On This Date...

...in 1917, Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched complete games in both games of a doubleheader, defeating the Dodgers 5-0 and 9-3.

When asked about the recent news regarding Stephen Strasburg, "the Cleve" said, "What a sissy!  Back in my day, we just called that [a torn tendon] 'fatigue.'  If only Rob Dibble was around to show that kid the ropes."

Strasburg Can't Suck It Up, Dibs

In response to Rob Dibble's relentless badgering about playing through the pain, Stephen Strasburg is going to be shut down for the rest of the season.... and most of 2011, with Tommy John surgery.  Turns out that strained flexor tendon is a lot worse than initially thought.  That cry you heard in Washington, D.C. was not the petty arguments going back and forth across the aisle on Capitol Hill, it was both of the Nationals' fans realizing that 2010 and 2011 would be wasted years.... again....

Pretty soon, we may be seeing Strasburg on the Mark Prior/Kip Wells comeback trail.

Dibs Hates Strasburg

Rob Dibble, former MLB pitcher and current talking head on MLB Network Radio, blasted Steven Strasburg for skipping a start following a twinge in his throwing arm.  In case you haven't heard....

During the fifth inning of a game against the Phillies, Strasburg threw a pitch and afterwards was seen shaking his throwing arm.  Turns out, he strained the flexor tendon in his right arm - not a serious injury (he was seen playing catch with teammates the next day), but not something that you take lightly with a man who you are paying $14 billion dollars per pitch.

Now that you have the back story, click here and check out Deadspin's Barry Petchesky's point-counterpoint article.  Great stuff.

Strasburg All Star?

One of the big discussions coming up on the eve of the All Star game announcement on Sunday is whether or not Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg deserves to be in the All Star game.  Let me make this simple for you: No, he doesn't.

Here are some of the reasons why he doesn't belong:
1) People are saying, "It's what the fans want."  Really?  Is it what the fans want?  The fans vote on the starters, and that's it.  They can get all the undeserving starters into the game they want, but they don't have any business talking about what pitchers belong in the game because they don't get a say.  And another thing... fans are do-do heads.

2) He's pitched in a grand total of 5 games this season.  FIVE GAMES!!!  Yes, he has 48 strikeouts so far.  That's good enough to put him at 129th in baseball, just a touch ahead of Ross Ohlendorf.  That is not a typo.  Did I mention that he's only played in 5 games this season?  Do you know who else has pitched in 5 games this season?  Dontrelle Willis.  Justin Duchscherer (who, by the way, has a better record than Strasburg).  Brad Lincoln.  Not exactly the starting staff that you'd like to have at this point in the season.

3) Need I remind you about what a disappointment he has been this season?  Strasburg Sucks!

Strasburg Sucks

In his second game as a major league pitcher for the Washington Nationals, highly touted phenom Stephen Strasburg sucked, but still managed to get the win.  Just a few days after 14 K's and no walks against the Pirates, Strasburg was forced to face slightly less pathetic competition in the Cleveland Indians... slightly less pathetic.  And the results were not as stellar.

Strasburg left with a 6-1 lead, but the bases were loaded, and he walked 5 of the last 12 batters he faced.  Strasburg also managed to give up a solo shot to Travis Hafner.  *Side news flash* Travis Hafner still plays major league baseball for the Indians. *End of side news flash*

Strasburg has officially been declared a "stopper" for his gutsy effort against the Indians to stop a 2 game losing streak.  Of course, let's not forget... THE NATIONALS SCORED 9 RUNS!!!!  Generally speaking, if you score 9 runs, you're going to win, regardless of who is on the mound.  Nevertheless, let's not let the facts get in the way of the truth.  Truth is, Strasburg is Gibson, Koufax, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson all rolled into one Cy Young winning machine.  We are at the beginning of history.  Strasburg will win 14 straight Cy Young awards in 12 seasons, strike out 439,250 helpless batters and have a lifetime ERA of 0.03.  At least that's what we should believe from all the press.

Strasburg Debut

Stephen Strasburg is making his Major League debut tonight, nearly one year after the Nationals picked him #1 overall out of San Diego State. People haven't been this curious as to how a guy is going to pitch since Jim Abbott made his debut for the California Angels in 1989.

When asked about rushing the young prospect to the majors, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said*, "Let's face it - we're the Nationals. We don't exactly have a window of opportunity here. In fact, all the windows in our offices have bars on them so employees aren't tempted to jump out. We figure that in a few years, this kid is going to jump ship and head to the Yankees, but not before bleeding us dry during his arbitration years. Our best bet at this point is to capitalize on his popularity before people actually see him pitch with the defense that we throw out there with him each night."

Pitching coach, Steve McCatty said*, "We have a plan in place for Strasburg, and have had it since day one. We're going to rush him to the majors, and wear out his arm before he has a chance to bail on us. We decided that pitting him against the Pirates would be his best shot since he can't pitch against us."

The Pittsburgh Pirates, widely regarded as a major league affiliate to good teams, were completely oblivious to the fact that they were going to be on national television for Strasburg's debut. When asked, a team spokesman said*, "What's that mean?"

*These may or may not have been the exact words used.