The Cardinals' Michael Wacha lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning Sunday, the latest in what seems like an almost daily occurrence of near-miss bids.
Two things about that:
1) Because of riding pitch counts and an increased reliance on bullpens, I wouldn't be surprised if the actual number of nine-inning no-hitters thrown by just one pitcher actually goes down this year and beyond compared to the past.
2) Maybe it only seems like there are more no-hit bids now than in the past because we are constantly subjected to alerts that they are in progress as early as the sixth or even fifth inning. If half the game is left, is it really a no-hit bid worthy of making us all pay attention? Probably not.
New rule: it's not a real no-hit bid until the seventh inning. You could even argue for the eighth and I would support you.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. mrand@startribune.com
