Stephen Strasburg, pitcher and Scott Boras client

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/03/stephen-strasburg-demands.html

ESPN.com's Peter Gammons heard from some club officials that top amateur pitcher Stephen Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras, could demand $50MM over six years if he's selected first overall by the Nationals in the June draft. If the Nationals pick Strasburg and seem unwilling to pay him as much as he wants, Boras could threaten to send the prospect to pitch in Japan for a year. If the Nats are scared off, the Mariners and Padres are next in line for Strasburg.

So how could an amateur player get away with these lofty demands? Strasburg has struck out 74 and walked only seven in the 34.1 innings he's pitched for San Diego State and scouts rave about his stuff.

please please let that scare off the Nats

please please let it scare off the nats, mariners, padres, pirates, orioles & giants

more like strassbung

There is no way the Padres would pay that much, even for a San Diego guy.

Nobody is paying quite that much. That said he might manage to scare off everyone except the Yankees or the Red Sox and get something crazy from one of them. Strasburg is definitely going to be getting something in the eight figures.

Striking out 2/3s of the batters you've faced is (o_O)

TINSTAAPP

...a pree plunch?

(never mind, I googled it)

amateur mechanics dorks (possibly the most annoying kind of baseball dork right now) are raising major red flags about this guy's delivery.

possibly the most annoying kind of baseball dork right now

What are the other types. This should be a poll.

ha ha - do it!

"amateur mechanics dorks (possibly the most annoying kind of baseball dork right now) are raising major red flags about this guy's delivery."

These guys are guessing.

under no circumstances can this end well

message board dorks?

;)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/lee_jenkins/03/25/stephen.strasburg/index.html

These guys are guessing.

totally otm. i don't know how many times i've read about chris o'leary and the "inverted w" (why is it not just called the "m"?) and how all these pitchers are doomed. i'm not sure if it bothers anyone that chris o'leary is at best an amateur physiologist who got started in this field by watching his son play little league.

strasburg's mechanics could very well be bad but these gloom and doom motherfuckers are stabbing in the dark.

No-hitter w/ 17 Ks against Air Force

Hopefully Strasburg will be better than Brien Taylor, another high priced blue chip Scott Boras client.

Well Brien Taylor was a) a high schooler and b) hurt himself in a bar brawl so I think the comparison kind of falls apart after the Boras thing.

Okay 164 SO vs 17 BB over 87 innings is just fucking silly. Obv college competition is kind of variable, but this guy is clearly on another level.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2009-06-02-ben-mcdonald-cover_N.htm

So uh how excited is everyone for the draft? I usually care more when my team picks higher than 36th...

I can't wait for the Padres next bonehead draft pick.

Who is your favorite Padres first rounder:

2008 Allan Dykstra
2007 Nick Schmidt
2006 Matt Antonelli
2005 Cesar Carillo
2004 Matt Bush arggggh
2003 Tim Stauffer
2002 Khalil Greene :(
2001 Jake Gautreau
2000 Mark Phillips
1999 Vince Faison
1998 Sean Burroughs (LOL)
1997 Kevin Nicholson
1996 Matt Halloran
1995 Ben Davis (awesome clothing, bad catcher)
1994 Dustin Hermanson (traded before he did anything)
1993 Derrek Lee (traded as a minor leaguer)

A veritable whos who of wtf is that guy

from Goldstein at BP:

Strasburg AFL debut done. 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. 50 pitches, 32 strikes, The non K outs (8) were all on ground balls.

Strasburg to make AAA debut Friday

ESPN.com news services

Stephen Strasburg is one step closer to the majors.

The Washington Nationals promoted the 2009 No. 1 overall pick to Triple-A on Wednesday. He will make his debut for the Syracuse Chiefs on Friday against the Gwinnett Braves.

The 21-year-old Strasburg dominated Double-A competition going 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts for the Harrisburg Senators.

He struck out 27 batters and walked just six in 22 innings.

Strasburg was called up despite having the roughest outing of his young career on Sunday. He gave up six hits and four runs, three of them earned, in 4 2/3 innings against Altoona. He struck out four, walked three and hit a batter while throwing 49 of 79 pitches for strikes.

Strasburg signed a record $15.1 million, four-year contract with the Nationals last year. Barring a setback, he is expected to make his major league debut next month.

they should send Heyward down just for that game

I really hope this guy succeeds. I don't want to see another Ben McDonald or Brien Taylor

i hope he fails and puts an end to the ludicrous signing bonuses Boras is demanding.

On a chilly night in upstate New York, Strasburg tossed six dazzling innings for the Chiefs, allowing just two base runners -- on a single on a soft grounder up the middle in the fourth and a six-pitch walk in the fifth -- while striking out six in a 65-pitch gem. The groundball single by Gregor Blanco, in fact, was the only ball that left the infield against him, as Strasburg's two-seamed sinking fastball coaxed 12 groundouts.

To top off his performance, Strasburg also collected two RBI -- he is hitting .375 with four RBI in 10 plate appearances this season -- in leading the Chiefs to a 7-0 victory in front of an enthralled, sellout crowd at Alliance Bank Stadium.

....

The victory improved Strasburg's record to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.29 in six starts across two minor league levels. He has struck out 33 batters while walking only seven.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050705147.html

so when can they call him up and get the extra control year?

I think it's early June, but they'd still have to limit his innings to some degree.

gonna be in DC first weekend in june, maybe i'll get lucky w/ that

no-hitter through six against norfolk in his second triple-a start

He didn't give up a hit at all. Saw the boxscore.. he only pitched 6. RON VILLONE closed the final inning.

VILLONE

in two triple-a starts: 12IP, 0R, 1H, 13K, 2BB

"i hope he fails and puts an end to the ludicrous signing bonuses Boras is demanding."

I think even if he falls apart at this point (which don't exactly look too likely) it won't end signing bonus escalations (which I am all for btw.)

well, even if it just impedes it a little!

his signing bonus isn't that ludicrous, especially compared to what certain veterans like vernon wells are making. he looks like the real deal. giving guys like matt bush a big bonus is rather less defensible.

well that's the thing with signing a 17 yr old - is there is no guarantee. you could be getting a Joe Mauer or you could be getting yourself a Matt Bush. and throwing around that kind of money on a kid - "sure thing" or not - just seems crazy to me.

i sound like Riccardi.

June 8

vs Pirates, so not really beyond AAAA

so BBTN was promoting ESPN carrying the game on Tuesday. As a day game.

The MLB/Nationals schedule pages have it as 7:05.

The fuckers aren't going to change it to keep it from eating into the NBA finals audience on ABC, are they?

I just got this like ten minutes ago, so I am guessing it is still 7:05.
http://i45.tinypic.com/xoma0z.png

that screen cap is some fucking goofus and gallant shit imo

well, NOW it appears ESPN isn't covering the game. Which means the Nationals had the right to say "fuck you" about changing the time, and ESPN said "No, fuck ppl who don't watch the NBA"?

fingers crossed for mccutchen first pitch HR.

Costas, Kaat, Smoltz call Strasburg's MLB debut
MLB Network has 2009 No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg's Major League debut against the Pirates on Tuesday with full pre- and post-game coverage and more. Live games >

s'nice if you have it.

Vegas will pay you 28:1 if McCutchen goes deep in the first ab

What did they pay for a liner to short?

god i feel like a dork having this on

vs Pirates, so not really beyond AAAA

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 1, 2010 9:07 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark

it pains me to agree with morbs ;)

Yeah watching a Pirates game is just *shudders*

i just want to say "AAAA" is one of my fav modern baseball terms.

omg suck a fuck costas

that curveball was insane

Was this dude throwing 99mph every start in the minors?

his curveball is not earthly

mike stanton is gonna come up while the pirates are batting btw

ew this guy

man i hope the hell he doesn't blow out his arm

esp if he throws 99mph every pitch and tries to strike out the side every inning

mike stanton batting 1.000

RIP

LOL

Delwyn Young's other victims. Select company:

Bruce Chen 1
Johnny Cueto 1
Cole Hamels 1
Manny Parra 1
Mark Buehrle 1
Jorge Sosa 1
Brian Wilson 1
Manuel Corpas 1
Javier Vazquez 1
Kyle Kendrick 1
Mike Burns 1
Barry Zito 1

Fun as hell to watch, btw.

11 Ks through six.

CAN HE WIN GAMES!? POSSIBLY!

BRINGING A CULTURE OF WINNING TO WASHINGTON

They are authenticating everything.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2d7vjnp.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/ofadfs.jpg

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

holy shit those ears

jesus

Wow.

Is this it? Or do you let him pitch another inning?

fucking unreal

every fastball was 98/99

20 Ks is in play

Joe Sheehan is not impressed.

Pretty impressive stuff

that 1st curveball to laroche was loooooooooooool

god i feel like a dork having this on

WHY?

it's pretty assm tbh

btw, Ron Darling during Mets game: "The Nationals may have the next Walter Johnson down there."

Gary Cohen: "Can we set the bar a little lower? It'll be fine if he's Camilo Pascual."

Nats will flip him for Oswalt tonight -- sell high.

and what you just heard was the sound of a million TV's changing the channel

Gary Cohen is a treat

when do we see lincecum v strasburg?

Buster_ESPN
Strasburg first pitcher EVER to strike out as many as 14 in a zero-walk debut. Incredible.

The top of the seventh inning of this was probably the most exciting baseball moment I've ever seen live. So much fun.

Pirates are still the Pirates, but seriously, wow. Dude did not disappoint (except when he didn't try to run out the infield hit in his first AB.)

just watched his circle change, radar clocked it @ 90mph = wtfffffffffff

Dude did not disappoint (except when he didn't try to run out the infield hit in his first AB.)

Riggleman should've benched him for that, zero tolerance imo

sb

I'm voting for Liriano for ROY, MVP and CY.

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, August 9, 2006 12:02 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

unreal

Riggleman should've benched him for that, zero tolerance imo

f'in' OTM, not running it out means you belong in the damn AL with the rest of the bums

His pitching coaches are going to have to watch him like a hawk

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/baseball/pitching/ProfessionalPitcherAnalyses/StephenStrasburg.html

Best SDSU alum since Tony Gwynn Sr.?

god i feel like a dork having this on

WHY?

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 8, 2010 8:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

posted before he lived up to the hype and destroyed everyone

btw there is no evidence that chris oleary has any idea wtf he's talking about

I'm guessing 10 wins, 3.2-3.5 ERA, 150 strikeouts for 2010.

xp no kidding

The 2:44 highlight reel on YouTube is something to see--wow. I just have this bad feeling, though. The first names that pop into my mind are Gooden, Blue, and Kerry Wood. For all of them, the window of dominance was from 5-8 years, with decline setting in within a year or two. And then I think about Clemens as the obvious counter. He fits the pattern too, though, if you treat his arrival in Toronto as the start of a second and, um, different phase of his career. (And no, I don't want to veer off in that direction yet again.) At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan and Johnson both took a few years to get going. I know that's a simplistic reduction; Seaver was a hard thrower/big-strikeout-pitcher who arrived brilliantly and lasted, and I'm sure there were many others. But I do think they'll need to thread the needle to keep Strasburg healthy and a big-draw strikeout pitcher at the same time.

Just left w/ the lead in Cleveland (game on TBS) ... wtf w/ subpar moundskeeping? Breaking an ankle would be a feel-bad story.

best pitching debuts by Game Score (Strasburg's GS was 75):

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/6582

which is ridiculous, total apples and oranges... ie, look at the pitch counts, there's no way SS would be left in a game over 80 pitches at this point in his career.

well, the thing is that he's just there to help the team win, and you know, the rest of it is just gravy

Shasta, as usu I hv no idea wtf your point might be if you intended one.

also Strasburg's total pitches in his 3 starts: 94, 95, 85

you are a confused man

Moyer on protecting Strasburg's arm: "If you want to get good at something, practice. You have to throw the baseball."

Moyer is right on point.

shit is deep, son

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2008/07/340x_farnsworth.jpg

Jamie Moyer, expert on pitchers who can break a pane of glass

looks like strasburg just doesn't have what it takes to win games >:)

ray knight and rob dibble debate straburg. i wondered whether to put this here or in the dunmbass analysis thread. i'm attaching a link w/ the clip and commentary from washington post's dan steinberg. pretty amusing.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/06/dibble_and_knight_debate_stras.html#more

from the AP, via dan steinberg:

"Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg already is a household name -- except in Ozzie Guillen's household. In downplaying his team's recent sweep at Washington, the White Sox manager said: "We only scored one run against the first guy, Starborough, or whatever his name is.""

Scarbury, Scarborough...

MASN was showing fans at the stadium before Strasburg's debut, and one dude said something like "STRASSBORG IS THE REAL DEAL!!!"

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kui9yuMEaV1qava2to1_400.jpg

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Starburns

community dude on the right could totally be a smarmy third MLB Network announcer
he has Amsinger/Vasgersian hair

so Jose DeLeon sruck out a lotta guys in his first 5 starts...

I guess they'll leave him in only one more inning? two?

he didn't have v. many pitches did he?

ian desmond is not steve's fav teammate rite now

no, not sure he's at 80 TP yet

game over?

92 pitches

2-0 braves

not a clutch performer

Total Nationals runs scored in Strasburg's last three starts: 1

I guess the rest of the guys just want to stand back and admire him.

Clippard's W/IP: 8/48

Strasburg's W/IP: 2/31.2

RIP

I don't know why I'm following Keith Law on Twitter, but ugh:
"Strasburg pitched well enough to win." But he didn't win. So whose fault is that - Strasburg's, or the stat's?

He is relentlessly negative about everything but I still enjoy following him.

klaw is so fucking wrong there; the cliche "pitched well enough to win" does not refer to the stat

"pitched well enough to [get the] win" vs. "pitched well enough [for his team] to win"

I think the former is implied more often than the latter.

Here is where klaw is so fucking wrong:

156. Throwing Muses – “Bright Yellow Gun.” The most rock-infused song from a promising but generally uneven band. And I think I need a little poison.

Songs by Soul Coughing, Milla, and Sublime ahead of it, btw.

but in this case even "get the win" is absolutely synonymous with the team winning--not like the bullpen blew it or something. desperate overreach by klaw.

And Sponge.

xpost

The fuck is a Clockhammer

sorry

lol

Klaw on pitcher wins is like deej on Gucci mane at this point

how harshly do you judge keith law when it comes to his tastes/opinions about music

Very harshly

I had a brief twitter argument with him about real estate.

hahaha awesome

yeah, and Bobby Valentine loves his old boss Dubya, who effing cares

xxp

Wilpon?

He believed that real estate should only be valued based on square footage and location.

for a "smart" person, he is a complete moron

I can't blame Klaw for instinctively adding piss to the punchbowl, cuz everybody on ESPN and Fox (save Joe Morgan) sets up all these "if" criteria for Strasburg to 'deserve' an All-Star spot, which they will chuck on July 8 no matter what. Reminds me of Obama fans.

not sure what you mean?

As far as Harvard grads go, he is no cave17matt.

Strasburg fans to skeptics when he gets his All-Star spot: "Would you rather have McCain??"

(I'm not paasionately against him being in the ASG, far less deserving people will be there, like an Oriole)

morbs i'm setting the politics aside for a number of reasons, what do you mean about klaw feeling obligated to counter what the other commentators are saying?

ppl are anointing the guy as virtually a surefire HOFer! Sure, he looks fine so far, so did Kerry Wood.

rite, but klaw seemed to be commenting on the win stat as a concept, not stras as a pitcher

yeah I see that. I didn't read anything this week from him cept what you guys are quoting.

Law very rightly has a vendetta against statistical wins and losses, but man is he tiresome about it.

but then again, Sutcliffe talked about Strasburg as an All-Star entirely in W-L terms last night, so pick yr poison

Buck & Millar, muted

"It was kind of anticlimactic. Not that he’s not very good. He’s good. But I felt like the ball was going to be invisible. I actually saw it."
—Mets starter R.A. Dickey on seeing Strasburg in person.

I just turned the game on and apparently Strasburg felt something wrong when he started warming up...? Anyway, Miguel Batista's getting the emergency start.

RIP

Braves booth passes along the report -- he just couldn't get loose, and the general manager is the one who made the call to pull the plug on his start.

OH MY JESUS FUCK. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO BASEBALL JESUS? A Hall of Fame career cut short. Tragic.

this kinda fucks up the awesome Aug. 6 Kershaw v. Strasburg game in LA tho =(

anyone else think that they wanted to skip his start but didn't have the balls to screw over the home fans so they're pulling the old baseball fake injury thing

Rizzo did a half-inning in the Braves booth answering questions, kinda surprising. They asked him where specifically the problem was -- arm, back, legs, etc -- Rizzo said it was his arm, which just wouldn't loosen up.

xp Joe Simpson said "you know what all the columnists are going to speculate about tomorrow, that they announced SS to fill the stadium and then pulled him."

i cant wait for the Strasburg vs. Latos game where they both go onto the DL simultaneously after a national anthem fist bump misalignment.

well he's certainly better than aaron rowand

"inflamed shoulder"

Yes jordy, Strasburg is certainly better than Aaron Rowand. Good call there.

DL-bound. Pitch count limits ftw.

said it before...

http://i46.tinypic.com/2d7vjnp.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/ofadfs.jpg

right now i'm more interested in whether jordan zimmermann makes it back this year tbh

RI{P

uggla is slugging .660+ in the second half

yea he is beasting

"beasting"?

in the act of being a beast

O_o

i've heard/used the term "beasting" since i was a kid!

maybe they were saying "bee sting"

hiker stung by 300 bees sez he was "bee sting"

Honey smuggling racket foiled by "bee sting".

his romantic advanced spurned by Bee Arthur, he was suffering from Bee-sting.

tephen Strasburg was pulled from Saturday's game against the Phillies with an apparent elbow injury.

Strasburg looked to be in a good deal of pain after throwing a pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Nats should reveal more about the situation shortly. He had thrown four-plus innings of one-run ball against a tough Phillies lineup and finished the night with six strikeouts.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38801133/ns/sports-player_news/

http://imgur.com/FuIHr.jpg

that does not look good?

Strained flex0r tendon

if it's strained then he should be out like 5 weeks or so (happened to brett anderson this year), if it's actually torn... then he'll be fucked up for a longer time obv

there's no way they're gonna try to get him back before the end of the season either way

no

Dibble thinks Wussburg man the fuck up, rub some dirt on it.

"So for me, a little bit has to be put back on Strasbug here. Ok, you throw a pitch, it bothers your arm, and you immediately call out the manager and the trainer? Suck it up, kid. This is your profession. You chose to be a baseball player. You can't have the cavalry come in and save your butt every time you feel a little stiff shoulder, sore elbow.

"I mean, excuse me. There's guys I played with that had screws holding their elbows together. Chris Sabo played two weeks on a broken ankle. I put a steel plate in my wrist so I could be back in five weeks instead of three months. So, this is your choice. You can either suck it up and be a man at 22 making $2 million a year (with) a $15 million contract, or every time you get an ache and pain you can go out of the game and say I'm gonna let down the other 24 guys right here and possibly end up forfeiting the game."

"There's so many (other) guys....Josh Willingham, who is gonna have surgery on his left knee, was playing with torn cartilage in his knee, could barely run around the bases. This is the simple answer to this, you need to know the difference between pain and injury. When I was 12, my arm hurt. When I was in my teens and I would throw and walk off the mound when I was a starter, my arm would throb. I couldn't even hold a glass of water. And you know what? I loved it.

"I was so sick, I loved it, 'cause I felt 'ok, I'm throwing hard enough to make my arm shake when I'm just standing there.' So I was a totally different animal than I think has been created here with Strasburg, where now you're telling this kid as soon as you feel any arm pain, call us and we'll come help you. Please.

"This is the major leagues. This is not college any more. You're not on scholarship. You're being paid to do the job and guys depend on you, and I think it's unfortunate that the Nationals and the team are in a situation here where this kid now, he feels any kind of arm pain, he's gonna call you out? That's scary to me."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/08/rob_dibble_to_stephen_strasbur.html

The byline of that story should read "Rob Dibble was washed up at age 29".

or, as Lou Piniella famously opined, Rob Dibble doesn't deserve to be treated like a man.

Manager Lou Piniella of the Cincinnati Reds wrestled with relief pitcher Rob Dibble in the clubhouse at Riverfront Stadium Thursday night after a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves that only slowed the Braves' NL West title drive.

...

About a half-hour after Steve Foster got his first major-league save, Dibble plunged the Reds into another controversy.

Piniella said he used Foster, who got the last three outs, because Dibble complained of a tight shoulder the previous night.

"Dibble was not available," Piniella said. "He couldn't get loose when he got up last night."

When reporters questioned the reliever about his shoulder, he shot back: "There's nothing wrong with it."

Piniella heard of Dibble's denial through reporters, then left his office and charged the pitcher in the clubhouse. Several players separated them as Piniella called Dibble a liar.

When reporters were allowed to return to the clubhouse, Piniella had nothing more to say.

"You all saw it," Piniella said. "Write it."

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-18/sports/sp-723_1_major-league

The video was awesome

TJ surgery rip Stevie

damn

might as well get it over with now i guess rather than when they're ready to contend

oh shit

STEVE PHILLIPS WAS RIGHT

EXPOS CURSE

ok so how did the first MRI miss a "significant tear"?

the second one used the dye so they can see stuff better

i wonder if there was some damage previously when he was on the DL before and they missed it

1st dl was for shoulder inflammation

oh yeah. anyway this sucks. i wasn't aware dusty baker was giving the nats advice on how to handle him.

they've been absurdly conservative with him pitchcount-wise, there's no way that this is workload-related like prior probably was

if anything, they were probably too conservative, like if your ace ends up conditioned to throw only 90 pitches per start then that's a problem in the future

(j/k)

i guess we'll see him again in 2012, then.

dibble probably still thinks he should pitch through it

nats could be good in like 2013 if harper comes out of the gate strong, otherwise they're gonna have to find some more talent somewhere. they drafted well this year so we'll see...

this was fun while it lasted though!!

we should just replace pitchers w/ pitching machines imo

maybe people will actually pay attention to mat latos now

YOU IN MY WORLD NOW SON

http://sameernagdamd.com/photogallery/images/image5.jpg

That might be the least accurate bobblehead ever made on the table there. (It is smiling.)

Max otm

http://livingwithballs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/generation-K.jpg

http://i.cnn.net/money/2007/07/27/commentary/sportsbiz/jobe_hall_of_fame.jpg

Four RIPs in this thread.

Keep it up.

shades of Francisco Liriano immfho

excess of snark in this thread is kinda foul.

FLir 2006:
12-3, 2.16, 1.00, .205

oh drop the act morbs, why don't you go rejoice in the phillies thread about injuries to utley, shanevic, howard, etc.

lol @ morbs

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/Images/Pitchers/StephenStrasburg/StephenStrasburg_001.jpg
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/250/750/Example_InvertedW_MarkPrior_002_display_image.jpg%3F1275952139

/\/\

http://www.tmarchman.com/ic/2010/8/27/shocked-shocked.html

Yeah those guys all had the exact same problems... wait a second no they didn't.

not workload related, mechanics related imo. throwing curves is hard on a dude's arm. every time I hear about somebody who's throwing some insanely fast can't-believe-it curve I assume he'll be needing surgery before long

it's not a big deal that stras needs tommy john. it will be a big deal if he can stay healthy for 3-4 years upon coming back.

eh, it's a little bit of a deal to be needing surgery that young imo. Tommy John had been pitching for eleven years when he got it.

true--i don't have data to back this up but i'm guessing they're more aggressive these days in just saying "go get it done." like maybe 10 years ago stras would've gone on the dl for a bit, come back, been less effective, and it just would have been a big waste of time.

dudes in high school are getting tommy john surgery these days and coming out better than they were before but yeah it's not something anyone wants to go through

very time I hear about somebody who's

[pitching at any level--majors, minors, high school--level]

That wasn't what I was trying to do lol

oh well

you'd have thought tommy john would have eased up on his workload when he was younger, how did he not see that surgery coming

"fuck if I keep this up they're going to have to invent a surgery for me, lol"

A song about Stephen here called "Phenom"

http://thebaseballproject.bandcamp.com/

not workload related, mechanics related imo. throwing curves is hard on a dude's arm. every time I hear about somebody who's throwing some insanely fast can't-believe-it curve I assume he'll be needing surgery before long

OTOH Nolan Ryan threw the biggest, fastest curve in baseball for like a hundred years. And still had the arm strength to beat the shit out of Robin Ventura.

Meanwhile -- "Former phenom Prior is pitching to be noticed"

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgaYcrjN5Fyd9twPVjLOs.ARvLYF?slug=sh-priorcomeback090110

it's more like strasburg was pitching for prior to be noticed

what a story, i was living in San Francisco during this guys prime. i wish him the best as he really was a good guy.

He doesn't seem to be handling the heat well today.

except when he's batting

Bill James: "No, I wouldn't shut him down. I never understood the logic by which limiting the growth of innings pitched year to year could protect a pitcher, and I think most serious analysts agree that that was just sloppy research. But at least it did a good job of protecting Joba.

I think they need to be careful with Strasburg, perhaps limit his pitches, be extra careful about looking for signs of fatigue. But drawing an innings limit and pretending that that's somehow going to protect him is perilously close to magical thinking."

Boy, I don't know:

http://tracking.si.com/2012/08/13/stephen-strasburg-innings-limit-shut-down-playoffs-nationals/?sct=mlb_t2_a5

They must be close to locking up a wild-card at least by this point (barring a complete collapse)--wouldn't it make sense to use him sparingly now and save him for the post-season? If this limit is ironclad, they've still got 47 innings left.

My understanding is, once they wind him down there's no restarting. That's what's been said.

really applaud the Nats for doing this

Kind of like the lawnmower I replaced a few years ago. (xpost)

though someone at Fangraphs (I think) made a good argument that you could probably skip 3 or 4 of his regular season starts, then get one or two out of him in the postseason. not sure why this isn't an option in Natcamp but it makes sense to me.

all things considered, it's certainly not the team-killing move many are seeing it as, the Nats rotation is great even without Stras, and he doesn't often go deep in games anyway. they'll be fine

except if they get tossed in the Division Series, whining will be heard.

I don't have any sense of how mature the Nats are, but here's hoping Stras throws a fit when he can't throw baseballs anymore, and drags the rest of the team down with bad morale.

This would be their first playoff appearance since 1981 (or ever, depending on how you look at it). To shut down your best pitcher when he isn't injured, given that history, takes some brass balls.

They're probably making a good choice, but the only two ways to keep people from second guessing it forever would be to either win the World Series this year without him in the playoffs, or win the World Series in the next 3-4 years with him. High burden of proof.

Can't help but think there is some Loria-shaped Expos/strike-of-'81 specter -- that the Nats will be eliminated in the NLDS and will never return, that Strasburg will get a WS ring the first year he is a Yankee.

nah I'm sure the Nats planted some sort of doomsday device during the surgery that they can trigger to injure him if he ever looks at getting traded

I can't tell if Eckersley's speaking disinterestedly, or if that's his own puzzlement/impatience with the Nationals:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/behindthemic/?eref=sinav#mlb/2012/08/08/0808.btm_eckersley_strasburg&sct=mlb_bf5_a4

If the latter, it is odd coming from a guy who got into the HOF primarily for a series of seasons in which he threw 75 innings.

They're probably making a good choice, but the only two ways to keep people from second guessing it forever would be to either win the World Series this year without him in the playoffs, or win the World Series in the next 3-4 years with him. High burden of proof.

They're probably making a good choice, but the only two ways to keep people from second guessing it forever would be to either win the World Series this year without him in the playoffs, or win the World Series in the next 3-4 years with him. High burden of proof.

I think this is more a fan issue than a competitive issue; the Nats rotation is solid without him (hell, he's not even the best starter on his own team right now!) and Stras only averages 5.2 innings a start, what are you really losing here?

Agreed that this "we're built for the future" talk is going to put a big burden on them going forward. Fans will always, always ask "what if...?"

He averages 6 innings per start because of the innings limit, I think. They've not been letting him pitch deep into games because they don't want to work him too hard.

Jayson Stark wrote a really good article about this last week too.

All this "they're still good enough to win without him" talk is besides the point. This isn't basketball, any baseball team can lose a player and still win a short series. You never know how long your window of opportunity will last, and it's presumptuous to assume that there will be more chances down the road because the team looks good on paper. Imagine making the same argument, say, with Tampa Bay and David Price in '08.

The Nats should have figured out a way to save Strasburg for October, probably by skipping 4-5 starts at various times during the season, once it became clear that they had a good shot at making the playoffs.

I don't know if that would make him more injury prone or what, none of us are sports medicine experts so it's hard to say exactly what they're afraid of (suffice to say they're not stupid, they've probably considered like, every possible option here).

What gets missed a lot is that the Nats were supposed to be like, a .500 team. Like I know the Phillies are on the downswing here but nobody could have predicted they'd be 18 games up on them in August! Now, it seems like the Nats are all but guaranteed a playoff spot, but they're still only 5.5 games up on a very good Atlanta team. Skipping his starts in the middle of a penant race doesn't seem right either, and I don't think anyone could have guessed they'd even be in this position. Either way I strongly suspect the Nats are making the right call here.

I think it's stupid move. An arm injury could happen if he pitches 180 innings or 200 innings this year. It's not like they overused him at all.

I don't blame them for making a decision in March when they thought they'd be, realistically, an 80-win team. But once they saw they had a chance to accomplish a lot more, they could have changed their strategy (they still might, but it's not looking like it).

Why does skipping starts in a pennant race seem less right than leaving him off the playoff roster? If they're good enough to win without him in the playoffs, aren't they good enough to make the playoffs even if he misses a few starts? It's not any less unconventional than shutting down a healthy pitcher when you have a chance for a championship.

xpost

That's what I suggested above, but according to Morbius, "My understanding is, once they wind him down there's no restarting." Why that is, physiologically, I don't know.

I read the same thing Morbs did, I think. I think the assumption is that once the arm starts to heal itself from the constant work of the season, it would take a whole 'nother spring training (probably a shorter one) to get him back in game shape for playoffs. If he took 3 weeks off and then had to go straight back to work, serious injury would be much more likely.

You want to hear something bizarre? Strasburg is ranked 9th on the Nats team in WAR...for batting. In 44 PAs, he's posted up a line of .316/.380/.500.

Anyway, the Nats were ridiculously careful with him last year, and he got Tommy Johnned. The way they see it, each 1 WAR is worth about $5m, right? So barring injury his rookie contract is going to provide $100m of value (and possibly a lot more) for only $26m. "Barring injury" is the big part here.

i wonder what rob dibble thinks about it

rob dibble smash shutdown

I think we're heading for a day when TJ surgery will be de rigeur. Work elbow #1 until it blows out, have it replaced, work elbow #2 until retirement. I hope James Andrews has a bunch of young apprentices ready to take over when he retires.

i'd say it pretty much already is that way.

what happens when Dr Andrews' arm gets overworked and then *he* needs TJ surgery? huh?!

xpost

That's what I suggested above, but according to Morbius, "My understanding is, once they wind him down there's no restarting." Why that is, physiologically, I don't know.

Orel Hershiser disagreed with that in Stark's article. He basically said that pitchers get hurt midseason all the time and nobody says they need to be shut down for the year once they haven't pitched for a few weeks.

Plus they didn't have to shut him down completely, just skip some of his starts so he would have ten days instead of five between starts once in a while. They could have worked it around some off days so they didn't even have to find anyone to take his spot in the rotation.

so, like, a pretend injury should do the trick then?

I think that's what the Braves are doing with Tommy Hanson! "Need a midseason break? We'll call it a back injury, stay in shape and be ready in two weeks."

Plus they didn't have to shut him down completely, just skip some of his starts so he would have ten days instead of five between starts once in a while. They could have worked it around some off days so they didn't even have to find anyone to take his spot in the rotation.

IMO the best thing would be to have pitched him every six or seven days and have the occassional spot start/start on short rest. Then again if they had come out doing this from Day 1, that would have gotten some raised eyebrows as all.

Sheehan has a long thing up, advocating that they do some juggling (and should have done more previously) to get him some playoff innings:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/joe_sheehan/08/14/stephen-strasburg-nationals-innings-limit/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a0

"Not only would sending up a pinch-hitter have improved their chance of scoring, but it would have saved Strasburg from pitching a relatively low-leverage inning"

Strasburg is probably better than their pinch hitters I am thinking.

I think that's what the Braves are doing with Tommy Hanson! "Need a midseason break? We'll call it a back injury, stay in shape and be ready in two weeks."

― Romney's Kitchen Nightmares (WmC), Tuesday, August 14, 2012 12:26 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This HAS to be the wave of the future, right? Try and run up a big lead in your division and start selectively using the DL to rest starters; cycle in your high risk/high reward prospects and see who sticks until the options are used up

there aren't that many teams that seriously make the playoffs year-in and year-out. while it definitely seems like the nats could have handled this better (and the innings limit they've named seems awfully arbitrary), it's probably a lot more important to teams like washington and pittsburgh to simply make the playoffs than go all out for a title right now. see also milwaukee driving cc into the ground in whatever year that was.

sort of different conditions tho bc CC wasn't going to re-sign/see you in hell fatbody

Driving CC made perfect sense for them since they weren't going to resign him after that half-season rental was done.

...and he sucked in the playoffs iirc

thats true, but right up until there he basically put up one of the most insane half seasons ever

It bears repeating that if the '06 Cards could survive the playoffs, any team can.

also, CC was kind of a veteran at that point, plus he's gigantic

all this is true -- my point was that it was more important for those brewers (and these nationals) to simply make the playoffs than to conserve themselves for a rather more random world series run

except if they get tossed in the Division Series, whining will be heard.

if they don't win the WS, whining will be heard.

i reaaaaally don't understand why they can't just skip a few starts for the remainder of the season and then use him a bit in the playoffs (maybe once per series). and as others pointed out above, even if they did the illogical thing and shut him down completely, the argument that "restarting" him after a few weeks would reinjure his arm doesn't make any sense.

it's going to be hilarious when he gets hit by a bird or something early next year and misses the entire year

According to the Washington Post, even Strasburg's father has asked Rizzo how appropriate the shut-down plan is in a pennant race.

"Mr. Strasburg, don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the full answer," Rizzo told Jim Strasburg, the Post reported. The elder Strasburg replied, "I want to hear it."

Rizzo told Jim Strasburg that the decision to sit Strasburg was "mine and mine alone."

"It's not on Davey Johnson or (owner Ted) Lerner. It's on me," he told the Post. "I know it may stain my reputation or my career. There's no way it can ever be proved if I was right. The easy thing for me is just to do nothing. But I'm hardheaded. The decision was made five months ago because it was the best decision for Stephen and the Nationals. And nothing is going to change it."

In response, Jim Strasburg consented and told Rizzo, "'That makes a lot of sense," the GM told the Post.

that conversation abridged:

How appropriate is the shut-down of my son?
I made the decision. I'm hardheaded. I made the decision 5 months ago. Nothing is going to change it.
That makes a lot of sense

alternate abridged version

Are you sure about this?
F*** you. And don't try to change my mind.
I guess that's that.

falling back on the "i'm stubborn" defense is the laaaaaaamest argument one can make

You can probably file this under Old Ballplayers Never Die, but it is pretty funny when the guy who your surgery is named after chimes in:

“I would hope the general manager has a degree in orthopedic surgery, or at least kinesiology or physiology, and I don’t think Mike Rizzo has any of that,” Tommy John said on ESPN Radio. “Here’s the thing, go back, Wikipedia ‘Tommy John’ and see how many innings I pitched in 1976, my comeback year.”

The answer is 207.

“From the time I came back until I quit in 1989, I never missed a start in 13 years,” Tommy John continued. “Here’s my take on the thing: There’s no guarantee that if you’re shutting Strasburg down, he’s going to be healthy down the road. You want him healthy. I understand that. He’s the franchise. But you know what? The golden ring only comes around on the merry go round maybe one time. There’s no guarantee that if you keep Strasburg out this year and keep him healthy for next year and the next and the next year, that you’re gonna win.”

Shut the hell up, Tommy John, I'm counting on this guy getting sat down.

“I would hope the general manager has a degree in orthopedic surgery, or at least kinesiology or physiology, and I don’t think Mike Rizzo has any of that”
- says a guy who doesn't have any of that

Really, the more former players who chime in and say that Strasburg shouldn't be shut down because that's not how the game was played in their time, the more confidence I have that Rizzo is making the right decision.

FUN FACTS: Tommy John was the National League player of the month in April 1974. March 1974 NL player of the month was... Davey Johnson!

I'm hoping that Mike Marshall, pitcher of 106 games in 1974 and possessor of a Ph.D. in kinesiology, joins in next.

Why did the NL have a player of the month in March?

oops I meant August 1973, which was the previous awarded month

The Nats slowly drove Strasburg crazy with all the shutdown talk until he was unable to focus on pitching, so they had to shut him down to take his mind off of the shutdown. Nice going!

crazy like Fox

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2012/09/08/stephen-strasburg-says-shutdown-is-something-that-im-not-happy-about-at-all/

yeah, this is crazy. when you have your chance you have to go for it. the Nationals will probably not be relevant next year.

What makes you have that opinion.

The Nats assuming they'll be in the playoff hunt for the next (say) 5 or so years as justification for not going all out to win kind of ignores the way the MLB actually tends to work

unless you're loaded with young talent like the Nats.

Well they have two of the best prospects ever yes but it's not like they're loaded with great under-25 talent. According to Fangraphs they only have three prospects in the top 100, one of which is Harper.

Look at playoff history. you assume the Nats are pretty confident in, say, two more playoff appearances over the next five years. that's actually pretty tough to do unless you're A) incredibly loaded (hence why the Yanks make it every year), B) in a weak division (hence why the Cardinals made it so often in the mid-00's), or C) the stars align and you wind up with something like the ridiculous Smoltz/Glavine/Maddux rotation that Atlanta dominated with. They're 19th in payroll, are going to be competing with Altanta for some time, and they have a lot of guys having career years right now, such as Gio, LaRoche (who is 32), and Desmond (who was OPS'ing like .680 over 1200 PA's before this year). As a Milwaukee fan, I know...things change a lot year to year, even if the team looks basically the same. They may well go on a run and prove everyone wrong but again, unless you're the damn Yankees its so hard to say "oh well, we'll be in it next year"

also, I don't want to speak too soon on this but the fact that the Tigers have the 5th highest payroll and play in the weakest division (by far) and yet are still 2 games out says a lot about this kind of thinking. at the beginning of the season nobody would even consider that the Tigers would miss out on the playoffs. now B-P only gives them a 32% shot.

at the beginning of the season nobody would even consider that the Tigers would miss out on the playoffs.

I considered it. The only "big splash" active-roster change made between '11 and '12 was the signing of Fielder, who replaced Martinez -- not much difference. They're only three games worse than they were at this point last year, and their differential is better by 26 runs.

The White Sox are seven games better. That doesn't seem all that crazy, either.

You could say that the Rays had nothing to lose in 2008 because they were loaded with young talent and would have plenty of other chances to win. That might still be true, but you never know, the playoffs are a crapshoot.

Neyer on the Shutdown:

"One thing I keep noticing, though, is this bizarre belief that if only Stephen Strasburg is allowed to pitch, the Nationals will win the World Series, or probably win the World Series, or maybe they won't win the World Series but they'll have a lot better chance with Strasburg than without him.

It's just not true. With Strasburg, the Nationals' chances of winning the World Series are somewhere between 10 and 15 percent. Without Strasburg, the Nationals' chances of winning the World Series are somewhere between 10 and 15 percent. With him, maybe it's 12.8 percent. Without him, maybe it's 10.6 percent.

Most of the discussion seems to be centered around what the grounding of Stephen Strasburg means to the Washington Nationals. But I don't think all that many folks really care much about the Washington Nationals. I think most folks care about themselves; in this context, that means most folks really, really want to see Stephen Strasburg pitching in big games next month.

I want to see that, too. But not if it means I can't see him pitching next season, or if it means he won't be pitching brilliantly for the next 15 season. For a long time, the balance was swung far too much in favor of winning today. The Nationals probably haven't found the perfect balance. But if we have to swing a bit too far the other way, at least for a while, there are worse things."

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/9/12/3318308/stephen-strasburg-shut-down-washington-nationals

"Huh. Why is it that most people are neither as enlightened nor as selfless as me, Rob Neyer? You know, from time to time, I do think about these things." -- Rob Neyer

WHO said the Nationals WOULD WIN or PROBABLY WOULD WIN the World Series with Strasburg?

The negative reactions I've read have been no more complex than "The Nationals should use their best pitcher."

aside from the strawman, i mostly agree with Neyer.

With Strasburg, the Nationals' chances of winning the World Series are somewhere between 10 and 15 percent. Without Strasburg, the Nationals' chances of winning the World Series are somewhere between 10 and 15 percent. With him, maybe it's 12.8 percent. Without him, maybe it's 10.6 percent.

The numbers are probably right, but that's beside the point. The Angels could win the WS without Trout (if they make the playoffs), but why would they want to try? Any team could win a short series without their best player because baseball isn't basketball, one player doesn't make all that much of a difference especially over seven games.

Even using Neyer's numbers, you could say that even though their overall chances of winning the WS are low, the Nats chances are improved by 20 percent -- 100 x (12.8 - 10.6)/10.6 -- with Strasburg pitching, which is a LOT.

I think he might've been alluding to the Tim McCarvers of the world (is there more than one?).

Another big thing on Strasburg that I don't think is behind the paywall yet:

http://www.billjamesonline.com/shutting_down_strasburg/

i was gonna mention that pissing off your best player seems like a bad idea in general, the Nats should still be two years away from locking him up (if indeed they do)

This is easily the dumbest thing since Joba Rules.

Strasburg ERA: 3.16
Lannan ERA in one game replacing Strasburg so far: 0

clearly a disaster for the Nats

pissing off your best player seems like a bad idea in general

is Harper pissed off?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2012/09/12/stephen-strasburg-pinch-hitter

Strasburg made his final start of the season five days ago, but already he has become antsy with no more starts to look forward to. During the Nationals’ series in New York, Strasburg has shagged batting practice in center field, mostly standing by himself.

“He’s been pestering (pitching coach Steve McCatty) about what he can do,” Johnson said. “Can I keep throwing off the mound? No. Can I play catch in the outfield? Yes. It’s pretty bad now, but it’s going to get worse. Because he’s going to be champing.”

Maybe he should get some reps behind the plate in case they need an emergency catcher! He could roll the ball back -- anything, as long as he doesn't use his arm.

Poor guy is going to Darren Baker himself during the playoffs.

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSgta1rY33Sf3yR55Y4fFyweDYMVO8ytPKVxMMhqXZiPALNcNl5

Morse, Strasburg

id been wondering abt what hes actually been doing

perfect time to start a tidy lil drug habit imo

Jazayerli:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8369941/history-shows-washington-nationals-shut-stephen-strasburg-too-soon

That's a really great article.

Strasburg out after 2 IP vs. Braves. Was shaking his arm and rolling his shoulders and neck between pitches. Pissed about having to come out, unsurprisingly.

He takes that ball EVERY FIFTH DAY.

Maybe he slept on the ball last night.

@jaysonst 10m
Not only was that the first time Strasburg had ever allowed a slam. It was the first HR he'd ever allowed with more than one man on.

@ajcbraves
#Nats Strasburg now 1-2 with 5.79 ERA in 6 starts at Turner Field, with 24 hits, 15 ER, 15 walks, 28 strikeouts in 23-1/3 innings.

http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2013/08/18/081713-MLB-Nationals-Stephen-Strasburg-PI-AA_20130818021124840_660_320.JPG

"Peace out."

i haven't been following it much, but from the videoclips i just watched, braves fans are complete assholes for cheering on as harper got hit by pitches. that's just fucking lame. i'm sure the washington fans cheered as their pitchers hit the braves hitters (well, maybe not - nats fans don't really know anything about baseball afaict)

here's the video, for those who haven't seen it: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130817&content_id=57330152&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

awesome

i don't think i've ever seen an ump throw a guy out while the ball was still in play like that

That was pretty weird looking.

getting beaned by stephen strasburg sounds very un-fun

a few months ago there was a florida state league beanball fest going on between palm beach (cardinals) and fort myers (twins). a palm beach pitcher threw behind twins stud prospect miguel sano and both benches were warned.

sano obliterated the next pitch, paused his trot on the way to first to taunt the palm beach dugout, and was immediately ejected.

they let the homer/run count, tho i suspect that was technically not the correct decision.

why not let the homer/run count? because he was ejected on the way around his home run taunt trot?

you gotta touch all the bases, right? can you pinch run for a guy on his way around?

What happened with Strasburg tonight? Was there a long rain delay, or did he hurt himself?

The former.

Are they going to shut him down for the playoffs off-season?

@injuryexpert
Report from @Holdenradio that Strasburg had bone chips removed this offseason. Feels good but that's a terrible sign longer term.

@injuryexpert
Re Strasburg, means he's likely slamming his olecranon with pitches. Insidious damage.

gettin paid

Yeah since when does Boras negotiate midseason? I guess anything is possible when there's an opt out clause involved.

Maybe he read the tweet Andy k posted just above

I just stare @ the 2019 column *_*

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSN/2016-payroll-salaries.shtml

no hits allowed in 1st start back from dl, lifted after 6.2IP (4BB)

season not over?

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/stephen-strasburg-diagnosed-with-flexor-mass-strain-no-ligament-damage-found.html

Nats medical staff might be headed by the same fellow who, as a gum-chomping ER bro in 2004, thought my wife's crippling pain -- which just happened to be located where she had an emergency C-section a few days prior -- was appendicitis.

pretty sad article. he may be done. :(

this is a "gift link", so won't count against the Washington Post paywall/etc:

Stephen Strasburg gave his body to baseball. Now his future is a mystery.

...But since 2019, when he raised a trophy above his head — when his arms were only heavy because of the long climb to the top — Strasburg has not felt comfortable on a major league mound. And last summer, he literally gave parts of his body to baseball, having had a full rib and two neck muscles removed in a surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome that threatens his career.

He has not thrown a ball in more than three months. He’s not certain he will pitch again.

“I feel like every time I’ve had an injury, I felt like I was going to be the best there is coming back,” Strasburg, 34, told The Washington Post this week “ … This is the one that’s still definitely a big question mark.

“I realize the clock is ticking. It’s been almost three years since I’ve been able to pitch competitively, and it’s not like I’m getting younger.”

To explain how he got here, to the point of not knowing what’s next, Strasburg goes back to 2018. The first sign of thoracic outlet syndrome was lingering tightness in his neck. He spent time on the injured list. After the season, he visited a specialist, who injected Botox into his neck to shut down the muscles and alleviate built-up scar tissue.

Strasburg then had his best winter in years, wondering why he could do so many biceps curls and throw without an aching shoulder despite his extensive injury history. Even before the title run, he made more than 30 starts for the first time in a half decade. He felt that maybe, just maybe, there was new life after all his health complications. But lurking beneath the surface, lending doubt whenever Strasburg stretched his neck or shook his right hand, was so much wear and tear on his neck, shoulder and the rest of his prized arm.

The coronavirus pandemic complicated his progress. When the sport returned from a shutdown, Strasburg felt a “zap” whenever he threw between simulated games. His hand tingled in the middle of the night, let alone whenever he pitched. A test revealed carpal tunnel neuritis, and Strasburg underwent surgery for it in August 2020. But he now believes the procedure could have delayed addressing the real issue of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.

The condition stems from the compression of nerve roots in the brachial plexus, a nerve network above the collarbone that provides movement and feeling to the arm and hand. It is most commonly diagnosed in pitchers, with specialists citing repeated arm injuries and high-effort throwing as main causes.

...

The season after carpal tunnel surgery, Strasburg’s problems came earlier and earlier in his starts. His neck was stiff. His shoulder was sore. He often took multiple cortisone shots, trying to last 100 pitches and stay on the field. But after five appearances, enough was enough. Strasburg flew to Texas to see Gregory Pearl, a leading surgeon for thoracic outlet syndrome, and had the procedure two days later.

This was July 2021. In the 14 months since, Strasburg has had three setbacks, tested positive for the coronavirus in April and this summer mourned the death of his father. He started for the Nationals on June 9 and immediately went to the injured list with a stress reaction in the second and third ribs on the right side of his body. Before landing there, he tried throwing a change-up after that lone outing in June, felt three pops in his shoulder and knew that meant trouble. He looks a lot like he did in his prime, a 6-foot-5 starter who detailed this saga in a T-shirt and shorts, his uniform for another daily rehab session. What plagues him is beneath his imposing figure.

“I’ve been doing very minimal exercises, and I’ve seen some improvements as far as the way my shoulder is sitting,” said Strasburg, who is at Nationals Park for every home game and coordinating with team medical staff when the club is on the road. “But I feel like the strength is not quite there, and I’m not really sure what the future holds.”

he’s 34??

time flies when you're on the IL. from the article it sounds like TOS was lurking for a long time, was probably unavoidable. but it's conspicuous that the worst of his injuries seems to have happened after 2019, when he threw 209 IP, only the second time he'd thrown more than 185 IP in a season, and then followed that up with 36 (very good) playoff innings. I'm glad that the nats won that year, at least.

not that i'm criticizing him or the nats for letting him throw a ton of innings in 2019. i mean, if you could tell the future, in 2019, and you told strasburg that he could either shut down for the season to have TOS surgery and maybe never come back, oooooor keep throwing another 100 really good innings and win the world series, I wonder which one he or the team would pick.

that contract, tho

hmmm

It was the Nationals who approached Strasburg about retiring and paying him the full amount of his contract, sources briefed on the matter say. The team wants to change the terms. https://t.co/gm6tz3fZE9

— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) September 7, 2023

Nationals owner says team not hosting Strasburg retirement ceremony

this whole thing is a pathetic own-goal

I just read that Strasburg's contract was not insured (who would insure it given his injury history?) so now I understand why the Nats' management are being such as assholes about this.

And yet somehow, even though the team is up for sale, Rizzo hasn't been extended, and the scouting team has been gutted, they might finish ahead of the Mets.

Nats were probably offering him a million a year until 2247.

Even by the low standards of conduct of an owner this is breathtakingly awful

See you in spring training: Washington #Nats owner Mark Lerner issues statement on Stephen Strasburg’s cancelled retirement ceremony. pic.twitter.com/YiVDM1kQB5

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 8, 2023

Statement from Stephen Strasburg on retiring: https://t.co/Vr5ecoXitl pic.twitter.com/zAgpQ8VqEk

— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) April 7, 2024

weird career, so glad he managed to win one in the end