It would have been tricky to figure out but it's not as if the Nationals are in the middle of a pennant race. They have a comfy lead on the Braves and could have sat Strasburg through the entirety of July and some of June if they wanted to do it.

 

Did they have a comfy lead in June and July? I thought things were a little tighter then. I don't really remember, though.

 

I don't think anyone has pressured them in quite some time but admittedly, I don't follow the NL East on a daily basis. I'm sure Ben knows. He's a Braves fan.

 

It was fairly tight into the All-Star break, with 3 teams within 5 games of each other, but no one has been within 2 games of the team (the Braves have been 2 games behind as recent as 8/4). Most of August was played with a 3-4 game distance with the Nats and Braves, but their recent series put the Nats up 6.5 coming into today.

One would think that an easy solution might just be to skip one or two of his starts. With a 6.5 game lead, they have room to do it.

One would think that an easy solution might just be to skip one or two of his starts. With a 6.5 game lead, they have room to do it.

 

 

Rizzo said the doctors advised him to lets Strasburg's arm rest for a certain amount of time. That's why they're not skipping his starts.

One would think that an easy solution might just be to skip one or two of his starts. With a 6.5 game lead, they have room to do it.

 

 

Rizzo said the doctors advised him to lets Strasburg's arm rest for a certain amount of time. That's why they're not skipping his starts.

 

Because of the action of his arm and the veracity that he exudes when throwing, starting and stopping could be more dangerous to his arm than just shutting down. I've always thought moving him to a David Price-esque role down the stretch could be best for him without losing him for all of the playoffs.

I get the innings cap, it makes sense for a guy coming back from TJ. But the Nationals should also think that more then likly Strasburg isn't gonna be around for the next decade plus in Washington. He's got Boras as an agent and you know damn well Boras already has a 200 page binder ready to pass out to teams at the winter meetings in 2017 when Strasburg is a free agent. If anything I say run that arm into the ground and get as many bullets as you can before the chamber is empty.

I have to say I agree with this. Not that I wish reduced health on anyone, but opportunities to compete are generally pretty limited, with no guarantee of future success (see Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox now after fairly recent success). Stuff happens. Somebody gets hurt, somebody suddenly forgets how to hit a curveball, beer & fried chicken become the norm for the pitching staff during games, and suddenly you're not playing in October any more.

 

I would love to be able to read the minds of the other players on that team to see what they really think of this whole idea.

Edited August 24, 201214 yr by ericchri

That Nationals are "protecting" Strasburg for a period where he probably won't even be on the team anymore.

 

There are no guarantees in sports. You have to take your chance when you get it.