Scoreboard operator should know no-hitter etiquette

Baseball tradition and superstition hold that when a pitcher is working on a no-hitter, no one dare mention it to him for fear of jinxing the effort.

That goes for the scoreboard operator too, as it should go without saying.

Last Sunday, Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. As he stepped on the mound, a trivia question appeared on the scoreboard: “Who was the last Indians pitcher to throw a perfect game?” (The answer is Len Barker on May 15, 1981.)

Lee then delivered his next pitch to Yadier Molina, who promptly doubled. Lee finished with a three-hit 3-0 shutout, and afterward several Indians were second-guessing the scoreboard operator.

Manager Eric Wedge said the operator had “no feel” for the game.

Pitching coach Carl Willis added, “There are some things that are taboo and you don’t do.”

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Trivia time

Who pitched the last no-hitter for the Angels?

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Speaking of jinxes

The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee has a scary reputation -- the place is said to be haunted by ghosts. When the Florida Marlins stayed there this season, two pairs of players decided to share rooms, taking no chances.

This weekend, the Marlins will stay at another hotel with a history, the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg, Fla., when they play the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2002, Cincinnati’s Scott Williamson claimed he saw a male apparition there. In 2007, Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher said the lights mysteriously turned on and off, and another team staff member reported a magazine that had been closed at night was open the next morning.

Adrian Beltre might have mapped out the best strategy when spending the night at these suspect hotels. When he was with the Dodgers and staying at the Pfister, Beltre slept with a bat at his side, just in case.

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Item sought for purchase: A clue

An alarm-company employee who stole a Michael Jordan jersey from the home of San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker was caught when he offered the shirt for sale on Craigslist.

As Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel observed, “It should be noted that the man worked in security, not intelligence.”

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Trivia answer

Mark Langston and Mike Witt combined for a 1-0 no-hit victory over the Seattle Mariners on April 11, 1990. Langston pitched seven innings and Witt two. On June 28, 2008, Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo held the Dodgers hitless for eight innings in a 1-0 Dodgers victory, but the effort was not considered a no-hitter because the Angels pitchers threw only eight innings.

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And finally

Golf writer Dan Jenkins, commenting on the rain that suspended first-round play at the U.S. Open: “There’s so much water on the 18th hole that Michael Phelps couldn’t par it.”

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mike.penner@latimes.com