Matt Cain's perfect game

Matt Cain: A very good pitcher
had a very great game.

While I was sleeping (yes, despite all the middle-of-the-night time stamps on my posts, it does happen), Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants threw a perfect game.

It was one of the more dominant outings in baseball history, what with 14 strikeouts.

That makes five perfect games since July 2009 -- less than 36 months -- and that's not counting the Amando Galarraga "imperfect" game marred by the Jim Joyce umpiring error.

What I'm puzzling over -- and this will probably be my topic for the Monday print column -- is why do we suddenly have so many perfectos? Has something basic switched in the game, or is this just random happenstance?

Pic of the Week

The Citi Field scoreboard pays homage to Johan Santana
after Friday night's masterpiece.

One more photo from Johan Santana's no-hitter; one more pun of the rhyme of the word "no" and the first syllable of his first name.

There have been three no-hitters so far in 2012. One (Jared Weaver) came against the Twins. The other two were thrown by former Twins who were traded for each other (Santana and Phillip Humber).

Santana's no-Jo

Johan Santana's no-hitter Friday was the first in Mets history,
this for a franchise that has had such dominant pitchers as
Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden.

During Johan Santana's Twins years, I frequently pondered this question on my way to work on days he was to pitch: What am I going to do if he makes some history tonight?

On Friday night, Santana finally threw the no-hitter I anticipated on so many nights. He did it, of course, for the Mets, but for a lot of Twins fans in Minnesota, he'll always be one of our guys.

He is having a superb season. This is actually his second straight complete-game shutout. He's struck out 68 men in 68 innings — even with a diminished fastball, he still misses bats — and his ERA is 2.38.


Not bad for a guy whose very career appears in jeopardy a year ago.

I only hope that Friday's feat won't prove damaging. Santana threw 134 pitches (77 strikes) for his no-hitter. His career high had been 125. He missed all of 2011 with a complex shoulder surgery, and has had other significant surgeries. While he keeps himself in superb physical condition, he's not a workhorse.

Obviously it was a risk Santana was willing to take for a shot at history. Only time will tell if it was a wise risk to take.

Late Night: Weaver no-hits Twins 9-0

Jered Weaver and Chris Iannetta celebrate after the
last out of Weaver's no-hitter.

Game story here

Box score here

And the season just gets worse for the Twins. They have an off day today, and I expect to see some changes.

Begin with Liam Hendriks. He couldn't make it out of the third inning on Wednesday. That's two straight poor starts for the rookie, and his ERA is an even 9.00.

The starting rotation is the single biggest problem on this team; none of the starters have been effective. Hendriks is the easiest to change out, and also the one with the best future. Let him learn in Triple A.

Potential replacements: Either Anthony Swarzak (moved out of the bullpen) or Scott Diamond (now in Triple A.)

Hendriks can be optioned. Matt Maloney cannot, but his ERA (after getting two outs and a bruise on his calf from a line drive) is 7.36, so there's a real good chance he'll clear waivers. I think the Twins will find out. I hope they can keep him; he may be a Quadruple A pitcher (good in the minors, not good enough to pitch in the majors), but I still believe he can be an asset in the majors. He isn't right now.

Another guy who'd have to be waived is Clete Thomas, who has now struck out 16 times in 28 plate appearances with Minnesota. The Twins are carrying him rather than Ben Revere as an outfield reserve because Revere can't throw and the use they have for an extra outfielder is in right, but Thomas isn't getting it done.

Chris Parmelee probably isn't going down just yet, if only because of the uncertainty about Justin Morneau, but Parmelee's average is down to .220 and he hasn't had a hit since his beaning. He hasn't had an extra base hit since April 19.

Most of these are minor moves. One starting pitcher, a position player who's been in the lineup about half the time, a bench guy and a long reliever. Changing them out isn't going to turn the Twins season around.

But something's got to give.

More no-hitter stuff

Drew Butera (41) and Francisco Liriano in the
dugout during Tuesday's no-hitter.
"Don't you lie to me, Frankie."

Here's Ozzie Guillen on Tuesday' night's no-hitter:

"As a manager, I was bad during the game. I was worse before the game because I made out the lineup.''

Here's Drew Butera on Francisco Lirano saying that he didn't know he had a no-hitter until the eighth inning:

"He’s lying. I think they all realize it."

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The Twins are considering using Thursday's off day to give Liriano an extra day after he threw 123 pitches Tuesday. That pitch count matches his career high, set almost exactly a year earlier (May 2). That was followed by three straight poor outings -- 15.2 innings, 13 runs allowed.

I would be surprised if they didn't give Liriano the extra day.
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Matt Capps was warming up in the ninth inning Tuesday, and considering the score (1-0) and the pitch count, I've no doubt that he'd have come in had Liriano given up a hit.

But think about this dilemma that Ron Gardenhire almost had to face. Liriano in the ninth faced a few left-handed hitters: Juan Pierre (who walked) and Adam Dunn (now 0-for-17 versus lefties). Liriano fell behind Dunn 3-0, then got him to line to short to end the game.

What if he'd walked Dunn? Tying run in scoring position, 120-plus pitches, and Paul Konerko up. Do you pull Liriano with the no-hitter intact? Do you let him (admittedly exhausted) face such a dangerous right-handed hitter with the game on the line?

Neither option is particularly appealing.

Frankkie Liriano-no

Francisco Liriano's no-hitter Tuesday
was his first complete game.

A no-hitter, by definition, is a dominant pitching performance.

But this was about as unimpressive a no-hitter as one can envision.

Francisco Liriano threw 123 pitches Tuesday night;  66 were strikes and 57 were balls. He faced 30 men and threw a first-pitch strike to just 11 of them.

He walked six and struck out just two.

He took the mound on a chilly Chicago evening Tuesday with the very real possibility that his job was on the line. He entered with an ERA of 9.13 and 18 walks allowed in fewer than 24 innings. A couple days ago I heard Ron Gardenhire say on the radio that Kevin Slowey was being stretched out on his rehab assignment "in case we decide to do something," and he said that in the context of talking about Liriano's struggles.

Results matter, of course, and Liriano did throw a no-hitter, did shut out the White Sox. It's reasonable to assume that if Slowey is going to dislodge one of the current starters when he returns to the active roster, it won't be Liriano.

Results matter, but so does the process. The walks, the strike/ball ratio, the lack of swings-and-misses (12 for the game, and, Aaron Gleeman points out, just four swinging strikes on his slider) – these things suggest strongly that Liriano has not solved his problems.

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A commenter on my earlier post wondered how many pitchers have had no-hitters for their first complete game.

Off the top of my head I had three nominees, and as it turned out, for two of the three their no-hitters were their only complete game.

One was Bobo Holloman, who threw a no-hitter in 1953 for the St. Louis Browns. He has a degree of notoriety as the absolute worst pitcher to throw a no-hitter; Holloman had just the one season in the majors, going 3-7 in 10 starts and 12 relief appearances and walking 50 men (with 25 strikeouts) in just 65 innings. (Consider this: He pitched nine of his 65 innings in one start; he needed nine starts and 12 relief appearances to get another 54 innings. If he averaged one inning in the 12 relief appearances, that leaves 42 innings for the nine starts. Brutal.)

Another was Bud Smith, who threw a no-no at age 21 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001. A prime prospect, he wrecked his arm the next season. (Young pitchers and Tony LaRussa don't mix well.)

My third nominee, Mike Warren, had three complete games before he too ran afoul of injuries. I don't know if his no-hitter was his first compete game, and having Smith and Holloman wrapped up, I'm not interested enough to chase it down.