As this baseball season winds down and the pennant races start to heat up the biggest story down the stretch may not be what teams will potentially collapse or who will get hot and grab a wild card spot. The biggest story is the dilemma facing the Washington Nationals and what to do with their young starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg is perhaps the most hyped pitching prospect to come along in the last 20 years. After a great career at San Diego State, where he was coached by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, he was the 1st pick in the 2009 MLB draft. He signed the largest contract ever awarded to any drafted player and when he made his debut in 2010 it seemed he was worth every dollar having struck out 14 batters in his first start in the big leagues. Unfortunately things didn't go the way we had hoped and later that season Strasburg tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and required Tommy John surgery. After a year away from baseball he returned late last year for a few starts and showed the promise that he had previously shown of being a dominant pitcher.
Entering the 2012 season the Nationals had a plan. Limit their young ace to 160 innings in an effort to protect his arm, his future, and the future of the franchise. They had used this strategy with another young pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, and it appears to have been a successful one. But a funny thing happened on the way to inning number 160. The Nationals, perennial contenders for a high draft pick, are out of nowhere a fantastic team and competing for not only a playoff spot but the best record in all of baseball. Now with Strasburg closing in on the limit they have set for him they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do they want to go into the post season without their best pitcher? Can they renege on the promise they made to only allow him 160 (or so) innings because it's in the best interest of the team to have him pitching down the stretch and in the playoffs? Or do they stay the course and do what's in the best interest of Strasburg's arm?
It's an interesting problem to have but it is still a problem. Currently he is scheduled to make what would be his last start around September 12th if all goes as planned. As long as they qualify we won't really hear much about this for the last few weeks of the season. But what if they collapse down the stretch and just sneak into the playoffs with one of the wild card spots and then have a 1 game playoff, win or go home situation? Do you bring back your ace who now hasn't pitched in 3 weeks to start what is the biggest game in Nationals history? Inquiring minds want to know.
Agreed. This is a topic worth discussing down the stretch. I think the long-term health of the Nationals will depend on his long-term health, at least until they can build a stronger team. So, I think they have to take the long-term view here and pull him no matter what. Besides, if one player stands between them and the playoffs, they won't make it deep into the playoffs anyway. So, they need to be happy with the fact that the team is out of the cellar and in the playoff picture. The owners would like to make the playoffs this year, but I'm sure they would rather make them for the next five instead.
ReplyDelete