Julio Lugo owes Shannon Stewart a beer.
Curt Schilling came oh so close to a no-hitter today. But Shannon Stewart broke it up when he singled to right with two outs in the ninth.
Schilling was crushed. Boston was bummed. And Julio Lugo was (no doubt) relieved.
I mean, he must have been, right? Because if Schilling had recorded that last out, the following sentence would have appeared in every newspaper in America tomorrow:
Schilling’s no-hitter would have been a perfect game, but Dan Johnson reached base in the fifth inning on a fielding error by Julio Lugo.
No position player wants to make the error that proves to be the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game. Lugo REALLY didn’t want to make that error. He’s had a tough act to follow, after Sox fans spent a year watching Alex “greatest ever” Gonzalez throw guys out from his knees. Lugo didn’t need to give Sox fans one more reason to complain about him. He lucked out today.
On an unrelated note, Schilling probably feels like he’s never going to get that no-no. The pitch that Steward hit was a fastball. Sox catcher Jason Varitek called for a slider, but Schilling shook him off.
“We get two outs, and I was sure, and I had a plan, and I shook Tek off,” Schilling said. “And I get a big `What if?’ for the rest of my life.”
This was Schilling’s third one-hitter. Probably the closest he’d come to a no-hitter before today was in 2001, when he came within five outs of a perfect game while pitching for the Diamondbacks against the Padres. But San Diego catcher Ben Davis ruined his gem with a bunt base hit.
**Note: Ben Davis is a family friend (we attend the same Super Bowl party) and if he never catches another big league game I’ll always remember how he broke up Schilling’s perfect game and how Schilling wined about it afterwards. Davis represented the tying run, Curt! We’re playing baseball here! Strap on a set!
June 8th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Coley, this is what Schilling said about that “wining” [sic] in today’s Globe. FWIW, that USA Today article you linked to doesn’t actually have a quote from Schilling expressing him “wining,” beyond saying he was surprised by the bunt. And isn’t a bunt, by its very nature, supposed to be surprising? Anyway, the Globe:
The bunt truth
Schilling had come within five outs of a no-hitter May 26, 2001, but lost it when Ben Davis of the Padres blooped a bunt single in the eighth inning of a game Schilling won, 2-0. Davis was ripped by Arizona manager Bob Brenly and Schilling’s teammates for resorting to bunting with a no-hitter on the line.
“The thing about the Ben Davis game, I was one of the few guys who didn’t say anything after that game, and I never have,” Schilling said. “It caught me off guard when it happened, but I wasn’t offended by it. It was a 2-0 game at the time.”
Schilling said he was mindful the Athletics might try to bunt in the late innings yesterday in a one-run game. “I know that [Mark ] Kotsay and Jason [ Kendall] both know how to play the game,” Schilling said of the first two hitters in the Oakland ninth. “I was ready for it if it happened.”
Third baseman Mike Lowell said he was looking for the bunt for much of the game. “I wasn’t going to let them get a cheap bunt,” he said.
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June 8th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Proof That Designated Hitters Must Be Abolished Because They’re Not Really Baseball Players: Proof #349
From the Boston Herald this morning:
“After the first out in the ninth inning, I looked up at all the zeros (on the scoreboard) and saw a zero under the ‘H’ and I said, ‘Wait a minute!’” - David Ortiz
Dude had no idea until 25 outs had already been recorded. He was not a part of the ballgame.
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June 8th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
That bunt was cheap and if he had any love for the game he would have broken it up swinging. Noone bunted off of nolan ryan when he pitched his last 2 or 3. They went up there swinging. Ben Davis will always be remembered for being someone who didnt have that respect.
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June 9th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Sarah, you’re right. Schilling, as far as I can tell, never “whined” about Davis’ bunt. I shouldn’t have said that he did. On the other hand, he certainly never asked his manager or teammates to stop wining about it. He never stood up and defended Davis. So as far as I’m concerned his silence is as good as criticism.
Paul, you’re right. The DH needs to be tossed.
Tom, using steroids is disrespecting the game. Betting on your team is disrespecting the game. Showing up late or hung-over is disrespecting the game.
Laying down a bunt single when your team is down by two runs and Tony Gwynn is waiting to pinch hit is not disrespecting the game. Doing everything within the rules to win is not disrespecting the game. Quite the opposite.
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