I feel perfectly confident in making both of these statements about left-handed pitchers. Statement one: Francisco Liriano has been vastly more valuable than Bud Smith in his Major League Baseball career. Statement two: Bud Smith definitely threw the better no-hitter. Liriano's no-hitter Tuesday night came with two strikeouts and six walks, which is enough to get most pitchers the Novelty Vaudeville Hook after five innings. But the Chicago White Sox couldn't touch Liriano, and in a no-hitter there's only one bad outcome—the, uh, hit.
↵Bud Smith, dearly departed St. Louis Cardinals prospect, didn't strike out a batter an inning or break the Geo Metro barrier with his fastball, but on one day his fun combination of bad stuff and extreme command and confidence led to a nice, middle-of-the-road no-hitter: seven strikeouts against four walks, to go along with far, far too many pitches for a 21-year-old rookie.
↵Liriano's White Sox foil was none other than famous bad-no-hitter-thrower Edwin Jackson, which offers a sort of karmic explanation for the whole thing; I don't think anyone's in a position to complain, although Ozzie Guillen will likely do his best anyway. The fans got to see a no-hitter; Francisco Liriano got to throw one; and I got to think about Bud Smith again. Win-win-win.