, a team scored a run on a busted up double play leading to a bad throw -- but then the ump made a rare call of the runner not trying to go for the bag. Something like that.
Can we put it alongside the most overrated baserunning blunder in baseball history, the time that Lonnie Smith failed to score from first on a double and instead left the Braves with runners on second and third with nobody out in a tie game? Clearly they were doomed from that point on.
if you read my post carefully, i acknowledge that one needs to be philosophical about bad calls. also, i state my position that i'm still against instant replay, which would almost surely have reversed that stupid call.
that doesn't change the fact that in both the instances i reference, the umpire blew the call. i think i'm entitled to be grumpy about both of those things, otherwise what's the point of being a fan?
i think you can maybe figure by now that the shelf with this non-no hitter and the cards 1985 world series trophy is imaginary, right?
maybe you should try having a passion for something sometime. it can be painful, but it can also be bracing.
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