Stephen Strasburg, pitcher and Scott Boras client

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?

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