I had actually wanted to post this earlier in the day, but my intraweb connection was wonky.
I think much more significant than the no hitter itself is the noted length of time elapsed since the last one occured.
Also very significant is that this, in the short term and quite possibly the long term as well, makes the well publicized Boston-Florida trade I was so very, very angry over look quite lopsided, in the Marlins' favor. Hanley Ramirez has been a vital part of the Marlins' improbable season(I, like most people, had them finishing last, and I thought it was a no-brainer), Beckett has been somewhere between mediocre and downright bad, and now this.
That's surprising, on all three counts. There were warning signs in Beckett's history, he was far from a sure thing, but I couldn't have predicted the kind of letdown he's produced so far. Meanwhile, I was sure that Hanley Ramirez would be woefully overmatched, given his spotty minor league record. Frankly, I thought a lot of his hype was due to the Boston media. Sanchez was a nice prospect, but still, not the kind of haul I thought the Marlins would get for someone like Beckett.
Obviously, Beckett is still young and certainly talented enough to be the dominating pitcher virtually everyone thought he would be. Equally obvious is that Sanchez could pull a Bud Smith and Hanley Ramirez could fall apart. Perhaps most interesting of all is simply the fact that the Marlins are the god damned most undeservingly lucky bastards in baseball. Terrible ownership, a horribly fickle fanbase, and yet they fall ass-backwards into a world of talent, seemingly by accident. Four no-hitters and two World Series, in 15 years of existence, while other teams(teams with fans and owners that actually give a shit), have nada.
