I write this with great caution. There are actually some on this blog who take some satisfaction from what I'm about to write about.....Some who have made fun of me......Some who will have "smart" remarks to my comments......But I do it anyway.
I just heard the news...Stephen Strasburg is not only "shut down" for the rest of the season, but has been diagnosed with a torn tendon and "MAY" require "Tommy John" surgery. Wow! What a blow to the Nationals organization and to the potential career of a young man.
Strasburg may be a jerk if you meet him in person.....but so far there have been no reports of jerk behavior or of illegal behavior or drug use. Tony Gwynn, his former San Diego St coach and MLB Hall of Famer, has never had anything but goo things to say about Strasburg. And Gwynn has the reputation of one of the best liked men in baseball. Many thought it was appropriate that Gwynn and Cal Ripken were inducted into the HOF at the same time because of their reputations.
With that said, he, nor any young man, deserve this turn of fate. I have watched him pitch and he was the best looking young prospect I've seen pitch. Mark Prior couldn't hold his jock. Kerry Wood had the speed, but not the menu of pitches.
Why did this happen? The Nationals did everything along the way to coddle the guy. They never let him be overused in the minors nor in the majors....Maybe he threw too many breaking pitches? When you throw 95-99 why not move the heater around? Maybe it's the modern school of thought regarding pitch counts, days of rest, etc... Only in recent years have pitchers been cut off at 100 pitches.... If you listen to some old timers they actually think this school of thought hurts the physicality of a pitcher. There are tons of stories of a guy throwing 160 pitches in a game.......hell, Walter Johnson actually pitched BOTH games of a doubleheader! Jim Palmer regularly threw more than 120 pitches a game....in 1975 Palmer was 23-11 with a 2.09 era....AND out of 38 starts he had 25 COMPLETE GAMES and pitched in another game and got a save! He also pitched 323 innings! I think he had a pretty good career and a long one...
OK, I'm done.....go ahead throw what you got at me......
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WOOOOOO!!! Easy big fella! U r crazy if u think Prior can't hold Stevie's jock. Prior had as much if not more potential than Stevie ever will have. I will admit that I have watched a lot more Nats games this year. I have been rooting for and have watched every game that Strasburg has pitched this year. I hope he will be ok, but with a lot of power pitchers, they can't stay healthy. Like Wood and Prior, this could be the last we hear of Strasburg. Sorry Fritz.
ReplyDeleteSorry Fritz, I know you have gone through a box of tissues this morning once you heard the news. I hate to say I told you so on this one, but I did. Now you will have to wait almost two years till your man crush returns to the mound. I don't blame the Nationals in the way they handle him but maybe and I feel no remorse for Stephen because this is part of the game and these guys nbo it, thats why all the deals for high draft picks get done right before midnight every August 16 because they get as much money as they can because stuff like this happens.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delayed response, I was out lowering my flag to half-mast in mourning of Fritz's boyfriend. While this is a significant injury and a major setback for the organization, let's keep it in context. This surgery has progressed throughout recent years to the point where many pitchers actually come back stronger afterwards. It is not like we are dealing with shoulder issues (frank), which is the ultimate career ender for a pitcher. But lets be real here, throwing as hard as Strasburg does is just not a natural thing for a human, so injury will always be in his forecast.
ReplyDeletePS-Fritz, there's always room in the stands for you back in Baltimore. C'mon back over to the good guys, as now the Natinals hype balloon has been permanently burst. And here's a bold prediction as well...Bryce Harper will be a solid BUST...He swings too hard to not strike out a thousand times a year.
Trash talking over the Nationals and Orioles??? Can't wait for the NFL to start to rip each other over the Lions and the Browns.
ReplyDeleteI had a long week of work and missed responding to some of the recent comments. (except for Fritz's car show experience). So I will take the time to respond to some of the posts.
1) Stephen Strasburg... As you probably already know, I don't follow baseball that much. I did watch SS first game and was quite impressed. Exciting to see someone throw the way he does (did). I will have to disagree with the reason he is injured is because he throws so hard. I'm sure there are guys who throw in the 80s that have blown out their arms. Nolan Ryan threw gas until her was 44 with no major injuries. I hope he recovers.
2) Roger Clemens... maybe Roger is holding out til November to see if Congress will give him 20 million to testify for 2 hours. It worked with the Astros.
3) Orioles... Just quit!!!
4) NFL 18 games.... I think they should expand the season to 52 weeks with the last 4 weeks being the playoffs and Superbowl. Eliminate the NBA, MLB, and the NHL. Play games everyday of the week, except Saturday. Don't want to interfere with College Football.
5) Bret Favre... My wish is that the Vikings go 16-0, sweep the playoffs and get to the Superbowl. 4th quarter, 1 minute to go, 1st and goal from the one, Vikings down by 4. AP gets stuffed on four plays from the 1 yd line. 4th down Favre drops back, time expires, throws a pic to end the game. That's my Christmas wish this year.
6) FIGJAM... Really Mass??? More Talented than Tiger??? I give Phil 2 things... He is very intelligent and he is a conceded prick asshole. No wonder his peers vote him one of the most disliked people on the PGA tour each year. You would think that as intelligent as Phil is, he would of figured it out over the past 19 years. You blame his poor driving on why he isn't the best? He drives the ball a lot better than Tiger yet he has less than half the wins and 10 less majors. Maybe he just isn't as talented. He has had 19 years to show us what he has, which is second best.
Gotta go... baby wants some italian ice!!!
Hello everyone i am sitting here watching a high school football game where its turning into a blowout. I mention this because even though it is a High School game it is officially the start of real football.
ReplyDeleteI will not pile onto Fritz with SS being hurt and his new favorite team losing the star they hitched their wagon to. I feel even worse for Zimmerman and Dunn now. Its not throwing to hard its how he throws it to hard.
Roger Clemens - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Just admit you did it and take it like a man. Look at all the guys who finally said yea i juiced up. Arod, Roberts, Canseco, hell even McGwire said he did. And how often is it talked about with those guys, not very. Now look at Sosa, Palmerio, Bonds, Clemens, they keep denying it and people keep bashing them.
Orioles- Got nothing to argue just waiting for football and next year for the O's, but not jumping ship.
NFL-Like i said before 18 games is stupid.
Favre- I hated when he did this last year, but this year it doesnt really bother me. He never retired this year and said "if my ankle is good ill play" yea his ankle was probably good enough a couple weeks ago but it wasnt like the last couple years where he goes back and forth everyday.
Phil vs Tiger - Sorry saying Phil has more talent is one of the funniest thing ive heard on hear about golf. I dont like tiger or phil really but talent wise isnt close. but as for Phil being FIGJAM i am not arguing that he does seem to be a little fake and from what other golfers hint at it must be true. With that said, i do believe Tiger is just as cocky and fake than Phil. I used to believe it was because he was just that good. But over the last year you are starting to see the real Tiger come out and just shows how fake he had been over the past however many years. But then again my favorite golfer his still John Daly and he is super fucked up so....
I don't see how saying Phil is as talented as Tiger is crazy...It's just that Tiger is so much more mentally strong...If Phil had his mental toughness, he would have a bunch more majors...How can you argue this??? Even the most devout Phil hater (BUCK) can't really defend this arguement, can he?
ReplyDeleteOh I think I can defend this argument. First of all you said, "and that will keep him from ever truly realizing his talent (which is greater than Tiger's)." "Greater" being the key word, not "is as talented." Well Tiger isn't so mentally tough right now and Phil is still shitting the bed trying to over take him at #1. Tiger is practically giving it away and no takers.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would think that being "mentally strong" is a talent strongly associated with being one of the greatest in your respective sport. So I guess Tiger is more talented? And being mentally tough has nothing to do with the golf swing. I would venture to say Phil "focuses" just as hard as Tiger or any other player on the tour. Yea sure, most of them end up shitting there pants when they are in contention on Sunday. I don't think Phil is one of these pant shitters cuz FIGJAM (Fuck Im Good Just Ask Me) has booby loads of self confidence.
Lets face it... Only one can be the best. I'm not taking anything away from Phil. I think he is one of the top 10 golfers ever and I have always respected his game. I have other issues with Phil, not his game.
Dude... he has been on the PGA Tour for 19 years. It took him 13 years to win his first major. He has never been #1 in the world. His first five years he didn't even have to face one of the best players (TW) ever and he still couldn't win. Are you missing something here?
Keep thinking that it's just Phil's mental toughness. I don't care if he lived and practiced golf at a Shaolin Monastery, he still wouldn't be better than Tiger.
No hard feelings though. It took me a while to realize some of my guys/teams weren't the best. That's why I don't talk shit to Yankee fans anymore, because I know they are the best. I'm a realist.
This message was approved by Tiger Woods. Really... It was... I just got off the phone with him.