RINGOLSBY: Making something from nothing

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 22, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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The no-hitter by the Red Sox's Jon Lester against the Royals on Monday has added significance because he's a cancer survivor.

The novelty of a no-hitter creates only momentary fame. And it carries no guarantees.

But Boston left-hander Jon Lester's no-hitter against Kansas City on Monday carries added significance. Lester, 24, is a cancer survivor who, only two years ago, underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

As a baseball player alone, Lester had the makings of an inspirational story for others who are battling life-threatening challenges. The no-hitter only expanded his national stage.

The idea of athletes being role models remains a pet peeve. Parents are role models. They are the ones who provide a foundation of values and morals for children, and for them to try to pawn off that responsibility on a stranger who happens to be athletically gifted is pathetic.

But when it comes to dealing with a crisis, athletes can provide motivation for others.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is a perfect example. He is very protective of his private life, but when his soon-to-be-6-year-old daughter Madison was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome, Hurdle realized he had a responsibility to take advantage of his stature in the sports world to not only become national spokesperson for Prader-Willi Syndrome, but also to become a shoulder to lean on for other families who have children who are afflicted.

Lester is the latest in a line of athletes who can provide an emotional lift to others, and to his credit, he is attempting to handle that challenge.

"When you get people coming up to you on the street that you don't know and telling you that you're an inspiration to them, you don't know what to say to them," he told the Boston media. "You don't know how to act. You don't know what to do. It's something that I'm learning to cope with and interact with people on that level."

On the field, the value of the no-hitter is fleeting. While there are Hall of Famers whose resumes include no-hitters - Nolan Ryan threw seven - there also are plenty of former players who barely achieved their 15 minutes of baseball fame - like Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns, who, in his first big-league start, no-hit the A's. It was his only complete game and one of only three wins in his 22-game, 10-start big-league career.

Of the 160 pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, 106 won fewer than 150 games in their careers, and 46 had losing records.

Infield chatter

* Yankees general manager Brian Cashman's contract is up at the end of the year, and it sounds like he's in limbo. "If Brian wants to be the GM next year, there's a chance he will be," Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner told The New York Times. "If he doesn't want to, he won't be. At this point, do I still want him to be the GM? Yeah, I do."

* Phenom outfielder Jay Bruce is getting closer to a call-up in Cincinnati, where the ongoing struggles of center fielder Corey Patterson are becoming difficult to ignore.

* Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano says he had a stiff neck the last time he pitched but emphatically denied reports there are worries about his right shoulder.

The rotation

Lester's no-hitter was the 18th by a Red Sox pitcher, which is second to the Dodgers, who have had 20. The Rockies, Mets, Padres and Rays have not had a no-hitter. The Mets are in their 47th year, which leaves them 10 years shy of the record for no-hitter droughts that the Phillies set between 1907 and 1963.

Of interest about the teams that haven't had a no-hitter:

* Mets. Five pitchers originally signed by the Mets have combined to throw 11 - Ryan (seven) and Tom Seaver, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden and A.J. Burnett (one each).

* Padres. Clay Kirby did have a no-hitter for eight innings on July 21, 1970, but the Padres were losing 1-0, so manager Preston Gomez pinch hit for Kirby in the eighth.

* Rockies. Their expansion cousins in Florida have produced three no-hitters - Al Leiter against the Rockies, May 11, 1996; Kevin Brown against the Giants, June 10, 1997; and Anibal Sanchez against the Diamondbacks, Sept. 6, 2006.

* Rays. They join the Marlins for having been no-hit a major league-low once apiece. The Rays were no-hit by Derek Lowe of Boston on April 27, 2002. Florida was no-hit by the Dodgers' Ramon Martinez on July 14, 1995.

Out in left field

Philadelphia outfielder Geoff Jenkins has played in more games (1,276) than any active player without appearing in Yankee Stadium. The longtime Milwaukee Brewer took over that distinction from the Mets' Moises Alou, who made his debut in the Bronx last weekend. Alou had appeared in 1,936 games before stepping on the field at Yankee Stadium.

Closing statement

Detroit manager Jim Leyland is apparently feeling the pressure of having a $138 million payroll and a farm system that was stripped of prospects to get the veteran players he wanted and then seeing the team fail miserably.

He grabbed at an innocuous statement by former Tigers reliever Jason Grilli earlier in the week and apparently tried to turn it into clubhouse motivation.

Grilli basically said one difference he sees in the Tigers is the change in personnel. Of the players who appeared in the 2006 World Series, 10 are not playing with the Tigers now, although that does include injured relievers Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya.

NUMBERS GAME

6,740 consecutive games without being held hitless for the Cubs, dating to the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax throwing a perfect game against them Sept. 9, 1965. It's the longest current streak in the majors. The Royals had ranked fourth at 5,552 games before Boston's Jon Lester no-hit them Monday.

BACK BEING GROUNDED

The Diamondbacks are attempting to limit the strain on Randy Johnson's surgically repaired back by limiting his plane flights.

As a result, Johnson remained in Phoenix while the team was in Florida this week, and he will join the team in Atlanta for his Saturday start. This isn't really that new.

In his first tour with Arizona, Johnson was known to travel on his own, although his back wasn't the reason given at that time.

HE SAID IT

"It was weird, but I needed (to rest), mentally more than anything else. It's more important for me to get back on track than any streak. The last week has been a mental grind for me."

Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta outfielder, who had hit .211 in his previous 19 games before sitting out the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday, ending his consecutive-games-played streak at 370. Minnesota's Delmon Young now has the longest active streak at 212 games.

MILE HIGH WATCH

* Liberty Media's purchase of FSN Rocky Mountain has created an interesting situation for the Rockies' ownership group.

Liberty Media owns the Atlanta Braves and, according to Major League Baseball rules, was prohibited from taking over by FSN's ownership stake in the Rockies.

As a result, Fox Networks Group, which no longer owns the carrier for the Rockies games, has retained about a 15 percent share of the franchise's limited partnership.

FSN Rocky Mountain paid a reported $20 million for a portion of the ownership shares that originally belonged to Oren Benton in July 2004. At the same time, it extended the contract to televise Rockies games through 2017. The purchase was an added enticement to the Rockies in FSN's effort to avoid losing the rights to telecast the Rockies to Altitude.

So far, Fox Networks Group hasn't indicated a need to sell its interest in the team, but in July 2009, Fox has a put option to turn over its ownership stake and get back the reported $20 million.

That wouldn't seem likely in light of the appreciation of franchise values since 2004. The put option after five years was designed to protect Fox Networks Group, among other things, in case the TV rights eventually were sold to Altitude.

Brothers Dick and Charlie Monfort, the Rockies' managing general partners, have a right of first refusal if Fox Networks Group were to try to sell its shares.

* Left-hander Glendon Rusch, signed by the Rockies after he was released by San Diego, made his debut for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday at Sacramento by allowing two hits and one walk, striking out five in five scoreless innings of a 3-2 Sky Sox victory.

The Rockies are looking at Rusch as a possible long reliever. Mark Redman, meanwhile, should make his second start since being sent down Friday against Tacoma in Colorado Springs.

Redman continued to have command problems in his first Sky Sox start, giving up five runs, five hits and four walks in three innings of an 8-2 loss Sunday at Fresno.

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