CC Sabathia threw a wicked breaking pitch at the Observers. Hours after they left their home bench—encouraged by an unappreciative panhandler—the Brewers’ hefty lefty shut out Pittsburgh on one hit.
Then the Brewers lobbied Major League Baseball to erase the hit, which involved Sabathia’s barehanded muff of a roller, and change it to an error. Did Sabathia really join Juan Nieves in Brewers history with a no-hitter? The answer was pending when the Observers chimed in.
Frank: A no-hitter by MLB decree falls flat; the moment to really celebrate is gone. Sure, it could have been scored an error, but I hardly think it was a “no-brainer,” as Ned Yost put it.
Artie: You’d think Ned would be more careful if he’s going to talk about who has brains and who hasn’t.
Frank: Yost should have shown professional respect to Bob Webb, the official scorer. He’s not out to reward or punish anyone; he’s out to get it right. Yost was pretty pompous in saying that Webb “denied Major League Baseball a nice no hitter.” Baseball can stumble along either way. And Sabathia certainly wasn’t as hacked off as Yost.
Artie: Don’t worry, be happy—you won.
Frank: I think this strengthens MLB’s decision to restrict the new replay policy to home-run disputes. If they start reviewing all the human judgments, the game loses energy—and adds even more dead time.
Artie: Although I wouldn’t mind a replay of that four-game series the Brew Crew blew at home to the Cubs, ain’a?
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Frank Clines labored almost 20 years in the sports department at the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and cov ered the Brewers part-time for most of those years. Art Kumbalek believes a Kumbalek presidency is a “no-brainer.”
CC Sabathia | Photo by Jim Cryns
