Clarke Schmidt no-hitter debate sounds even dumber after Yankees' latest news

It's difficult to trust the Yankees' injury diagnoses when they say them directly to your face. It's much easier to believe them when they make you read between the lines.

After Clarke Schmidt exited his no-hit bid against the Baltimore Orioles after seven sterling innings (and 103 pitches) last Saturday afternoon, Aaron Boone told you all you needed to know without telling you anything at all in the postgame scrum. "Clarke wasn't in a position to do that today," Boone noted, regarding a potential eighth inning push in the blistering heat. "That's all I would say to that."

That quote didn't stop millions of minions from debating a wall about how back in their day, a pitcher would demand the ball with history on the line, instead of handing it over to some guy named JT Brubaker. Connective tissue throughout history is what makes baseball great. That is certainly true. But pitchers being wiser about their bodies in the modern era is one of the reasons gameplay has significantly improved. It probably killed Schmidt that he was unable to finish what he started, but he knew the gas tank was empty, and he was wise enough to step away. Unnecessary debate over, ended by the two men at the center of it.

And the back-and-forth, of course, looks even dumber today, as the Yankees announced on Wednesday night that Schmidt's been slow to recover from his efforts, and will be pushed back a day in the rotation to Saturday afternoon.

Yankees shuffle rotation to accommodate Clarke Schmidt's slow bounce back

Hopefully, that's the end of this particular "recovery," but ... Greg Joyce of the New York Post noted that Schmidt's actually had trouble bouncing back after his two most recent starts. You never would've known it watching him operate on Saturday, but clearly there's something that must be sorted out here.

Schmidt's never been known for his durability, and the length he's provided this season - six starts of at least six innings, including his two most recent starts both featuring seven complete - has been out of character and evolutionary. He required a slow buildup this spring, staying back in Florida on the IL when the season began. Now, he needs another brief pause, which we can only hope will reverse this troubling recent trend.

And you people wanted him to throw 140 pitches and go for the no-no on a scorching June day, huh? Next time, maybe wait until you have all the information at hand. The Yankees might just know more than you do.