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Stephen Strasburg - Page 2

post #31 of 163
9/7/11 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 

Strasburg was beautiful last night.  I was at the game.  Five scoreless innings and looked very dominating.  HE'S BACK!ski.gif

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/stephen-strasburg-looks-like-old-self-in-return-to-washington-nationals/2011/09/06/gIQA41Dz7J_story.html

 

Now if we can just get the rest of the Nationals to UP their game.

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post #32 of 163
9/11/11 at 9:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayT View Post

I hate to be a downer, but until he changes his mechanics and gets his elbow below the shoulder level, he's going to continue to have arm problems.  This is why a little guy like Tim Lincecum has stayed healthy despite heavy workloads and a big stud like Strasburg already had surgery.  Five years from now you won't see any pitching prospects with the raised elbow release, I'm guessing.

 

I sincerely hope Strasburg can make the change and still be as effective, because he's definitely fun to watch.

 

Didn't Satchel Page pitch till he was 50 with his elbow above shoulder? I thought there are plenty of pitchers today who throw the same mechanics as Stras and have been very consistent. Not sure that him having TJ proves anything ... I thought over 50% of allstar pitching the last few years have had TJ. And that once healed the new ligament is actually stronger and less likely to be re-injured.

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post #33 of 163
9/12/11 at 8:58am

Not saying it's not possible to succeed pitching that way - and there are always exceptions - but the odds are in your favor if you don't.

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post #34 of 163
9/12/11 at 9:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tromano View Post

 

Didn't Satchel Page pitch till he was 50 with his elbow above shoulder? I thought there are plenty of pitchers today who throw the same mechanics as Stras and have been very consistent. Not sure that him having TJ proves anything ... I thought over 50% of allstar pitching the last few years have had TJ. And that once healed the new ligament is actually stronger and less likely to be re-injured.


For every Satchel Paige there's a dozen Kerry Wood's and Mark Priors.
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post #35 of 163
9/22/11 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 

The Nationals do a rookie hazing thing before the last road trip of every season.  Strasburg missed this event last year due to the arm injury so they made him participate this year.  All were required to dress and leave the ballpark as Smurfs.  Stras is the Papa Smurf with abs.  The curvaceous Smurfette is excellent young catcher Wilson Ramos, who could be his battery mate for years to come. 

smurf.jpg

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post #36 of 163
9/29/11 at 7:17am
Thread Starter 

Look out, this portends good things in 2012.  Davey Johnson wants to come back and manage next year too.  Some of you have MLB teams to follow into the playoffs, but we're done and for me this enough baseball.  Now it's time to start concentrating on ski swaps, wax jobs, and snowflakes!

 

Nationals wound up 80-81 for the season.  In final game yesterday Strasburg struck out 10 in six scoreless innings in the Nationals’ 3-1 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Strasburg retired the final 13 batters he faced and struck out eight of those. At one point, Strasburg struck out eight of nine hitters, reaching 99 miles per hour with his fastball. Only a flared single to shallow left field by Gaby Sanchez with two outs in the second inning prevented Strasburg from a chance at a no-hitter.

 In five starts this season, Strasburg posted a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings, striking out 24 and walking only two. He has adopted a new approach of trying to induce weak contact, focusing more on precision than power. However, the power's still something to behold and Wednesday afternoon he had his highest strikeout total since his unforgettable June 2010 debut.  Strasburg commented after the game, “I think right now, I’m pretty much done with the rehab. Now it’s healthy going into the offseason. I’ll be ready to go in spring training.”

Improved command allowed for more strikeouts. More important for Strasburg, he recaptured the ability to throw his curveball for strikes. Strasburg had been searching for the pitch all month. Wednesday, he threw 11 of 16 for a strike, including the strikeout pitch that buckled Marlins slugger Mike Stanton.

 

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post #37 of 163
5/4/12 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 

The Phillies are coming to town tonight against the Nationals.  Strasburg is pitching.  He's 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA.  It's Strasmas and the musical accompaniment is a young Harp player.  There's a 50% chance of strong storms around game time, but I think I'm going to the game.  We need to take back the park from the traveling Philly Phanatics. smile.gif

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post #38 of 163
5/4/12 at 7:49am

The Phil's need to get their heads out of their a$$es and start playing like they are capable of...I will say the Nats are killing it. 

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post #39 of 163
5/4/12 at 8:02am

Nats hitters (and closers) are dropping like flies, so they've needed every bit of the outstanding starting pitching they've gotten this year. Michael Morse, Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Delerosa, and now Adam LaRoche has pulled up lame. (With Chris Marrero still out from an off-season injury.) Thank god for Harper. Plus the bullpen sure misses Storen and Lidge.

 

I think Jordan Zimmerman is every bit as good as Strasburg, if not a bit better.

 

Looks like the Nats will not face Doc H. this series. I assume he's healthy (unlike Lee)? Phils have been pretty banged up also. Kick the Phils as much as possible when they are down...

 

I'll be at tonight's game on a company event. icon14.gif
 

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post #40 of 163
5/4/12 at 10:11am

Crap, LaRoche now out for 2-3 games. Nats are without their 3, 4 and 5 hitters.

 

Good news is that T-storms have already passed through, so mebbe less chance for game-time T-storms?
 

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post #41 of 163
5/5/12 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 

Washington Post:  The Nats were acutely aware that the team’s marketing slogan, while ultimately helpful, also had the potential to backfire. “We almost had to win tonight,” said reliever Drew Storen, reduced to bench jockeying while still on the disabled list. “You get that turnout after kind of a controversial marketing campaign, you have to play to back it up.”

 

 

I saw the Nats beat the Phillies last night in DC.  Strasburg was not at his best, but an off night for him is three earned runs.  Young Bryce Harper went 0-3, but made a contribution with three walks.  I saw enough to note that he’s got tremendous bat speed and tons of hustle.  The Nats came back and won the game in the 11th inning in a nice team effort.  They beat the Phillies again today.  The Philly fans were at both games in big numbers.  I tip my hat to their devotion to their team.  

 

Talked to a couple of older Phillies fans and they were well aware of the media coverage in DC this week about the need for Nats fans to “take back the park”.  And we did, but the Phanatics were still a strong presence.  There is a rivalry developing between these two teams that is becoming pretty intense now that the Nats are fielding a decent team.  Fun stuff. 

The Caps won today too.  Pro sports is on the ascent in DC, finally.

 

Shot of the ballpark I took from the cheap seats:

DC Spring 2012 047.jpg

 

Bonus DC shot taken about a month ago when the Cherry Blossoms were at peak:

Copy of DC Spring 2012 002.jpg

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post #42 of 163
5/5/12 at 7:00pm
Quote:

Shot of the ballpark I took from the cheap seats:

DC Spring 2012 047.jpg

 

Very nice pic Jim. I wonder how much longer the view of the Capitol will remain given the planned development in the area around the ballpark.

 

 

Quote:
Talked to a couple of older Phillies fans

 

You speak Neanderthal? duck.gif

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post #43 of 163
5/6/12 at 6:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnL View Post

 

You speak Neanderthal? duck.gif

tongue.gif

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post #44 of 163
5/6/12 at 12:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnL View Post

Quote:

Shot of the ballpark I took from the cheap seats:

DC Spring 2012 047.jpg

 

Very nice pic Jim. I wonder how much longer the view of the Capitol will remain given the planned development in the area around the ballpark.

 

 

Quote:
Talked to a couple of older Phillies fans

 

You speak Neanderthal? duck.gif

Philly fans speak that sophisticated of a language? 

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post #45 of 163
5/22/12 at 6:52pm

Philly fans speaking quiet. Nats getting some well-deserved payback after the past five years or so.
 

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post #46 of 163
5/22/12 at 7:21pm
The Nats are playing well. The Phils, not so much. Check the calendar though, there's a long way to go. wink.gif
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post #47 of 163
5/23/12 at 5:21am

Check the age of your players, they don't have a long way to go before they get put out to pasture. wink.gif

 

Braves are the team to beat in the NL East this year. Nats are a year or so behind them.
 

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post #48 of 163
5/23/12 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 

Since last posting in this thread I saw Strasburg pitch again on May 15 against Padres.  He took a loss, it was the "hot stuff" game.  Saw Harper homer in that game. Strasburg followed that with a winning outing on May 20th against the Orioles. He had a homer against the O's to help his cause and it raised his batting average to .375.  If, God forbid, he blows his arm out again he may have a future as a designated hitter.eek.gif

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post #49 of 163
5/23/12 at 9:48am

Has Strasburg fixed his mechanics yet?  If not, it's only a matter of time...

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post #50 of 163
5/23/12 at 2:45pm
The Braves haven't shown they can finish either. I'll take your Nats over the Braves because less is expected from them.
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post #51 of 163
5/23/12 at 7:57pm
Quote:
Has Strasburg fixed his mechanics yet?  If not, it's only a matter of time...

 

They said the same thing about Walter Johnson.

 

I'll give Strasburg better odds than Lincecum.
 

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post #52 of 163
5/23/12 at 8:09pm
Quote:
The Braves haven't shown they can finish either. I'll take your Nats over the Braves because less is expected from them.

 

Only a bit less expected. Seems like the Nats were the popular long shot NL wildcard pick for a lot of prognosticators.

 

They definitely have to get some of their hitters healthy, otherwise, they could sink quickly despite their pitching. The return of a healthy/productive Morse and an injury-free Zimmerman would do wonders. Believe it or not, W$rth was a big loss.  He was coming close to earning his money this year. If he can return, that would help out down the stretch.

 

Ramos (C) was also big loss. Nats may be one of the few teams with worse injury problems than the Phils.

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post #53 of 163
5/24/12 at 8:47am

Lincecum already has 2 Cy Young awards and a World Series ring.  Strasburg has 1 tommy john surgery.  So he certainly has a lot of catching up to do.  As far as mechanics go, Lincecum's have already proven to be more reliable than Strasburg's (duh), so not sure what you're talking about anyway.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnL View Post

 

They said the same thing about Walter Johnson.

 

I'll give Strasburg better odds than Lincecum.
 

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post #54 of 163
5/26/12 at 5:42pm
Quote:
As far as mechanics go, Lincecum's have already proven to be more reliable than Strasburg's (duh), so not sure what you're talking about anyway.

 

If you think Lincecum has good mechanics, you are seriously wacked. He's had four great years. But he's 2-5 this year, with a 6.41 ERA. He may defy the odds, but I seriously doubt it.

 

Plenty of pitchers with good mechanics have undergone Tommy John surgery. Jordan Zimmerman of the Nats is a prime example. Most pitchers come back stronger after the TJ surgery; so much so that some high school pitchers are choosing to have the surgery even with healthy elbows. That's pretty sick, but a sign of the times.

 

If a pitcher hurts their shoulder, than you have to be seriously concerned.

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post #55 of 163
5/27/12 at 8:24pm
Quote:
The Braves haven't shown they can finish either. I'll take your Nats over the Braves because less is expected from them.

 

Nats are real young and mostly untested, so a collapse would not be unexpected.

 

That said, they are the best team in the NL East right now, and one of the best in baseball. They are doing it without two of their top four hitters and their starter catcher. Plus their top two closers and three key bench players. They are 6-3 on their 33 game brutal march through the NL and AL East divisions. If it sounds like I'm starting to be impressed, I am.

 

Strasburg is the Nats number three starter, not their ace.

 

I don't know how long they can keep this pace up, but I'm enjoying the ride. But with the pitching they have, they'll be in it, even if they don't win it. As Scott said, it's a long season.

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post #56 of 163
5/28/12 at 6:45pm
Wow, I just noticed the Braves have lost 8 in a row. Obviously, that won't last forever. But I just don't believe they're winners. I don't understand at all how the Mets continue to hang around. Hopefully someone drops off soon...I don't think I can take all 5 division teams within 5 games for too long.
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post #57 of 163
5/29/12 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnL View Post

 

If you think Lincecum has good mechanics, you are seriously wacked. He's had four great years. But he's 2-5 this year, with a 6.41 ERA. He may defy the odds, but I seriously doubt it.

 

Plenty of pitchers with good mechanics have undergone Tommy John surgery. Jordan Zimmerman of the Nats is a prime example. Most pitchers come back stronger after the TJ surgery; so much so that some high school pitchers are choosing to have the surgery even with healthy elbows. That's pretty sick, but a sign of the times.

 

If a pitcher hurts their shoulder, than you have to be seriously concerned.

 

Read what I wrote.  I said his mechanics have already proven to be more reliable than Strasburg's.  Don't be such a homer - this is obvious.

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post #58 of 163
5/29/12 at 6:47pm
Quote:
I don't understand at all how the Mets continue to hang around.

 

Seeing the Nats host the Mets next week for two games. Family (some Mets fans) are heading into town. It will be an important series but despite that, we'll be having some serious Virginia patio fun.
 

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post #59 of 163
6/1/12 at 6:59pm

How bout those Mets tonight? 

 

yahoo.gif

 

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post #60 of 163
6/1/12 at 7:06pm

It will take a few more no-hitters before Santana earns his contract.
 

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