Strasburg and the "Rebuilding" Nationals

Well...that didn't go as I expected...

I did intend to update yesterday but previous engagements got in the way. Looking back, maybe it's a good thing I didn't.

In the post yesterday, I was going to talk about Strasburg's debut. I was going to mention how in the past 10 first rounds of MLB draft, only 20 of the 300 players selected made it to an All-Star game. I was ALSO going to mention that only 2 of those were the first overall picks. Mix this with my explanation of the need for a farm system in baseball where prospects are groomed into hopeful potential backups let alone All Stars and the Nationals having what would appear to be a curse and what do you get? A prediction for an anticlimatic anticlimactic, 4 IP, 6 ER, 4K, 4BB performance from the "Phenom."

Where did I put that helpful button again?

I'm not going to sit here and praise him wildly (even though I saw fastballs dancing at 99 MPH and breaking stuff that defied things I thought were laws) because everyone and their mother is taking care of that already today and, frankly, that's really not what we're about here at WMBC. Therefore, I'm going to warn those vulnerable Nats fans with a little dose of premeditated curse action. Brace yourselves.

1) The book ain't out on the kid yet

Strasburg may have had some quality starts in the minors that allowed a scouting report on him, but there's something to be said about players getting used to their competitors. You'll see young batters come up and hit .400 until pitchers learn they chase high heat (it always looks so good!) and the same thing happens with pitchers. Once batters learn how his stuff moves, he may not be as dominant.

2) It's tough to throw 99 MPH for long

Ok, this is more of a long term issue, but you worry about the life of this kid's arm. The amount of force on pitchers' arms is freakish and unnatural. I know we live in the pitch count era but show me a Nats fan who isn't worried about Starsburg's arm falling apart and I'll show you a liar.

3) Frustration is a stinky cologne

Pitching is only one half of the equation. If Strasburg goes out and pitches a couple gems only giving up 2 runs in 7 or so innings and the Nats still are losing 2-0, 3-2, 4-2, things could get unfriendly in the clubhouse very quickly. 14 K's is great and all, but the Nats still rank 19th in the MLB in runs and 17th in OPS. I'm just saying...

Sorry Nats fans, but I'm not quick to call Strasburg the savior yet. He may have great stuff and what would appear to be a knack for making batters look silly, but is it good enough to break a curse? I'd say nay.

Then again, he DID make me look dumb yesterday too.