While the New York Mets might be out of the pennant race for 2011, Friday night's game against the wild-card-leading Atlanta Braves was actually one of the most impressive pitching performances the Mets have received in franchise history. Along with Tom Seaver, Chris Capuano only became the second pitcher in the near 50 history of the Mets to throw a shutout with two hits or fewer while striking out at least 10 batters and walking none. It was a truly impressive game, and it was a joy to watch.
While what Capuano accomplished on Friday night was remarkable, it pains me to say that it looks like the New York Mets are going to finish yet another season in four weeks with no no-hitters to show for it. In addition to the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets are one of two teams in Major League Baseball to have never thrown a no-hitter. They have certainly come close. In 50 years, they have thrown 35 one-hitters, 267 of which have reached the fifth inning and four of which have reached the ninth inning, but yet no pitcher in a Mets uniform has ever been able to close it out. While it is not as if throwing a no-hitter earns you anything more in the standings than any other victory, I have always found this to be extremely frustrating. Maybe I am jinxing myself through this routine, but I have actually gotten to the point where I am looking for a no-hitter at the start of every game, and when that first hit occurs, an expletive or two is usually said.
It really is amazing when you think about it. Among Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez and countless others, you would think that SOMEONE would have been able to accomplish this feat at least once since 1962. But no. All 7,936 games the New York Mets have ever played have all had the opposing team recording at least one hit. Don't get me wrong, there are many streaks in sports that are much worse. The Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908 and the city of Philadelphia had to go 25 years without any of its major sports teams winning a championship until the Phillies snapped that streak in 2008. But with everything the Mets have gone through in their history, especially as of late, it would be nice if just one time, someone could pull it together for nine consecutive innings and give Queens a no-hitter. Or they could win 30 games in a row and miraculously make the playoffs, whichever is easier.