Barajas' Laws Of Baseball

"1. Do not shake off the catcher with one out remaining in a no-hitter"

Oh, Curt Schilling. You of all people, who spent one and a half seasons in the greater Phoenix area with our boy Barajas, don't know the Barajas laws? For shame. You came within one out of a no-hitter only to be foiled by your own hand. You're a military guy. Don't you remember what Jester said? You never, ever leave your wingman. Especially when it's 'Tek. Didn't Pedro learn this the hard way back in 2000, when he shook off J.V. only to give up a ninth-inning base hit to Tampa Bay's John Freakin' Flaherty in his own no-hit bid? Sigh. At least then we got one of the greatest sports quotes of all time:

"Whether I'm getting the breaks or not, there's no crying in baseball. Whoever wants to cry, let'm cry. They almost got no hit. They had nine innings to adjust to some of those pitches; only Flaherty did it. So... hang with it. Tell'm to swallow it."

You, Curt, haven't even updated your blog! In your defense, it was still a hell of a showing, and as much-needed as a team up 10 games in the standings can have a much-needed performance. Thank God for David Ortiz' first inning home run (the final score was 1-0). There's also that pesky little matter of Julio Lugo's throwing error, without which your perfect game would have been intact, and you never would have faced Shannon Stewart. Of course, not everything would have played out the same if Lugo makes the throw. That's what you tell yourself, right?

Curt Schilling's Barajas number is 1. He played with Rod Barajas on the 2000 and 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks.