Stephen Strasburg is a Definite Candidate for Rookie of the Year
The American League and National League have two players that stand out among the rest as the top rookies of the first half of the 2010 season. In a year that has been dominated by pitching, three out of the four candidates on the list are pitchers.
Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals: The most famous of all the rookies this season is definitely Strasburg. Strasburg features a 100+ mph fastball and a devastating curveball. Strasburg is setting batters down at a record pace already striking out 61 batters in 42.2 innings. The first time batters face Strasburg they have no chance. The second time batters face Strasburg they have a slight chance of making contact. Their third time up if they are lucky, they may get a hit, but most likely they won’t. Strasburg was called up a month ago and has started seven games posting a 2.32 ERA and a 3-2 record, which would probably be better if the Nationals could actually score runs. Strasburg has the potential to be the best pitcher of all time if he could maintain this unbelievable pace, but something tells me his stuff will fade by the time he is 30. It isn’t possible to pitch the way he does for a long period of time.
Click here to read the full article – By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
Strasburg: Next Nolan Ryan or Next Hideki Irabu?
Strasburg picked up another win against the Cleveland Indians Sunday afternoon. Strasburg’s first start against the Pirates was very impressive, but it was just the Pirates. The same can be said again yesterday, Strasburg wasn’t as sharp as his first start only go five and one thirds innings against the lowly Indians.
Strasburg picked up eight strikeouts, but unlike his first start he didn’t have command walking five people, which is why he only lasted a little over five innings. Although Strasburg walked so many batters, he only let up one run which isn’t bad.
The question is will Strasburg fade out of existence after a few years when his arm falls off from throwing over 100 mph consistently? How can anyone maintain throwing that fast over a whole career? The only person that I can remember that did it was Nolan Ryan. Most of the pitchers that throw that fast get either injured and come back throwing a lot slower or their arm dies and their careers are over.
It will be interesting to see how Strasburg does throughout the rest of the season. The next two starts for Strasburg will be against two more losing record teams in the White Sox and the Orioles. Strasburg’s first real competition will come when the Nationals face the Braves at the end of the month.
So far Strasburg is the real deal, but it has only been two games, he can always turn out to be another Hideki Irabu.
The Nationals’ slow offensive start
Once his team joined him in the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park, Manager Jim Riggleman had a message for his players. “We haven’t got started yet,” he said. Riggleman told them he liked their intensity and the way they were grinding through games, and that they could be upbeat about their 3-4 record because their offense had not yet come close to hitting stride.
That would be the positive to draw from Washington’s first full week. Certainly, it wouldn’t be the starting pitching, which has consisted of one excellent start, two passable ones and four clunkers. The Nationals staff has thrown 32 1/3 innings, fewest in the majors despite five teams having played just six games. (Tracee Hamilton will chat about the Nationals and Jason Marquis’s poor start this morning at 9:30.)
Their offense has also lagged near the bottom. They’ve scored 3.71 runs per game, 25th in the majors. The Nationals are drawing walks — they have 29 as a team, 10 from Adam Dunn, who is tied for the league lead. But they’re not hitting — their .218 batting average, second lowest in the majors.
Click here to read the full article – By Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post
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Strasburg allows 2 hits in spring debut
Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has made his spring training debut for the Washington Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Starting for Washington, Strasburg threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits, successive two-out singles by Don Kelly and Alex Avila in the second. But the right-hander finished off Brent Dlugach with a bending, 81 mph breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout.
Strasburg’s four-seam fastball was consistently measured in the 97-98 mph range and he struck out two Tuesday. But he had some problems with location and threw first-pitch strikes to only two of the eight batters he faced.
Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com
Nats close on a roll, beating Braves in 15 innings
Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 15th inning and the Washington Nationals closed the season with a seven-game winning streak, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday.
Playing the longest game since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals became the first team in baseball history to close the season with seven straight wins after losing the first seven. Still, they finished 59-103 — the worst record in baseball.
Atlanta, which got within two games of the wild-card lead with six remaining, finished with a season-high six-game losing streak. Logan Kensing (1-2) earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out Brooks Conrad on a checked swing for the final out with runners at second and third.
Elijah Dukes started the winning rally off Boone Logan (1-1) with a one-out walk. Mike Morse flied out, but Wil Nieves and Gonzalez came through with back-to-back singles to break a tie that had stood since the seventh.
Click here to read the full article – By PAUL NEWBERRY of timesunion.com
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Nationals Beat Mets on Wild Throw in Eighth Inning
Another meltdown by the New York Mets gave the Washington Nationals a rare winning streak.
With the help of two wild throws on potential double-play grounders in the eighth inning, the 103-loss Nationals scored the tiebreaking run in a 4-3 win over the Mets on Tuesday night for their second straight win.
“It was kind of embarrassing to watch that kind of play — especially at that time of the game,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “Poor, poor, poor defensive play.”
With one out and the scored tied at 3, Mike Morse walked against Nick Green (1-4) and Justin Maxwell ran for him. Cristian Guzman grounded to shortstop, but former Nationals infielder Anderson Hernandez’s toss to second was off target, allowing Maxwell to advance and Guzman reached first.
Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of Long Island Press
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Nats’ Desmond making most of his call-up
Ian Desmond had plenty of time to contemplate his first week in the big leagues and everything that would entail, perhaps more than most gifted minor league prospects who dream of reaching the top level.
Unlike thousands of other young ballplayers, Desmond got his first glimpse of the majors at the age of 19. Summoned to the Washington Nationals’ big league camp during the spring of 2005 because of a lack of shortstop depth in the system, he spent weeks playing with and against top competition and even had a Hall of Famer for a manager.
Frank Robinson was immediately struck by Desmond, not only his physical skills but his advanced baseball instincts and understanding of the sport.
“I’m telling you, his instincts are better than some guys I’ve seen play the game for 20 years,” Robinson said that spring. “He doesn’t seem overwhelmed by the situation.”
Click here to read the full article – By Mark Zuckerman of The Washington Times
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Nats’ bats pummel Marlins pitching
Mother Nature provided more than three hours of rain delays, but the Nationals were able to get enough done early thanks to some quality starting pitching and timely hitting.
John Lannan threw five solid innings and the Nationals’ offense pummeled Marlins pitching to push Washington past Florida, 7-2, at Land Shark Stadium on Sunday.
The left-hander picked up his ninth win of the year after holding the Marlins to one run on six hits while striking out three and walking one. But even though his performance was impressive, it was his offense that gave the Nationals a series win over their division rival.
Click here to read the full article – By David Villavicencio of MLB.com
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Nats ask Guzman to play second base in 2010
The Nationals may not be looking to sign a free agent like second baseman Orlando Hudson this offseason. It was learned that general manager Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman had a private meeting with shortstop Cristian Guzman on Thursday afternoon and asked him to switch to second base for the 2010 season.
Guzman, who did not give Rizzo and Riggleman an answer, was in shock and told them he never played second base in his life. The only other position Guzman has played other than shortstop was in the 2008 All-Star Game when he played third base for the National League team.
If Guzman agrees to the switch, that means the Nationals most likely will look for a shortstop during the offseason.
Will Ian Desmond get that chance to become the everyday shortstop? It’s hard to tell, but he got off to a quick start on Thursday night by going 2-for-4 and driving in four runs in his Major League debut against the Phillies.
Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLBlogs.com
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