Once in a Lifetime

Earlier this week, the Reds went out in the top of the ninth to put the Cards away, holding a 9-3 lead. They lost the game. According to a model created by BP's Nate Silver, which puts a percentage on the chances for a team to win based on the score and inning and the standard distribution of runs from the 2003 MLB season (see here for explanation -- subscription required), the chance of that happening was 0.27 percent. In other words, if they played that inning over again 999 times, you would probably only see that happen again once.

I can't imagine what it felt like to be a Red coming in to bat for the bottom of the ninth.