The Lunatic Fringe

Now, a few days later, last Friday night was…unexpected.  To put it mildly.

I’ve often told people that being at Matt Cain’s Perfect Game was more special than being at one of the World Series games, because with a Perfect Game, you can’t force it to happen.  You know you’re going to a World Series game when you buy the ticket.  You never know when a Perfect Game will happen.

And that’s never been truer than how close Yusmeiro Petit came.

By now, you’ve probably seen stories about how he used to be a highly regarded prospect with the Mets, and he was.  But, like many pitching prospects, he just never developed.  He may have been highly regarded, but he wasn’t a top prospect.  This is a story that happens far too often in baseball.  And the truth is, while he’s probably deserved more shots at the majors than he’s gotten, nothing in his history suggested something special happening.

Then again, look at the history of Armando Galaragga, who had a perfect game robbed from him.  All of it.  There is nothing to proclaim anything special there.

But, that’s what makes a perfect game.

Now, Petit’s pretty guaranteed of a job next year.  I suspect we’ll see him slotted into a Chad Gaudin-role from this year.  Long relief, backup starter.  And I’m okay with that.  If he can come close to pounding that outside corner like he did on Friday, I’m completely okay with that.