Jinxing the Big Unit

[Football_Bat]

Johnson's got a no-no through 5.

 

[zimbabwe]

You mean a no-hitter?

Noonan.

5 2/3.....

 

[beefncheddar]

Johnson's got a no-no through 5.

Through 6.

Edit: And nice job by Ozuna of making old-ass Randy Johnson work there in the sixth. One pitch. One grounder to 2nd. On to the 7th.

 

[zeke12]

Through six...


And I have to root for him. ****.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Go Johnson Go.

 

[Ledbetter]

ESPN, please tell the lady laughing into the microphone to shut up.

 

[BYH]

ESPN, please tell the lady laughing into the microphone to shut up.

And YES Network, please tell Paul O'Neill to have his larnyx removed.

 

[beefncheddar]

Base. Knock.

Sweet.

 

[BYH]

Success!!!

 

[zeke12]

Saving front pages all through the midwest...

 

[zimbabwe]

JENGA

 

[buckweaver]

Man, you guys are good at this jinx ****.

Anyway, now I can tell my story:

I was at Turner Field on May 18, 2004 -- and yes, I still have both ducats to prove it. Wasn't planning to go, but got an unexpected day off and saw that Unit was pitching against Hampton. I'd never seen Johnson pitch in person before, and I didn't know how long he was going to stick around. Besides, a good matchup always sways me enough to go to an MLB game when I'm a little undecided. I was a pitcher myself, so I love a good duel.

Dragged the live-in down to Atlanta with me, and we got tickets out in left field. Usually, I like to sneak into the box seats around the sixth inning or so, once the crowd starts to thin out, but because I had an eye on the scoreboard, I didn't even think about moving this time. Meanwhile, the girl's trying to throw me off my superstitions and I'm getting pretty pissed.

"So the Braves are sucking it up tonight, huh? They don't have a hit yet, right?"
"Right. Shut up about it, OK?"

But around the eighth inning, you can feel the buzz in the air. She's getting into it, too, and finally quits trying to jinx it. And nobody around us is trying to jinx it, either. Hell, we're giving Unit a huge ovation for each one of the final six outs. Crowd just explodes in the ninth: DeRosa's groundout, then Nick Green strikes out and then Eddie Perez, of course. What a thrill.

Damn, I'm so lucky. Who the hell expects that when you go to a mid-week game in mid-May?

One of my top-5 sports moments ever.

 

[beefncheddar]

And on the other hand,

The beefncheddar family had a quick 2-game trip planned to see my team (the Phillies) and my brother's team (the White Sox) on back-to-back days in 1991. The plan is to drive to Philly and catch Phils-Expos on Saturday game and then catch White Sox-Orioles on the way back to Va. Well, there's rain all along the East Coast, so Dad beefncheddar decided we'll hit Baltimore on Saturday and catch the Phils on Sunday and just do a longer drive home on Monday. No problem.

Except that decision meant we weren't in the seats for Wilson Alvarez's no-hitter. And it didn't rain in either city either day.

****.

 

[Bubbler]

EAT **** BIG UNIT! NO REMAKES FOR ME!

 

[BYH]

Kyle Farnsworth = choking dog.

And for the love of all that is holy, could someone please pull Paul O'Neill out of that broadcast booth and givce him a one-way ticket back to Ohio? Last inning, he's blathering on about how the Sox are done if they can't come back with a huge inning in the seventh. Then earlier this inning he's prattling on about how the broadcasters have to come up with something to talk about to fill time during the blowout.

He also said good offensive teams can beat up on poor middle relief. No ****. He added that teams like the Yankees and Red Sox have good middle relief.

Of course, then the Yankees implode and the Red Sox are about to do the same after Josh Beckett leaves with a one-run lead after six.

Paul, you suck. Go topple a water cooler.

Note: Hey, ARod has the game-winning RBI!  

 

[zeke12]

Damn, buck, I have a story a lot like it.

Driving home from the East Coast, stop in Chicago where my dad is in on business. We decide, off the cuff, to try and get tix to see the Cubs the next day, middle of the week.

Concierge at the hotel gets us, I **** you not, seats about five rows behind home plate. Sweet. Who's in town. Diamondbacks. Say, isn't that where Mark Grace ended up? Has he been back here yet?
Who's pitching? Randy Johnson? you don't say.

Sat right behind the plate and watched Johnson throw a gem. He went 8, gave up one hit. BK Kim closed allowing another in a 2-0 D-Back win. Gracie got a standing O in his first AB, then singled.

Serendipitous day at the yard, that.

 

[BYH]

And on the other hand,

The beefncheddar family had a quick 2-game trip planned to see my team (the Phillies) and my brother's team (the White Sox) on back-to-back days in 1991. The plan is to drive to Philly and catch Phils-Expos on Saturday game and then catch White Sox-Orioles on the way back to Va. Well, there's rain all along the East Coast, so Dad beefncheddar decided we'll hit Baltimore on Saturday and catch the Phils on Sunday and just do a longer drive home on Monday. No problem.

Except that decision meant we weren't in the seats for Wilson Alvarez's no-hitter. And it didn't rain in either city either day.

****.

One of my buddies saw that game. Wasn't that Alvarez' second or third career start?

 

[beefncheddar]

One of my buddies saw that game. Wasn't that Alvarez' second or third career start?

Our friends at wikipedia chime in with:

Alvarez's first career start: 2 BBs, single, 2 HRs. 0 outs recorded.
Alvarez's second career start: No-hitter.