By Sheldon Ocker, Akron Beacon Journal –
CLEVELAND — Five no-hitters, including a perfect game, before the middle of June? Have major-league hitters become complete wimps because they no longer can safely use steroids without getting caught?
Some observers of the game think the increase in no-hitters is directly related to the testing program instituted in 2005 to stop players from using performance-enhancing drugs. But didn’t pitchers also use steroids?
Sports Illustrated recently featured a story about Dan Naulty, who pitched rather unsuccessfully for the Twins and Yankees from 1996 through 1999. By Naulty’s admission, he would never have reached the big leagues without the help of steroids.
Once he got there, his body began to break down, and he discovered that he had lost his desire to play the game. Nevertheless, Naulty transformed himself from a 6-foot-6 string bean who threw in the high 80s into a behemoth that delivered fastballs at 95 miles per hour.
The point is that hitters were not the only players reaping the benefits of steroids, synthetic testosterone and HGH, so I don’t think the plethora of recent no-hitters has anything to do with position players abandoning the deceitful use of illegal substances.
There might not be a rational explanation, because a longer look back shows us that the frequency of no-hitters tends to ebb and flow for no discernible reason.
From 1970 through 1979, there were 29 no-hitters in the big leagues (excluding combined no-hitters, which are a different type of achievement). Nolan Ryan had four of those, so it might be instructive that when a future hall of fame starter is in the picture, he can inflate the number all by himself.
From 1980 through 1989, there were only 13 no-hitters, including Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981. In three seasons during that decade, not even one no-hitter was thrown.
The decade from 1990 through 1999 saw the no-hit total balloon to 27, with 41 percent being thrown in 1990 and 1991. Ryan was involved again, throwing one no-hitter in each of those years.
Six no-hitters littered the landscape in 1990; all were thrown by premier pitchers: Dave Stieb (against the Tribe), Dave Stewart, Fernando Valenzuela, Terry Mulholland, Randy Johnson and Ryan.
Five more followed in 1991 and only 16 more for the rest of the decade.
Between 2000 and 2009, the record book had to accommodate only 15 no-hitters, none in 2000 or 2005. Derek Lowe threw one for the Red Sox against the Rays in 2002.
From 2010 to the present, 14 no-hitters already have been thrown, including six in 2010, which included perfect games by Roy Halladay and Dallas Braden. Ubaldo Jimenez threw a no-hitter for the Rockies, and Halladay threw a second no-hitter for the Phillies in the playoffs.
Fans and the media begin to wonder whether no-hitters are becoming devalued when journeyman starters get in on the act.
Edwin Jackson joined the small group of no-hit pitchers in 2010, despite enduring a career that includes a 63-63 record and a 4.36 earned-run average. Jackson’s career-best season came not in 2010 but in 2008, when he won 14 games.
Matt Garza also threw a no-hitter in 2010. No question that Garza’s arm can deliver dazzling stuff, but his inconsistency has produced a 54-59 record and 3.85 ERA. Not bad, but far from sterling.
Humber’s perfect game this year belies a career record of 13-14 and a 4.35 ERA. His best year was last season, when he was 9-9. Braden has tumbled off the earth after undergoing shoulder surgery last year.
If there are discoverable reasons why the frequency of no-hitters varies strikingly from year to year or decade to decade, maybe the investigation should center on the baseballs, the umpiring, the ballparks or the weather.
“It’s just life,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “There are going to be some years when there aren’t any no-hitters.”
Maybe we’re dealing with the whims of pure chance.
Challenging assignment
What team would turn down the opportunity to possess a reliever whose average fastball blasts into the catcher’s mitt at 96 miles per hour?
The Rockies, for one. They didn’t even demand a third-rate prospect from the Indians, who paid cash for Esmil Rogers last week. How can the Tribe go wrong on this deal?
Easy. Rogers has a great arm, no doubt about that. But his earned-run average has risen three years in a row, from 6.13 in 2010 to 7.05 in 2011 to 8.06 this season. Keep in mind that on a scale of one to 10, Rogers’ 6.13 ERA would be a two, and his current ERA in minus territory.
Even with his excessive velocity, Rogers gives up lots of hits (36 in 24 innings with Colorado). Worse, he is walking batters at the rate of 6.3 per nine innings. At 26, Rogers is young enough to learn. But so far, the lessons haven’t sunk in, and the Rockies obviously were at wits’ end with him.
It would be one thing if the Tribe could send Rogers to the minors to work out his issues without the pressure of being scrutinized by the fans and the media and where he would be free of the stress associated with a pennant race.
But Rogers is out of options, so he has become Acta’s problem. Apparently, the front office figures that the manager and pitching coach Scott Radinsky have too much time on their hands.
On-the-job training in the big leagues is difficult, especially for pitchers. As Orel Hershiser once said, “Pitchers can’t practice.” Because of the strain on their shoulders and elbows, a pitcher can’t go out and throw dozens of pitches a day to rehearse.
Of necessity, throwing in the bullpen must be strictly limited. Rogers will have to improve by pitching in games and that could jeopardize the team’s ability to win, given the pitcher’s history of erratic performance.
So why did General Manager Chris Antonetti take such a gamble? Rogers will be the seventh option in the bullpen, used primarily in routs or lost causes. In his first two appearances, both against the Reds, Rogers performed well enough to be a viable reliever. But it will take longer than that to know for sure.
