September 15, 2008
by Chris Lima
108 Red Stitches

Carlos Zambrano has had some season. Arm troubles, trips to the DL, crazy wins, head scratching losses. This time, after not having pitched since September 2nd, Zambrano did something that no Cubs hurler has done in 36 years.

He tossed a No-No. Even with arm fatigue and not having faced live hitters in twelve days.

Imagine what he could do when he's finally healthy.

Zambrano walked one batter and hit another, the only blemishes on an otherwise perfect performance.

Zambrano wound up throwing 110 pitches, which might be cause for concern for Cubs fans, after all the pomp and circumstance is over.

Here's the odd part; Zambrano threw the no-hitter in Miller Park. Against the Houston Astros, who, the last time we checked, were not the Milwaukee Brewers. The game was moved to Miller Park (Brewers home field) because of Hurricane Ike.

Angels pitcher Jered Weaver had a hand in the a no hitter yesterday, but also found himself on the losing side of the ball game. Here's an excerpt of the story from ESPN News Services:

LOS ANGELES (ESPN.com news services) -- Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night -- and it still wasn't good enough for the Los Angeles Angels.

The Dodgers became the fifth team in modern major league history to win a game in which they didn't get a hit, defeating the Angels 1-0. Weaver's error on a slow roller led to an unearned run by the Dodgers in the fifth.Weaver downplayed the fact the Angels lost without giving up a hit."Any loss, no matter what, is tough," he said. "I'm sure you guys are going to eat this up a lot more than I am. I don't call it a no-hitter for me. I only went six innings." The Dodgers' Joe Torre thought it might've been his weirdest win as a manager."I'd really have to reach down, and I don't really remember too much, but that's about as bizarre as you can get," he said.With the Angels trailing in the interleague game at Dodger Stadium, Weaver was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning after throwing 97 pitches. Arredondo pitched the next two innings.

Name: Clay Buchholz
Organization: Boston Red Sox
Position: Pitcher
Born: 8/14/1984
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 2005, 1st Round (45th Overall)

Technically he's still considered a prospect, even though he threw a no-hitter against Baltimore last season. SoxProspects.com says that "Buchholz has a low-to-mid 90s four-seam fastball, a two seam fastball with decent movement, a slider, a hard 12-6 curveball, and a changeup." His best pitch is the curveball, followed by the changeup, then the 90 mph fastball.
In an early 2008 spring training session, according to rotowire.com, "Red Sox hitters were raving about Buchholz' 40-pitch batting practice session on Tuesday, the Boston Herald reports. "He has a fastball that moves, a really good changeup, and a good curveball," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "That's a pretty good mix to have when you can throw them all for strikes, and I think that's what separated him when he came up last year, that he threw them all for strikes." Kevin Cash caught Buchholz during the session and was equally impressed. "He was filthy." Cash said, "His changeup and curveball were great, but his changeup was even better than his curve. He really has them all, a 12-to-6 curveball, the changeup, and his slider is really nasty, too. He pretty much had it all going today." Buchholz, who is competing for the fifth starter spot in the rotation, will make his spring debut Sunday against Minnesota.