The Strasburg Injury

Pitchers are scary, especially the young ones. Major League managers, coaches, scouts, and front office personnel constantly remind themselves that nothing is ever certain with a pitcher. It could all come crashing down with one pitch. Fans are much less cautious, but they still hold back their excitement when it comes to pitchers. Once in a while, a guy comes along who makes everyone throw caution to the wind. This June, that guy arrived in the District of Columbia. His name is Stephen Strasburg, and he arrived being touted as the best pitching prospect in at least thirty years.

I’m one who never buys the hype. I don’t believe in any player until I see him/her with my own eyes. Rasheed Wallace was the national player of the year in high school, but when I saw him play, I thought he lacked the aggressiveness required to be a big-time player. Sports Illustrated called 11th-grade LeBron James the best high school basketball player ever; I did not believe until I saw him score his career high in Trenton against Trevor Ariza’s high school team. I saw Dwight Gooden early in the 1985 season and came away convinced I had just seen the best pitcher ever. For me, seeing isn’t believing, but in sports, there is no believing without seeing. As early as his last few starts at San Diego State, I wanted to see what this Strasburg kid was all about.

The only minor league games ESPN ever televises are the Futures all-star games held every July. This spring, however, the network televised the man’s first minor league start live. I shook my head. Who knew how good the kid would be. But Strasburg dominated that start. And most of his others. Strasburg started five times for AA Harrisburg. He went 3-1 and his ERA was 1.64. in 22 innings, he struck out 27 batters while walking only 6. When he moved up to AAA Syracuse, he was more dominant. In six starts at Syracuse, Strasburg went 4-1 with a 1.08 ERA, 38 strikeouts, and 7 walks in 33 ⅓ innings. It was clear the man was ready for the majors.

I’d been following Strasburg’s minor league starts and, since I was in the DC metro area, wanted to do all I could to witness his first start in person. As June neared, June 4 was rumored to be the date of Strasburg’s first big league start. Everyone had heard that rumor; by the time I bought tickets, the closest seats I could get were left field foul territory. Then I heard June 8, and bought tickets immediately. Twenty rows behind the visitors’ on deck circle. Great seats.

June 8 was the day. I’ll never forget it. It was a World Series atmosphere in a game between two last place teams. That is no hyperbole. Since coming to Washington in 2005, the Nationals have avoided last place only once. That was 2007, when they finished a meager two games out of last place. Nothing good has ever happened for the franchise. The team, the front office, and the fans knew that, in many ways, it was Strasburg or bust. The team and city needed him to be great. They needed the kid to deliver the goods. My wife and I arrived at Nationals Park a full two hours before first pitch. There was already a buzz around the stadium. We went in as soon as we picked up our tickets from Will Call and found the place already half full. It was electric. I’ve been to a World Series game, and June 8, 2010 really felt the same.

And in that first start…my goodness! By the second inning I was jumping up and down. By the third inning was hugging people I’d never seen before and would never see again. By the fourth inning I was hoarse. And by the fifth, I was shaking my wife so hard I’m sure I bruised her shoulders. By the time Strasburg’s night ended in the seventh inning, I wondered if the kid had been underhyped. 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (via a homerun off a 91mph changeup), 14 strikeouts, and no walks on 94 pitches in his first Major League game.

ESPN broadcast live from Nationals Park that day. There was a two-hour Baseball Tonight special before and after the game. The MLB Network broadcast the game live across the country. All for this one special pitcher who made a believer out of everyone who saw him pitch. All that pressure on him, and, boy, did he live up to it.

That guy does not come along too often.

And that’s what makes Strasburg’s ulnar collateral ligament tear so sad. I will not go so far as to call it tragic—too many guys have come back from Tommy John surgery—but it is very deflating. The kid can come back. He can have a great career. I fully expect him to be great when he pitches again in 2012. Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals had Tommy John surgery in 2007 then finished second in Cy Young Award voting last year and is 14-4 with a 2.93 ERA so far this year. Two of the other leading candidates for this year’s National League Cy Young, Tim Hudson and Josh Johnson, have also going through the Tommy John procedure. Carpenter underwent the procedure when he was 32 years old. Strasburg is only six weeks past his 22nd birthday.

Strasburg’s comeback is anything but a sure thing, but it is a probable thing. When he comes back, it won’t be the same feeling. He won’t be that 21-year old kid I saw on June 8, but he’ll still be special.

I can’t wait.

Need Some Get Back

When you wake up near the end of August two and a half games out of first place in your division and tied for the wild card, you feel pretty good about your chances to reach the postseason. But the playoffs are furthest thing from a shoo in. The Phillies were behind in the standings during August and September of 2007 and 2008. Each time, they battled back to win the National League East. Although they were in first place last year every day from May 29 through the end of the season, the Phillies’ current situation is very familiar to them.

The team cannot rely on the comebacks of two and three seasons ago. If the 2010 Phillies reach the playoffs, it will be because they found the wherewithal and perseverance to win games down the stretch. The 2007, 2008, and 2009 division champions could not be put away. Thus far, the current Phillies have shown the same thing. They have yet to display, however, the ability to take advantage of the openings their competitors are providing them.

The Phillies of recent past had a knack for getting the most out of every opportunity down the home stretch of the season. This season’s version will have to get that back. Yesterday showed that they don’t have it yet. In an afternoon game, Braves, the team the Phillies are chasing in the East, blew a 10-1 lead in Colorado. The Rockies won 12-10. At the same time, the Central Division-leading Reds built a 10-1 lead in San Francisco. The Giants began the day tied with the Phillies in the Wild Card standings. After a six-run eighth, the San Francisco took an 11-10 lead into the ninth inning. The Reds pulled off a comeback of their own and won 12-11 in extra inning. The events of the crazy afternoon gave the Phillies an opportunity to pick up a game on each of the teams fighting them for a postseason spot. With ace Roy Halladay headed to the mound to face a horrible team like the Astros, it seemed like a perfect scenario for the Phillies. Nope. The Astros won in Philly for the third consecutive day.

So far, it seems like the 2010 Phillies just don’t have it. But the rest of the National League is letting them hang around. This is the time for them to slay the two time defending league champions. If the Phillies are still in it on September 10, they just might get it back.