I’m sure Homer Bailey pitched an excellent game when he threw his no-hitter against San Francisco, but very often when there’s an accomplishment like that the pitcher is often helped by problems that may exist behind the scenes among players of the opposite team. No one knows for sure, but what we do know is that as of this writing the Giants are in last place in the National League West and the media has been referring to them as “the slumping San Francisco Giants.” If Cincinnati had been playing Pittsburgh, would Bailey have had a no-hitter? Or Atlanta? When Chicago Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano pitched his no-hitter against the Houston Astros back in 2008, it was “the first make-up game of the hurricane-affected series” between the Cubs and Astros. And it was pretty obvious what the problem was. The Astros had to leave their families behind in Houston and I believe the players’ concern for their families’ safety affected their ability to focus. Another good example of: What takes place away from the baseball diamond affects what takes place on the baseball diamond.