I understand your point, and I should say that I don't agree with it being a hit. The thing they seem to look for is the proximity of the play. That space was created with Rayburn camping under where he assumed it would come down (about 15-20 feet away). I was at the game, about 5 rows up, and it seemed the jetstream just hammered the ball. Rayburn had to start sprinting to make up for it, eventually diving and missing.
On another note, I've always noticed that most anything that involves extra effort, such as sliding or diving, that results in a close determination of error or hit, seems to lean towards hit.
One more observation, the home players get a little hometown loving (not all the time) with the official scorer. But I'm sure it would have been ruled a hit most place, all things considered. I feel for the pitcher in that situation, but that's just the way baseball go.
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