11
2012
I Hope The Nationals Go Down In Flames For Shutting Down Strasburg
An article by 
We never got a chance to discuss the pros and cons of the Washington Nationals shutting down their ace Stephen Strasburg who they opted not to include on their post season roster. It was a bold move to say the least by Nats GM Mike Rizzo, but was it the right call?
Bob Nightengale of USA Today asked some rival GM’s what their thoughts were, and not only did all of them call it a bad move, but there was a lot of resentment and anger in what they had to say.
After yesterday’s embarrassing 8-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Nats find themselves on the brink of elimination and trail 2-1 in the National League Division Series. But there was no pity for them from rival GM’s who all say the Nationals got what they deserve.
“If we don’t win the World Series, I don’t care who does,” one general manager told USA TODAY Sports, “as long as it’s not those guys.
“They don’t deserve to win it. Not after what they did.”
Said a National League GM: “I hope they go down in flames. I hope it takes another 79 years before they get back to the playoffs. That’s how strongly I feel about it.”
Wow, I guess people are willing to say anything as long as it’s done anonymously, I’d love to know who these GM’s were?
Better yet, I wonder how sandy Alderson would play this if he were in the same situation…
Lets assume “Hell Freezes Over”, “Pigs Fly”, and “Bears Didn’t Shit In The Woods”. Lets assume the Mets clinched a wild card spot next season. Lets further assume Alderson shut’s down an utterly dominating Zack Wheeler who was 17-2 with a 1.76 ERA because he reached his innings limit. Would you be okay with that?
What really pissed other GM’s off was when Rizzo said no matter what happens, “We’ll be back, we’ll be doing this a couple more times.”
Nightengale said it was the quote “heard round the baseball world”, with general managers and executives making sure everyone saw it.
Who do they think they are, the Yankees? Are the Philadelphia Phillies going to defect from the NL East? Are the Atlanta Braves retiring with Chipper Jones?
What if the Nationals don’t get back during Strasburg’s stay in Washington? What if this is their best chance to ever get to the Series? How do you live with that?
We haven’t heard the last of this as Nightengale also warns that Nationals players, particularly veterans, have grumbled and might sound off more once they depart.
National’s Game 4 starter Ross Detwiler has the weight of the world on his shoulders tonight.
As for my thoughts on all of this?
I’m with that general manager who hopes they go down in flames. I hope they don’t see the post season for the rest of this century and that their drought will forever be known as “The Strasburg Curse”. I have very little tolerance for any general manager who takes competing, winning, and especially the post season for granted. That’s why I’m always keeping both eyes on Alderson. Until he starts using words like “wild card”, “world series”, and “championships” as part of his regular vocabulary. Those are the only words that will grab my attention.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Hi Joe,
I always felt the Nationals were wrong to shut down Strausberg completely – maybe limit his innings the last few weeks but not to include him in post-season. A typical Strausberg pitching performance would not have resulted in 20 runs over the past two games – one of them would have kept the Nats in the game.
They did this to themselves and I wonder if the players will also think they got a kick in the teeth?
Kick in the teeth? I feel like I’ve heard those words before.
theer are also issues to consider with shutting a guy down for an extended period then ramping him back up, if you wanted to go that way (say take September off + 1/2 of August?). not sure how much they could have done down the stretch just having him skip a few starts and pitch 5 innings max in other games.
bottom line, they made a decision, based on medical advice and precedent, that put the LT future of the player (and the team) ahead of a potential 1 shot grab at the golden ring. because if they had said screw it and let him keep going, and still missed the WS but he brong down, then they really would have been hosed.
Oh please! Talk about over-rationalization. Do you look up, down, sideways, and use GPS…besides looking both ways…before crossing the street?
Wow.
It was a bad move. Period. And you said the other GMs forget the Boras factor? They did? How did you know?
Look,
Strasberg is not the first young pitcher to have Tommy John surgery, there are others who had it when HE did and they’re back pitching fine. Even Tommy John HIMSELF said Strasberg should not have been shut down.
The Nats may never get there until 100 years from now. Bryce Harper may break his leg next year and as a Mets fan you should be very familiar with injuries. He’s fine, the doctor originally said he was fine until the very next day when the Agent suddenly got a medical degree and said the doctor was wrong and Damage Control became the order of the day.
Nothing in sports is more important than a championship and in this regard he was fine, should be pitching a ballgame today and trying to lead his team to the ultimate goal. Man, Sandy and his followers sure mean it when they say wins aren’t important.
My opinion is Steven Strasberg’s career was not going to be ruined if he pitched a couple more ballgames. Let’s knock if off with the nonsense already and you can add me to the list that hopes the Nats not only crash and burn but lose directly because Strasberg was shut down.
just a tad bit of jealousy coming through there.
and frankly, I would bet if the shoe was on the other GM foot, it is a high probability that they would have done the same thing.
Would the Mets do the same thing with Wheeler? well, of course I hope we have to find out. but I would guess they would find a way to keep him in play. There should be a difference also between a guy coming back from major surgery, and effectively on a rehab plan still, and a younger guy with what is really an arbitrary # courtesy of Tom Verducci!
Just to me seems to be a different situation if you have doctors saying that 160 innings is the most you should let him go before risking his arm holding up, and just having a 23 YO that happened to pitch 140 innings last year, and is up to 180 this year but in great shape and feeling fine. That 2nd guy gets to go in the playoffs.
Those other GMs are forgetting the Boras factor too (and laibility in general). If Rizzo ignored the medical advice and rode him like a rented mule, and his arm blew up, the wrath of hades would have come down upon the team. hades = Boras of course. You would not have the same exposure in the wheeler scenario.
The wrath of Hades, Hell freezing over, this is a very scary thread. Abandon all hope all ye who post here. lol
“Would the Mets do the same thing with Wheeler? well, of course I hope we have to find out. but I would guess they would find a way to keep him in play. ”
Wouldn’t that require Wheeler missing a year for TJS? I’ll pass.
no, that was in response to Joe’s what if scenario, that he is carrying them tot he playoffs and they would shut him down at an arbitrary innings count.
Ya, but that isn’t what is happening here. Strasburg missed a year due to surgery. The Nats consulted with several doctors to make this decision.
Smart-ish move to shut up him as the season was ending. Dumb move to leave him out of the playoffs. Should had shut him down until the last week or two to get some work in before the playoffs. Would be wonderful if they don’t make it to the playoffs for a long while (WHICH WOULD HOPEFULLY MEAN THAT THE METS ARE IN)
I’ve heard Rizzo is a real jerk. I wonder if that had more to do with some of those quotes than shutting down their future star with a surgically repaired elbow.
That comment about being back again was very arrogant and stupid, but let’s not pretend he didn’t build a really good, young team. Are you saying a guy who cashed in some highly rated prospects to land one of the top 3 Cy Young candidates isn’t trying to win? That fast tracking Harper and signing Jackson are not signs of someone trying to win?
What is funny is that for the last 2 years, when I called Rizzo an arrogant jerk, a lot of the people declaring fatwa against him today attacked me and called him a “real GM who wants his team to win”.
This has less to do with Strasburg and more to do with 1) Rizzo being a jerk and 2) someone not doing something out of the norm.
In my opinion, it was quite dumb to shut Strasburg down on a ‘what could happen’ type scenario. It’s not like he was pitching injured. And as Ronnie has so infamously said on the subject: ‘There Is No Book’.
As to trying to compare the Nats organization to the Mets organization and what our FO might do/not do in the same situation? How about we get there first before we try and predict that.
You have a chance to get into the playoffs, and do something special like win a World Series, you go for it. You go all-in. Last time I checked, the Expos/Nationals still haven’t won a World Series. Never take things like this for granted. There is no medical evidence that even proves that shutting down Strasburg was necessary. Not shutting him down doesn’t gaurantee the Nationals a title either, but there chances would have been greatly increased. This is definitely one of the stupidest decisions I have ever seen. I was surprised more opposition didn’t come about when this was first announced, but if the Nationals lose today this decision will live in infamy.
Was Strasburg supposed to help them score more than 2 runs a game? Jordan Zimmermann, who was actually a better pitcher this year, got run out of game game 2 in the 3rd inning.
Don’t you think their big free agent pitcher, their longest enured player and their entire offense crapping the bed has a little bit more to do with this than a newbie with a surgically repaired arm?
It’s easy to look at the situation now and say Strasburg doesn’t make a difference but I am referring to when the announcement was first made that they were shutting him down. It doesn’t matter to me if the Nationals go on to win the world series or not it still was a ridiculous decision. If they win the World Series without him, great, but now you just robbed a young man of maybe his only opportunity to be a part of that. Either way the decision doesn’t make sense because there still is no medical evidence supporting it. If you ask 100 doctors, 50 would tell you to shut him down and the other 50 would tell you to let him pitch.
“It’s easy to look at the situation now and say Strasburg doesn’t make a difference ”
Almost as easy as claiming Strasburg would guarantee them the series.
Who said it did? Not me…in fact I said “Not shutting him down doesn’t gaurantee the Nationals a title either, but their chances would have been greatly increased.”
What the heck ever happened to trying to win NOW? Future is not guaranteed to anyone. This year, as far as anyone knows, is their best shot to win it all. I too, hope they are done because of it.
I completely disagreed with the decision to shut down Strasburg, but Rizzo has done a great job working without him.
With Werth walking off, they force a Game 5 with Gio Gonzalez on the hill.
Nats could’ve already clinched. It was the Nats players themselves saying they would’ve been up 2-0 if Strasberg was there – take it up with them.
Oh, ya, that completely excuses the hitters for going into witness protection for 2 games.
Whatever happen to just going out there and playing?
What happened to rising to face adversity? To playing for pride?
Must be this new breed that needs to be coddled and assured by their front offices. How long until we institute team moms to dry their tears and tell them they are special?
hey Joe – I have some family ties to the Nats so if they win it all – I’ll get to try on their championship ring BUT I still am not rooting for them… but for different reasons.
The Nats made it painfully clear of their plan back in October 2011 and then again this spring. Everybody including Nats players are acting like this was such a shocking thing. As I pointed out in my LDS Preview today, Strasburg’s inning max was this year. He’s never thrown over 159 innings. So you can’t guarantee me that another perhaps 24 innings wouldn’t have totally gassed him.
Plus lets not forget one thing. When they shut him down, it was actually 1 start EARLY because he went out against Miami and gave Davey and Rizzo every reason to shut him down. He threw 3 innings, walked 3, allowed 6 hits and looked terrible.
I totally get the “you never know when you will get another chance,” but you also never know when you’ll get another shot at an ace like Strasburg can be. They CAN win without him. He’s not unhittable and he was NOT their best starter. You can make a serious argument that both Gio and Zimmerman were better or as good.
He’s not the first pitcher to ever be shut down.
The PLAN should have been to not pitch him in April or May. I can’t answer why he didn’t, but you can’t go back and change that right?
Bottom line, in this series they have scored 2.25 runs a game. Stephen Strasburg would have pitched 1 game by now…
And also please note, in Game 2 the Nats put Jordan Zimmerman 12-8 2.94 ERA. The fact an “anonymous” Nats player said if they had Strasburg they’d be up 2-0 is an absolute joke and a slap in Zimmerman’s face.
they would have gotten grief if they held him back and missed the playoffs by 1 game instead.
if healthy, and ready to go, they pretty much needed to use him. A team can’t plan their playoff rotation before the season starts (well, the Phillie fans were doing it, but they suck, so who cares?)
‘…well, the Phillie fans were doing it, but they suck, so who cares?’
+1
They had better make the playoffs next year and god help them should Strausburg get hurt anyway…
It will be a classic case of giving up the bird in the hand and getting to the bush to find the two you went after insted were gone…never there to begin with.
The only people who have the right to be upset with the decision to sit Strasburg down are the fans of the Nationals. The GM, Mike Rizzo realizes that this kid is the future of this team along with Bryce Harper and that he has already had an in jury that killed a season for him. The Nationals should be a contender for years to come and risking Strasburg’s career is of major concern as he does not have the greatest mechanics.
I applaud his decision to protect Strasburg and having the guts to stick by his convictions!
The other GM’s being mad? Ridiculous because they know they would never be able to get Strasburg from Washington as long as he is healthy!