Comments on: I Hope The Nationals Go Down In Flames For Shutting Down Strasburg

By: alan

alan — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:08:54 +0000

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!

By: Donal

Donal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:34:17 +0000

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.

By: srt

srt — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:17:00 +0000

‘…well, the Phillie fans were doing it, but they suck, so who cares?’

By: Mitch Petanick

Mitch Petanick — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:11:59 +0000

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.”

By: Stick

Stick — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:10:30 +0000

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?)

By: Donal

Donal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:10:26 +0000

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?

By: Donal

Donal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:05:55 +0000

“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.

By: Stick

Stick — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:55:41 +0000

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.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:05:25 +0000

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.

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:23:54 +0000

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.

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:22:16 +0000

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…

By: Bayonne Mets Fan

Bayonne Mets Fan — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:21:38 +0000

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.

By: Clayton Collier

Clayton Collier — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:08:19 +0000

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.

By: mitch petanick

mitch petanick — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:07:25 +0000

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.

By: Phoenix Met

Phoenix Met — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:03:15 +0000

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.

By: Donal

Donal — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:40:01 +0000

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?

By: Mitch Petanick

Mitch Petanick — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:25:35 +0000

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.

By: srt

srt — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:23:51 +0000

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.

By: Donal

Donal — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:51:18 +0000

“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.

By: Donal

Donal — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:50:12 +0000

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.