Justin Verlander: 000 000 000 0 0 0 - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Congratulations to Verlander, no-hitters always make us happy because they remind us that any random Tuesday night game is 27 outs away from history ...

That's from The Feed, and I think it about sums up how most baseball fans -- and certainly those in Detroit -- felt last night. Everyone knows you're not supposed to mention a no-hitter while it's in progress, but everyone wants to talk about it when it's over. Let's put our ear to the ground and check out how the Tigers blogosphere celebrated. From The Detroit Tigers Weblog:

I wish I could type up something poetic or dramatic or chuck full of literary goodness. I don't really have that in me, and I don't think I could muster it right now anyways. But watching this unfold was a thing of beauty. Justin Verlander was good in the first inning, and better in the 9th. His defense helped him of course, but with strikeouts accounting for 12 of the 27 outs, he certainly didn't overtax them.

Of course, he still had to rely on his defense a little, like that grounder up the middle which Neifi Perez scooped up in the eighth. From Roar of the Tigers:

Now, I may or may not have vomited in my mouth a little when that ball came to Neifi!!! Perez's backhand, but the sea slug clipped it and tossed it from his knees, behind his back, to Polanco, easy as you please. And Polanco somehow sent it along to first for the double play to end the 8th. I thought that was a hit, that was ZE END, I was going to have to shed a wee little tear for yet another lost no-hitter, but NEIFI!!! PEREZ CAME THROUGH IN THE DEFENSIVE CLUTCH.

Read THOSE words. Savor them. O THIS WACKY WORLD WE LIVE IN.

The tension watching those final outs was damn near unbearable. From Mack Avenue Tigers (the site from which I blatantly copied my post title):

Something happens in the bottom of the eighth. To be honest, I don't remember. I'm standing up. I'm sitting down. I'm up. I'm down. I'm up I'm down i'm up i'm down imupimdown I can't take it oh my God I can't take it.

The camera shows the RHE on the right side of the scoreboard at Comerica Park. 0 0 0. Strikeout. AH! Strikeout. AH! ... I was bouncing. I didn't know where to put my hands, my feet, my rear end. It was overwhelming and there's two strikes. And then the ball HITS the bat and I think "OH MY GOD NO" and Verlander jumps and Magglio stands there and I know.

No hitter. The Tigers. No hitter. I saw it. And I'm jumping up and down and the emotion is bursting out. It's not tears, but it's something. It's an emotional release unlike any I've experienced in baseball. This was better than beating the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS. This was better than going to the World Series.

After the game, Verlander celebrated with his teammates and coaches ... as well as his girlfriend, who came onto the field to give him a well-deserved hug and a kiss, leaving some fans suddenly less interested in history and more interested in learning more about her. Thanks to the Futon Report, I now know her name is Emily Yuen, and she's been Verlander's girlfriend since high school. Not sure what I'll do with that knowledge, but knowing is half the battle.

So, what's next for young Verlander? Will he ever be able to top this? I'd say the odds are good, and I'm guessing Lee from Tigers Tales agrees:

The best part about this no hitter was not so much that it was a no hitter. It was the fact that he did it so easily - 12 strikeouts, 10 ground outs, just 3 balls out of the infield, an easy ninth inning. This was not one of those flukey no hitters that happen once in a while.

No sir, this was one of those no-hitters that makes you think future no-hitters might become a recurring event in Verlander's career. Not to put any pressure on the kid or anything ...

Previously on FanHouse:
Justin Verlander Tosses a No-Hitter