Strasburg
 

I think Washington is over-using him and he needs a rest.

After one start? He didn't look great against that power-packed Mets team, despite all his strikeouts.

I saw him pitch last Tuesday in spring training, his last start of the spring against the Mets. I was surprised when he came out and pitched the 6th inning. They did pull him after two batters, I'm assuming he was on a pitch count. Still I was surprised he pitched that long.

I posted the above during the early shelling. The game ended up being a very good one, other than having to listen to Mets announcers. Overall, a fun opening day - the Mariners looked fantastic other than some botched 3b coaching. It was weird seeing Logan Morrison slide gently into home, out by a mile, no bowling over of the catcher.

Hey Scott- you're only ten posts behind me. I've been # 2 for years, but you will pass me in a few days.:(

That's only because Scott posts about pointless things like the subject in this thread ;) He's a post hog!

Barry, you will always be #2 in my eyes ;)


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Thanks Mike, but I PMed Scott this morning and told him I will happily accept my upcoming #3 slot.

I was surprised to see him throw 100+ pitches in the opener. The team must feel good about him.

The GNats are trying to make up for year before last.

Regarding posts, I might be the only person in the forum who pretty much only posts here (and a few scattered posts in GUU), and barely does anything in Facebook or other forums, and don't even know how to use twitter. Plus I'm unemployed, and buy/sell this stuff for a living, kids are grown and gf is in the office all day.

I should actually be #1 by now.


You got two in one shot!!!

(See how I'm posting about multiple things at once, to help preserve Barry's status)


Edited March 3, PM

Sorry Barry, but it's happened :( I'll try to slow down over the weekend, but dammit - I've got stuff to say!!!!!!

Hope he has a great year. I bought him last night in our fantasy league. He went slightly cheaper than Wainwright and Wacha (the two most expensive pitchers). And if you haven't guessed, our league is based in St. Louis.

5 or so years ago he was the can't miss second coming of Walter Johnson and his manufactured-scarce rookie cards were going for obscene money. Now he is 29-20 coming off an 8-9 year with a major surgery on his resume.

I thought he was supposed to be the second coming of David Clyde?

His rookie card prices were so high a few years back that if he turned out to be the next Walter Johnson they would have gone down.

keep buying the new stuff omg lol:)

Strasburg is great, but it seems like a lot of pitchers anymore are soft...they need coddled and a lot of rest. Just don't make 'em like they used to :(

....

Yes, there was talk about him presenting Bryce Harper at their co-HOF induction.

Hahaha. A lot of these guys are so blown up and hyped up nowadays that the only place to go is down. Many of these guys are really good young developing players, but by the time the media gets a hold of them and shoves them down our throat, we're already tired of hearing about them. Sad how this internet and social media age has jaded everybody.

He got blasted last night, and his season ERA is 6.00. Maybe he will end up like Lincecum, occasionally brilliant but overall a middle of the pack pitcher.

How else do you fill up 24 hour programming. You have to babble about something.

This thread is so confusing to me. Even though he was only 8-9 last year he struck out almost 200 guys in just over 180 innings.

This year he is off to a slow start but has already struck out 42 in 27 innings while only walking 10. That's a 4:1 K to walk ratio.

He will be fine and will continue to be a dominating pitcher. He is 25 years old.

Summary: He has been over-hyped and, based on the initial hype, is under-producing.

If you say so. With a 100 more K's than innings pitched and nearly 100 fewer hits than innings pitched at 25 years old I'd say his career is off to a fine enough start.

Re-read the thread - pretty much everyone says so. That opinion extends to pretty much everyone who has an opinion on baseball.

What does that mean though. And what is under producing? The Nats had him on innings and pitch limits until last year. You can't look at an 8-9 record and say he was a disappointment. He made 30 starts and pitched well. He might not have won 20, but wins don't make you a good pitcher.

In your opinion, what would you say are expected stats for a 25 year old pitcher with only 2 full seasons of experience?

Are you saying that for the #1 pick the draft, and a supposed Superman at that, we should have average expectations similar to those we would have for any pitcher who is 25 and has only 2 seasons of experience?

Average? He was an All Star and won the Silver Slugger in his first full season. Then pitched well his second season despite a deceptive won/loss record. And is currently leading the league in strike outs per 9 innings. I think he's going to have a great year with more ahead of him. I wouldn't have any complaints if I were a Nationals fan.

Just FYI Dustin Ackley went #2 that year.

This is the question you asked me: "In your opinion, what would you say are expected stats for a 25 year old pitcher with only 2 full seasons of experience?"

Sounds like you were asking how an average player should perform. Strasburg is not average, and the expectations for him were not average.

But your last two responses have not been to my comments - they've been to stuff I haven't even been thinking. So I'll bow out of this and let you continue with your thoughts.

Pretty good game for him last night. Seven innings of shutout ball, with 11 strikeouts.

You said he's been under producing and not living up to hype. I said in his first full season he was an All Star and won the Silver Slugger. Then pitched very well the next season.

That's why I asked you what your expectations are.

Yep, great night. I think if he can do something similar consistently, a belated meeting of expectations would be fine with Washington.

How many #1 picks make the all star game?

It depends on how popular they are. That's what the all-star vote is - a popularity contest. If Mickey Mantle could be placed on today's ballot, he'd get in as a skeleton.

Very true. The all-star game/voting is a joke and for the most part, no one should ever reference an all-star as actually being worthy...because it's plain and simple a popularity contest.

Strasburg is a monster, but I think the problem is that he had way too much hype around him to actually reach that projected goal. There should never be too many expectations for anyone in their first year or two...just way too much to learn and adapt to. I think he could really quiet his skeptics this year and I hope he does!

Kind of like the Hall of Fame?

I still have no idea what you guys mean by under producing. All Star and Silver Slugger first full season. 3.00 ERA while striking out almost 9.5 batters per 9 innings his second full season.

Please tell me what more you expect from a guy. Please tell me how these are disappointing seasons.

I think you said the same thing in post #21, and we responded. If you don't understand our responses, I can only apologize for the lack of communication.

All you said was everyone agrees with you and he was over hyped and under produced. So tell me what you mean by under producing. You've given your opinion but you haven't said why you feel that way. There is no lack of understanding. I don't think you've responded.

...

That's your decision. I was simply trying to have a discussion with you. All you've done is dismiss any attempts I've made to engage you in a discussion and followed up with polemics. I would hardly call asking you to explain your point of view toxic.

I don't think he's been underperforming except insofar pitch counts, injury and a shutdown have limited his counting stats. His performance has been outstanding and barring those factors he'd likely have two straight 200 K seasons and possibly even a K title and a 20 win season. Even so he has been arguably the best #1 selected pitcher through his age 24 season (his only competition would be David Price who had a great age 24 season).

I could not agree more. Just for more context, only 5 pitchers who have been selected #1 in the last 48 years have gone on to appear in an All Star game. I know the All Star game was dismissed earlier but I do think it says something when you consider how few times it's happened.

I actually take all star selections for pitchers a little more seriously than for position players since they are chosen by the managers and coaches rather than by fan ballot.

Let me clarify my point. Most #1s make the majors but are not stars. Strasburg has not only made the majors but he has also has success in a relatively short period of time.

On a side note - I am bummed about having to watch Jeter in the ASG. I think it would make me uncomfortable to be there when I know I didn't earn the spot.