To Pitch, or Not to Pitch? That is the Strasburg Question

As September nears, the thoughts of real, dyed-in-the-wool baseball fans cannot help but drift to the pennant races.  With the additional wildcard team (which I hate but I will save that discussion for a later date) from each league making its debut in the forthcoming postseason, the chase for the playoff spots will involve more teams than ever.  And after last year’s September (which I would like to never discuss again) who knows what’s in store this year?

One thing that we know won’t be in store for September, or at least most of it, is Stephen Strasburg.  Strasburg, the third year phenom out of San Diego State, is in the midst of his first full season in the major leagues and is two years removed from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery; also known as Tommy John.  In an effort to protect the investment of the franchise and their franchise-building starter, Washington Nationals general manager, Mike Rizzo, is going to pull the plug on Strasburg’s season at some point in early September.

That probably sounded like a great idea back in February when pitchers reported to spring training.  The Washington Nationals have been nothing but lackluster since moving to D.C. in 2005.  Let’s not forget where they came from, either.  Does anyone remember the Montreal Expos?  But now, in mid-August, the idea can only seem unfathomable.

The Nationals have the best record in baseball (77-46) and are on pace to win 101 games for the season.  To put that in perspective, the franchise record came in 1979 with 95 wins and since being in the nation’s capital, they have only averaged 70 wins a season.  The only time the Nationals/Expos have ever won a division was in the strike-shortened season of 1981 where MLB came up with a harebrained idea to declare a division champ for each half of the season and have them play in a first round playoff matchup.  Because of this, the teams with the second (Expos) and third (Cardinals) overall best records were allowed to play for a chance to go to the League Championship Series.  (The Cardinals were 59-43, two games better than Montreal and got sent to the house.)

The only time the Expos ever had a legitimate contender was in 1994; another strike-shortened season.  This time, though, the strike ended the season and there were no playoffs.  When play stopped in mid-August of that year, Montreal had a six game lead on Atlanta.  In other words, the best team in franchise history has nothing to show for their feat. 

What I am getting at here is that this franchise has been one of the most undecorated in professional sports.  The opportunities to play for championships do not come along often for some teams and they should not be taken for granted.  Just because you have great, young talent now doesn’t mean you will for long.  The Nationals/Expos have been around since 1969 and have never played for a World Series so they should understand this fact.

Stephen Strasburg is 15-5 this season with a 2.85 ERA and is leading the National League in strikeouts.  Ask him if he wants to watch his teammates clinch a division championship.  Ask him if he wants to be inactive as his teammates battle to obtain a world championship.  He has already stated that “they’re gonna have to rip the ball out of my hands”.  He understands these opportunities are precious and he wants to be a part of it. 

And speaking of his teammates, don’t you think it is unfair to them to shut down a dominate starter this close to the postseason?  Anyone who knows anything about postseason baseball will tell you that come October you need dominant arms.  So how much sense would it make to take one of the most dominant in baseball and put him on the shelf?

Look, I understand where Mike Rizzo is coming from and I understand it is his team (as he has been so kind to point out to all detractors) and I applaud that he is sticking to his guns, but the game is played at the professional level to win championships.  Lifelong Expos/Nationals fans (is there such a thing?) deserve to go through the stretch run and through the playoffs with their phenomenal young ace going toe-to-toe with the best the other teams have to offer. 

It seems to me that if the Nationals were intent on limiting his number of innings and pitches thrown, they could have compensated for it better throughout the season.  Why couldn’t Strasburg have gone through extended spring training and joined the big club in early to mid-May?  Doing so would have allowed manager Davey Johnson to have his ace through the final weeks of the pennant race as well as through the month of October.  Or, they could have had him skip a turn in the rotation every third time through.  Still another option would have been to start the season with Strasburg in the bullpen; especially since last year’s closer was starting the season on the disabled list.  A power arm like his would have been nice to have pitching in the ninth inning.

As a die hard Braves nut, it won’t hurt my feelings to see the Nationals shut down Strasburg but for a baseball purist who loves the game, I cannot make sense of this decision.  I know you want to keep him healthy for a long time but if he is not hurting now, why assume that he will be?  

I am all for player safety in any sport but when you are pulling a guy for fear of him getting hurt instead of him actually being hurt, what are you accomplishing?  The bottom line is that trying to leave the training wheels on Strasburg may end up hurting in the long run.  I’m not talking from a physical standpoint, either.  What are you telling your fans?  What are you telling your players?  If I was a free agent in the coming offseason, I would look at the Nationals and say, “I’m not going there.  They aren’t trying to win.”

At this point, though, Rizzo has no choice but to shut Strasburg down since he has been talking about it since February.  So as we sit at home and watch the playoffs (and Strasburg sits on the bench and does the same), we will see how this move plays out.  If it works, great.  If not, great.  After all, the Washington Nationals are not my team; they’re Mike Rizzo’s.