Morning news and notes for Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022
Hot take: Combined no-hitters are the worst of both worlds. Half the game is unwatchable as one team can’t put a bat on a ball, and there is not nearly as much dramatic tension toward the end of the game compared to watching a single human try and accomplish something few others have. Combined no-hitters aren’t one pitcher having everything working for nine incredible innings, it’s one team having an awful day at the plate.
I get it, I really do. I promise. “Being hot” isn’t really a thing, it’s the right decision to pull your pitcher when it makes sense, regardless of the box score. Dusty Baker unequivocally made the right call to pull Cristian Javier after six innings and 97 pitches — better for his team’s chances of winning, and probably better for Javier’s long-term health. No argument there from me whatsoever. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss a time when the “wrong” decision would have been made there for the sake of competitiveness and wanting to make history.
Maybe he would have gone the distance, maybe he would have imploded in the eighth and the Phillies would have made a comeback. It would have been a more fun outcome either way.
