Tag: Washington Nationals (Page 4 of 14)

      Nationals should shut down Stephen Strasburg for the rest of 2010

      August 22, 2010 /
      Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg wipes sweat from his face after the second against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on on August 15, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      After throwing a 90 mph changeup and grimacing on the mound in pain during the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Phillies, the Nationals have little choice but to shut down Stephen Strasburg’s 2010 season.

      This is the second time this month that Strasburg has dealt with an injury. A couple of weeks ago he had a shoulder problem that caused him to miss some time and yesterday’s injury has been diagnosed as a strain of the flexor tendon in his right forearm. Considering this is a club that’s 17 games below .500 and 19 games back in the NL Central, this should be a no-brainer decision for the Nationals. Regardless of what a MRI reveals – his season should be over. Why risk further injury here?

      Something that will be lost in the injury news is how well Strasburg pitched yesterday. He threw 56 pitches before departing the game, throwing 38 for strikes and allowing just one run on two hits to go along with his six strikeouts. He showed the type of mastery of hitters last night as he did when he was first called up in June.

      But again, regardless of how good he looked or how many tickets the Nationals want to sell from here on out, they have to look at the bigger picture. Just because he has suffered a couple of injuries this year doesn’t mean that he’ll have issues the rest of his career and in fact, the early indication is that he should be fine. But why take any chances right now? Both the Nationals and Strasburg have more to look forward to than the rest of this season, which essentially means nothing.

      Shut his season down, have him take a MRI and then proceed with how to handle the results. Getting the young phenom back onto the mound should be the least of the Nationals’ concerns right now.

      External Sports, MLB

      MLB News: Nationals sign No. 1 pick Bryce Harper at deadline

      August 17, 2010 /

      It went down to the final minute of Monday’s Midnight deadline, but the Nationals finally agreed to terms with 2010 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper.

      According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the deal will pay the 17-year-old Harper $9.9 million guaranteed over five years, while $6.25 million of the guaranteed portion of his contract is his signing bonus. He’ll receive base salaries of $500,000 in 2011 and 2012, $750,000 in 2013, $900,000 in 2014 and $1 million in 2015.

      The Nationals will reportedly move Harper to right field (his natural position is catcher) in order to put him on the fast track to the big leagues. The club loves his power potential and assuming he can move through the minor league ranks quickly, he might be able to make an impact in the major leagues in a couple of years.

      Thanks to Harper and 2009 first round pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats are loaded with young talent for the foreseeable future.

      MLB, News

      It’s hard not to like Strasburg’s take on Harper’s signing decision

      August 16, 2010 /
      Washington Nationals' pitcher Stephen Strasburg pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Nationals Park on on August 15, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      When the 22-year-old face of your franchise says things like, “If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here,” it’s hard not to take a liking to him.

      That comment was uttered by Stephen Strasburg when asked whether or not he had any advice for Bryce Harper – the Nationals’ No. 1 overall pick this year who has until Midnight tonight to agree to terms with the club.

      Here’s Strasburg’s full quote, courtesy of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post:

      “I don’t have any advice for him,” Strasburg said. “It’s his decision. If he wants to play here, he’s going to play here. He doesn’t need advice from anyone to confirm his views. If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here. That’s the bottom line.”

      Granted, it’s a little easier for Strasburg to say that now that he’s comfortably viewing the situation from the inside looking out. A year ago, Strasburg and the Nationals went down to the final seconds of the 2009 deadline before agreeing to a record-breaking four-year, $15.1 million contract. He’s represented by Scott Boras, the same agent that represents Harper.

      Strasburg knows that signing a contract is just business. He had talent that the Nationals wanted, so he and Boras made them pay for that talent. But the bottom line is that he eventually did sign, which is something the 17-yard-old Harper has yet to do.

      By saying what he did, Strasburg has drawn a line in the sand for Harper: You’re either with us, or against us. Strasburg reminds us that even though financial matters are part of the business, the game of baseball still boils down to competing. Seeing as how Harper is going to be a rich man know matter what, the only question that remains is whether or not he wants to compete along with Strasburg and an up-and-coming Nationals club.

      If he doesn’t, then here’s hoping that he can sleep tonight knowing that he passed up on millions of guaranteed money.

      External Sports, MLB

      Stephen Strasburg placed on DL. That can only mean that his, his kids’, and his kids’ kids’ careers are over with now.

      July 29, 2010 /
      Washington National's starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg delivers a pitch to the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning of play in their MLB National League baseball game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 21, 2010. REUTERS/John Sommers II (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      The Nationals had to place starter Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 22) with right shoulder stiffness according to MLB.com. Apparently the young phenom was having trouble getting loose before his scheduled start against the Braves on Tuesday and thus, the Nats decided to scratch him from the game and then place him on the DL.

      Like a shark smelling blood in the water, when an injury like this happens to a young pitcher, someone in baseball always takes the opportunity to predict future problems for the player. That someone in this instance is White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, who told MLB Network Radio on Thursday morning that Strasburg’s arm action could result in future injuries.

      From the New York Post:

      “I am not wishing this guy bad, but for him to be having problems right now when they are really, really watching him what are they going to see when they are trying to get 220 innings from him? He does something with his arm action that is difficult, in my mind, to pitch a whole lot of innings on.”

      “It reminds me a little bit of Kerry Wood, a little bit of Mark Prior. I hope I’m wrong about this,” said Cooper, whose White Sox were held to one run over seven innings by Strasburg in his third major-league start. “When you throw with the kind of talent and force that he can throw, you can break easier than let’s say a Mark Buehrle type.”

      Wow, a prediction of future complications and references to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior? You went all out, Don.

      Cooper has probably forgotten more about pitching than I’ll ever know and he’s just sharing his opinion, but all of this seems a little too convenient for me. Strasburg hasn’t even been on the DL for over 24 hours and Cooper is already making national statements that he could have future problems. Shouldn’t we hold off first?

      Maybe Cooper will inevitably be proven right, but we have to wait and see. Just because Strasburg is having arm problems now doesn’t mean that he’s going to have the same issues in the future, nor does it mean that this injury is a prelude to a bigger problem. We just don’t know.

      The key is that the Nationals are taking the situation seriously and are proceeding with caution. Strasburg is a massive part of their future and they’re going about this injury the right way. They need to protect their investment and considering they’re not playing for a pennant right now, it makes sense that they would put him on the DL instead of taking any chances.

      External Sports, MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      July 3, 2010 /

      Amazingly, we’re only 10 days away from the All-Star break. That means teams will re-charge and start to make a serious run at a playoff spot from mid-July on. And the power rankings haven’t changed much, other than most of the California teams dropping off the list. So without further adieu…..

      1. New York Yankees (48-31)—The Bombers continue to ride their stars to victory, and survived a recent team hitting slump. There’s no reason to believe they won’t win the division again and contend for the title.

      2. Texas Rangers (47-32)—Seriously, how scary has this team become? This past week Vlad gave his former team a taste of what they might be missing this year

      3. Boston Red Sox (48-32)—Barely hanging on to second place in the tough AL East, but only two games separate the Yanks, Sox and Rays.

      4. San Diego Padres (47-33)—Sure, the Rangers are a big surprise. But no team has been as surprising as the Padres, who just keep winning. And here’s a frightening thing for other National League teams—the Pads are now believing in themselves too.

      5. Tampa Bay Rays (46-33)—Thankfully the Rays got off to a hot start, because everyone knows how much talent resides in the AL East. And has Carlos Pena become Dave Kingman? Yikes….he’s batting .196 with 16 homers and 50 RBI.

      6. Atlanta Braves (47-33)—The Braves are a major league best 29-9 at home this year (.763 winning percentage). Too bad no one goes to their home games.

      7. New York Mets (45-35)—With two more games against the suddenly slumping Nationals, the Mets still have a chance to close the gap with Atlanta this weekend.

      8. Cincinnati Reds (46-35)—I’m getting closer to believing, and so are the Reds.

      9. Minnesota Twins (44-36)—They haven’t been playing great baseball, which has allowed the mediocre Tigers and White Sox back into the AL Central race. But there is too much talent in Minnesota to keep the Twins out of the postseason hunt.

      10. St. Louis Cardinals (44-36)—I’m now ready to put the Reds above the Cardinals, and Tony LaRussa’s boys had better start playing better away from home (18-22) if they want to keep pace.

      External Sports, MLB

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