Friday I posted a story from the Washington Post that included comments by Rob Dibble on how he believes an e-mail sent by Stephen Strasburg’s father to Nationals’ owner Ted Lerner was the reason he was booted from the MASN broadcast booth in D.C. last year. (The alleged e-mail stemmed from some comments Dibble made on air after Strasburg hurt his elbow during a game last year and the broadcaster told him to “suck it up.”)
After hearing about Dibble’s comments about his father, Strasburg took to Twitter in attempts to set the story straight:
For those of you wondering my dad doesn’t even have the Lerners’ email… Actually was a fan of Dibble believe it or not
Actually, if I’m deciding between whether or not to believe that it was Strasburg’s father that wrote the e-mail or one of Dibble’s fans, I’m going with Strasburg’s father. I wouldn’t put it past Lerner to a) give his e-mail to the franchise’s father and b) try to get Dibble off the air after he made some controversial comments about said franchise. But maybe that’s just me.
Either way, the whole situation is ridiculous. As I wrote yesterday, MASN hired Dibble to share his opinions and you don’t give Rob Dibble a job without taking a risk that he’s going to say something controversial. This is the same guy who was once involved in a brawl with then-manager Lou Pinella following a Reds game during his playing days. You hire Dibble to be a little edgy.
Alas, like all ridiculous stories, this one will die off soon enough. I actually think the only reason Strasburg responded to Dibble’s comments is because he’s hurt and isn’t pitching. If he had to take the hill in less than five days, I doubt he would be worried about anything that comes out of Dibble’s mouth. (Or at least I hope he wouldn’t.)
