Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying

The Milwaukee Brewers need to quit crying over whether CC Sabathia pitched a no-hitter Sunday in Pittsburgh.

There are two reasons Andy LaRoche’s leadoff single in the fifth inning deserved to be called an infield hit:

No. 1: Sabathia tried to bare-hand the ball. Whenever somebody does that, it means they know there is a 50-50 chance at best of getting the runner.

If every player was given an error who tries to bare-hand a ball, Major League Baseball would need to change its scoring rules and call hundreds of more errors each season on such plays.

No. 2: Sabathia is left-handed. He not only needed to pick up the ball; he needed to turn his body to make the throw (it would have been much easier for a right-hander.)

There’s even a third compelling reason not to change the call. Had the play been ruled an error, the Pirates may have played the game differently from then on in an attempt to get a hit.

(Perhaps someone could have tried for a bunt single to break up a no-hitter; such as Ben Davis of the Padres did years ago vs. Curt Schilling of the Padres; or Steve Garvey of the Dodgers did vs. San Diego’s Bob Owchinko in the late 1970s.)

The Brewers are a great team. Here’s hoping they win the World Series ... and quit crying about a one-hitter by Sabathia that should stay that way!