If we needed baseball to be a diversion from other disappointing sporting events this past week, and we undoubtedly did, then once again MLB came to our rescue.

The D-Backs’ Edwin Jackson pitched the fourth no-hitter of the season, throwing 149 pitches and walking eight hitters in the process.  It should have been the fifth no-hitter of 2010, of course, had Jim Joyce made the right call on out number 27 for Armando Galarraga.  A mystifyingly bad call followed by demands for instant replay.  That sounds painfully familiar.

Yes, baseball brings us plenty of joy, but it is also capable of causing extreme frustration.  Just ask Carlos Zambrano.

It’s been a strange season so far for the Chicago Cubs’ pitcher Carlos Zambrano and his frustration came out in typically spectacular fashion on Friday during a day game against the White Sox.

The volatile Venezuelan has gone backwards over the last two and a half seasons since his Cy Young candidate form of 2007.  Zambrano got pummelled by Atlanta for eight runs in 1.1 innings on Opening Day this year and he was shifted to the bullpen three starts later, making thirteen relief appearances before returning to the rotation on 4 June against the Astros. Zambrano pitched a good game in his fourth appearance back as a starter against the Angels, one run conceded over seven innings, and many questioned whether this was a mere fleeting glimpse of the Big Z of old or if had he genuinely turned the corner?  Continue reading →