Felix Hernandez Perfect Game: Why Do the Tampa Bay Rays Get No-Hit so Often?

The Tampa Bay Rays' bats bowed down in the presence of king Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners.

Hernandez threw a perfect game against the Rays Wednesday afternoon, as the Mariners defeated the Rays 1-0. The game marked the first perfect game in the Mariners history but was far from the first time the Rays have witnessed the historical moment from the losing dugout.

Hernandez joined Mark Buehrle and Dallas Braden as pitchers to throw perfect games against the Rays.

The Rays seem to be magnets for opposing pitchers to add their name to the history books of throwing a no-hitter or a perfect game, like Hernandez. The Rays have been on the losing side of three of the 23 (13 percent) perfect games thrown in MLB history. They are the only franchise to lose in three perfect games.

The Rays haven't just lost in perfect games and no-hitters at a higher frequency than the rest of baseball, they have done it with the best teams in the franchise's short history. When the team was in its worst years of infancy as the Devil Rays they were only no-hit once, in 2002.

Since 2009, the Rays have made the postseason in three out of the last four seasons. They have accounted for four of the 16 no-hitters (25 percent), including three of the six (50 percent) perfect games. No other team in baseball has been no-hit more than once in the same stretch.

This is not a fluke but rather a side effect of the team's formation.

It is no secret that the DNA of the Tampa Bay Rays is pitching and defense, and they have budgetary constraints that other contenders don't have. This is what makes the Rays a great team and also what makes the Rays so apt to being on the wrong side of a no-hitter or perfect game.

What makes you smile can also make you cry.

Pitching and defense are cheaper to acquire and maintain than offense, period. In order to maintain a winning team on the field with minimal payroll the Rays front office simply can't afford to keep or acquire great offensive players. This is why when Carl Crawford's contract was expiring, the thought of him staying in a Tampa Bay uniform was a dream by fans, at most.

According to ESPN.com, the highest-paid Rays' player, James Shields, wouldn't be in the top-10 highest-paid players on the New York Yankees.

They struck gold drafting and developing starting pitchers like David Price, Matt Moore and Shields. In fact, they have so many great arms in the organization that they actually have a surplus that should the right offer be presented could be traded away for a bat. However, the deal would have to fit within the financial plan of the organization, which is probably why one has not yet been completed.

Even the Rays bullpen success over the past few seasons, including Rafael Soriano and Fernando Rodney, has consisted over bargain players exceeding expectations and price tags.

When you're working with ground beef, you cannot expect Filet Mignon.

The Rays offense has had to and will continue to be the weak spot in the armor by the way the team is constructed. The lineup lacks depth and has a lot of starting players that would not be able to start on other top teams in the American League.

How many teams in the playoff race would Elliot Johnson, Sean Rodriguez, Jose Molina and Carlos Pena regularly start for?

It has been clearly evident the way the team has struggled with injured players and the platoon of players they have marched through to try to stay afloat that depth isn't a problem, it's non-existent. Some have argued in jest, that Evan Longoria should be the AL MVP because of the disproportionate impact he has on his lineup over any other player.

As a result of not being able to build an effective offensive team, they are ranked down in the cellar in team batting average at 28th; a trend the Rays have been following for years.

This is why the Rays are the team to get no-hitter and perfect games thrown against them more than others. For all of the bases B.J. Upton steals and home runs Carlos Pena is supposed to hit, you have to deal with the strikeouts you know they will get.

As frustrating as it is for the team and its fans to endure the perfect games and no-hitters, they also have the fortune of the recent success they have had against all odds. The Rays will continue to have success and win 90 games a season, through great pitching and defense, with a questionable lineup that can be no-hit on any given day.

Today was their day. Today was Felix Hernandez's day.

To quote my least favorite cliche, "it is what it is."

Jamal Wilburg is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @JWilburg or visit his website www.jamalwilburg.com.