COMMENTARY

Getting no-hit leaves Royals feeling empty

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“It’s freaky,” he says.

So, yes, deep down, everyone understands. If it were just another loss, it would not be so quiet in here. Mark Teahen sits in front of his locker, his right shoulder wrapped in ice. He was hitless in three tries, like most of the others. He grounded one ball back to the pitcher, one to the second baseman, and hit a fly ball to center field his final time, the last out of the eighth inning, when everyone knew what was happening.

“It’s not embarrassing,” he says. “It’s just … he was good.”

Lester was good. Outfielder David DeJesus says, “We were just trying to get a hit. We were trying. He was just dominating.” And catcher John Buck, who was not in the lineup, says, “I’ll help us break it up tomorrow.” And pitcher Luke Hochevar, who took the loss and had his difficulties dealing with the patience of those Boston hitters, says in a flat, monotone voice, “I really didn’t pay attention to what he was doing.”

There’s no manual telling a player what to say after getting no-hit. There’s no model for how to feel. Mostly, there’s silence. Pitcher Brian Bannister dresses in front of his locker. He watched the whole thing from the dugout, of course, and he heard the excitement of the crowd, and he understood the magic of the moment, and he felt the agony with his teammates. Brian is never at a loss for words. Now, though, he says he doesn’t really know what to say.

“If someone had to throw a no-hitter against us, I’m glad it was Jon,” he finally says. “That’s just an amazing story after what he has gone through. As a fellow pitcher, I can see just how amazing this is. It hurts to get no-hit, but you think about what he did. You know, that’s why I love this game.”

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To reach Joe Posnanski, call 816-234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.