Stephen Strasburg - Page 6

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnL 

 

I'm not feeling the same love for that lineup as you are. Posey is clearly one of the top sluggers in baseball, but I'm not all that impressed with Sandoval and Pence. Maybe because they haven't put it all together for an extended period. When they're on, they're clearly on. If Cabrera continues at the same hot pace for the rest of the year, I'd have to put him in the top hitter category. I'm still a *bit* on the fence whether he's finally come into his own as a hitter since the past 1.5 years are so much better than the rest of his career. But I guess that's a pretty long period. Scutaro is a stretch, IMHO.

 

Heh.  I couldn't resist quoting this.  Like I said back in July, I thought the Giant's acquisition of Scutaro was pretty underrated at the time.

Congrats on the comebacks. Scutaro had the 7 games of his life and he picked the right time to do it.

But he is still a career .276 AVG and .731 OPS hitter.

7 games of his life?  Scutaro has been red hot for the past few months.  He had more hits in the second half than any other player in baseball.

I'm a little late to the party, but nice to see some fellow Nat fans here.  I think my board name is pretty self-explanatory for any Nat fan or DC resident!

That being said, I am a HUGE diehard DC sports fan, especially of the Nats.  Born and raised in the DC area.  I fully supported the Strasburg shutdown.  I want a decade of dominance, not a single season run.

I am perhaps most excited about DC becoming the great baseball town that it always SHOULD have been.  We've had more than our share of bad luck, but I feel it's changed.  Take away the northeast cities, Chicago,  St Louis and maybe LA, and DC will be right behind them. All it will take is a sustained winner and a WS run.  We just need people to get a taste of what that is like.  The kids will grow up going to games with their dad and friends, the bonds and memories will be engrained and become permanent.  I could see the Nats rivaling the Skins someday.

The good news?  2013 might be the year!

I saw that stat recently that Strasburg has never pitched into the 8th inning - not once.  That should be a major concern.  I fear he's been mishandled from the very beginning.

BTW, for all of the acclaim that Strasburg gets (and he is fun to watch), I'm always surprised Madison Bumgarner on SF doesn't get talked about more in the same conversation of young pitching phenoms.  He's actually younger than Strasburg (doesn't turn 24 until August) and has already pitched shut-outs in 2 different world series games.

Speak of the devil, just came across this: http://sportsjerks.net/2013/05/16/underrated-arm-madison-bumgarner/

^^ No, of course not.  Not complaining one bit.  I do have to say, I was relieved the Giants didn't have to play the Nationals during the playoffs last year.  They'll be scary again this year and if I had to pick a team to make the WS out of the NL this season it would be them, as I'm sure Strasburg will straighten things out.  Secondary to my own team, I'll be cheering for them.  SF will likely make the playoffs and lose, as it's pretty tough to repeat much less win 3 out of 4 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayT 

I saw that stat recently that Strasburg has never pitched into the 8th inning - not once.  That should be a major concern.  I fear he's been mishandled from the very beginning.

 

BTW, for all of the acclaim that Strasburg gets (and he is fun to watch), I'm always surprised Madison Bumgarner on SF doesn't get talked about more in the same conversation of young pitching phenoms.  He's actually younger than Strasburg (doesn't turn 24 until August) and has already pitched shut-outs in 2 different world series games.

 

Speak of the devil, just came across this: http://sportsjerks.net/2013/05/16/underrated-arm-madison-bumgarner/

What do Strausburg and Baumgartner have in common? Probably being two of the most misspelled names in baseball.

Why does SS get a lot of the national press?

• He was drafted number 1 overall
• He is a Borass client
• The over-hyped controversy over the shutdown which (cough - cough) a Giants fan helped contribute to.

Bumgarner (correct spelling?) is an absolute stud; I've known that for about three years now. During I think his rookie year he pitched a whale of a game against the Nats on a Sunday in DC. That was an impressive game. Dude has some impressive stuff.

Being a Nats fan, I've always laughed a bit over the SS hype. He's got great stuff, but he is right now no where near an ace. (Hope he does turn into one.) Last year (until the playoffs), Gio Gonzalez was the Nats ace. This year, it's been JZimm.

High pitch counts. Way too high. Not willing to trust his stuff and pitch to contact when he should. He can be too much of a perfectionist and nibble at the corners way too much, even against weak hitters.

At any rate, the restrictions are off Strasburg this year, so let's see how he does. At this point, it's mostly mental for him.

As for how the Nats have handled young pitchers, Jordan Zimmerman is a text book case of how to do it right. He's been one year ahead of Strasburg and setting tough steps to follow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnL 

• The over-hyped controversy over the shutdown which (cough - cough) a Giants fan helped contribute to.

I must have missed this.  What's the story there?

Anyway, I do legitimately wish you Nat's fans the best this season.  I think you've got a good shot at a championship.  That game 7 against the Cards last year was brutal.