$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 1, 2010 9:21:29 GMT -5
Well, let it commence. The proclaimed King of Hurlers, the guy they call the best pitching prospect in the last 40 or more years, debuts on June 8th, against the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates. In honor of this, the shakedown has begun, as the game is now "sold out" but special ticket plans are available for Nats fans, who can get a ducat for the game if they buy a handful of other tickets too! All this aside, I will be watching that game on the 8th. consumerist.com/2010/06/nationals-if-you-want-to-see-prospects-debut-buy-tix-to-3-other-games.html
|
|
MSBNYY
Administrator
El Guapo
Posts: 15,545
|
Post by MSBNYY on Jun 1, 2010 9:23:20 GMT -5
I hope it rains
|
|
|
Post by sean on Jun 2, 2010 0:01:10 GMT -5
add bryce harper via the draft this week, and The Nationals could be a powerhouse in short order. Maybe people wil actually start watching them. i read on si.com this week that their home telecasts are watched by just 12,000 households
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 2, 2010 8:29:17 GMT -5
Wow, thats insane. I actually watch a fair deal of their broadcasts. I enjoy Rob Dibble, especially, as a color guy.
Thing with Harper is if they keep him as a catcher, he will need seasoning. They cant rush him, he may not be around for 3 or more seasons. However, if they move him to the outfield, and he does not need the seasoning, he can move quicker. Problem is, moving him to the outfield diminishes his value somewhat.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 2, 2010 9:50:05 GMT -5
MLB Network will air the Strasburg game, with Costas, Smoltz, and Kaat on the call. As much as I like Kaat, ill stick with the local Nationals feed on the baseball package.
|
|
MSBNYY
Administrator
El Guapo
Posts: 15,545
|
Post by MSBNYY on Jun 3, 2010 7:31:28 GMT -5
Geez--this is the biggest debut since Steve Nebraska.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 3, 2010 8:31:44 GMT -5
Im not joking....I dont know who Steve Nebraska is....
|
|
MSBNYY
Administrator
El Guapo
Posts: 15,545
|
Post by MSBNYY on Jun 3, 2010 9:19:15 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Chris on Jun 4, 2010 11:18:17 GMT -5
We always hear about the 12-to-6 curveball.
Strasburg seems to have a 12-to-6-then-to7:15 curveball.
SICK!
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 9, 2010 8:01:46 GMT -5
Somethings things are worth the hype. People, I watched that game last night, with many, many others. Some that surprised me, took the time. And this guy was SICK.
7 innings. 14 Ks. Struck out everyone in the starting lineup at least once. Still throwing 98 in the 7th. His curve was astounding.
If I hear one more jerk go, "call me when he is not pitching against the Pirates" im going to slap them. For one thing, only one other pitcher struck out as many as 11 Pirates this year. As bad as the team is reputed to be, its a major league team. And forget the team, its the STUFF. You can not argue Strasburgs STUFF.
Watched the local Nationals feed, I was not interested in Bob Costas' pontificiating. I do like Jim Kaat though. I did run tape on the 2AM replay, I may just record this one and keep it on hand.
Im going to watch his next start too. This helps baseball, the Nats, everyone. This guy, for this one night, surpassed even the most loftiest of expectations. By the end, when he struck out 7 in a row, the announcers, people watching, the crowd being panned, were laughing. It was too simple!
What a fun night to be a baseball fan.
|
|
|
Post by grover on Jun 9, 2010 9:31:32 GMT -5
I'm very happy a out this, as a Baseball fan, I want to see the Nats succeed. We have enough wasted markets, we don't need another.
Strasburg and Harper? Holy shit, talk about potential superstar combo. Hell didn't SI call Harper the Lebron type prospect of the MLB? The owner is willing to spend money, so once they finally ditch the old Expos stigma of being losers, and show players they want to REALLY compete, they will be able to land a few big names in the near future.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 9, 2010 10:16:36 GMT -5
The Nats continued to draft well, grabbing some intriguing guys even after the Harper pick this year. They got a superstar already down there, in Zimmerman. Their farm is stocked with all kinds of lively arms. Future looks bright for now, for the Nats.
|
|
|
Post by joetee316 on Jun 9, 2010 13:21:47 GMT -5
I was thinking of the what-ifs when i saw they drafted Harper. Is he a juggalo though? Happy for the Nats. Would love to see the Mets in the cellar and I don't really care for Atlanta. I'm on the fence with Florida. They got some good guys.
|
|
|
Post by Chris on Jun 9, 2010 15:54:16 GMT -5
I'm with Tom. I sat in awe...so much so that I stayed up until 1AM to watch the replay again.
He was ridiculous. All of his pitches work, at any time, any count.
For Pudge it was like a video game - he simply pushed the right combination of buttons on the controller to execute the type of pitch he wanted and presto - ball thrown, for a strike.
|
|
|
Post by cactusjames on Jun 9, 2010 16:11:23 GMT -5
I watched it and went right to my fantasy teams to pick him up but someone had already taken him. I can't wait to do a draft next year on yahoo and see how he fares in the draft. Great stuff, fucking bad ass pitcher. Didn't panic when he was down, 14 ks or whatever it was, it was dominating. He stays healthy he's a stud. I wonder how long it will take the bandwagon Yankee fans to want him in the Bronx. I'll put him on the Yanks in the video game lol. Can't wait to watch the next start, he showed the beauty of the art of pitching.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 10, 2010 8:01:58 GMT -5
James, he was actually grabbed in our fantasy draft before the season, in like the 12th round. While some snickered, I thought it sorta astute - if not earlier than i expected - and now it looks like it will really pan out. Should have been on him earlier. Another debut to watch is Mike Stanton, the power hitter who debuted same night with a sharp 3-5.
I taped the replay overnight, and will keep it in my vaunted baseball archives. In an interesting aside, the game that precedes it on that tape was Tom Seavers 300th win.
I too am interested in watching his next start, which comes against the Tribe this weekend. Im in.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 10, 2010 13:53:49 GMT -5
The beat goes on. TBS, which was scheduled to broadcast the Red Sox game on Sunday, will be airing Stephen Strasburg's second start instead. This one is against Cleveland, on the road for him.
As there is rain in the forecast Sunday, I would not feel as guilty burning a Sunday afternoon watching this.
|
|
|
Post by sean on Jun 11, 2010 22:50:36 GMT -5
I'm in 2 leagues. In one, strasburg was drafted in the 17th round. The guy that has him also has Ubaldo, haren, Gallardo and latos, plus Chapman in the minors. But it gets better. in my other league, a rotisserie keeper, he was taken in the 2009 draft, and kept. His owner will be able to keep him again for 2011, but then we throw back and start anew for 2012. Check out this story from my man Tom verducci at SI. Guess Yuni Betancourt won' be getting many old Timers day Invites... How Yuni Betancourt helped keep Strasburg from Seattle Of all the players who lasted long enough with the Seattle Mariners to get 2,000 at-bats, Yuniesky Betancourt was worse at getting on base (.302) than everybody else except Jim Presley and Jose Lopez. But it wasn't enough for Yuni to be bad to haunt Seattle fans. The one time he happened to actually be good also will haunt them. He helped cost the Mariners Strasburg. Seattle had Strasburg nearly locked up on the penultimate day of the 2008 season. At 59-101, the Mariners held a half-game lead over Washington (59-100) for the worst record in baseball and the right to pick Strasburg the next June. They controlled their fate. With a magic number of two, any combination of Seattle losses or Nationals wins totaling two would bring Strasburg to Seattle. That's when Yuni decided to hit like a young Ken Griffey Jr.. He went 5-for-7 with a walk, two runs and two RBI to lead the Mariners to 7-3 and 4-3 wins over Oakland. The Nationals clinched the Strasburg sweepstakes by losing two games to Philadelphia. Those two otherwise meaningless Seattle wins changed baseball history. It could be one of the most costly "collapses" ever to end a season. The Mariners would be looking at a rotation today with Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee and Strasburg. Instead, with the second pick of the 2009 draft, they took Dustin Ackley, thought to be the best college bat in the draft. Ackley, 22, has hit one home run in Double-A, though he does have a .402 OBP. Betancourt has gone on to be even worse for Kansas City (.288 OBP). Read more: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/tom_verducci/06/11/strasburg.betancourt/index.html#ixzz0qbhDuMrJ
|
|
|
Post by sean on Jun 15, 2010 23:28:06 GMT -5
LOL at Steve Phillips saying on FAN that washington should trade Strasburg for Oswalt, STRAIGHT UP
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 16, 2010 7:56:21 GMT -5
He said that before Strasburg debuted and blazed it out, but still. No one in baseball is agreeing with him. Hey, as they say, this is why he does not have a GM job in baseball. That, and that he cant keep it in his pants.
This next Strasburg start is the first I will miss, as its Friday and I got business at the Yankee / Met game. Hes fun to watch, everyone who has seen him can agree with that much.
|
|
|
Post by jwmcc on Jun 16, 2010 9:39:41 GMT -5
Though I will say that so far it appears Strasburg's only flaw is he is coming off as a bit of a complainer. Rumor was that he bitched out a photographer in the locker room after his first start when he snapped a pic of him with his wife, then the other day blamed his control issues "on the mound". Jw
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Jun 16, 2010 9:44:14 GMT -5
Dude, watching that game, even I was annoyed with his kicking around on the mound, and complaining. No wonder he was booed on his way off. Hey, its the same mound for everyone. It was funny to hear the Cleveland crew sticking up for the grounds crew, sort of saying its never been a problem for anyone else.
Hey, when kids come up with so much hype - and money attached - they may turn into divas or babies. Sad to see. I can see myself being a fan of Strasburg, the stuff, and not Strasburg - the person.
|
|
|
Post by Chris on Jun 16, 2010 12:19:24 GMT -5
Replay showed his landing foot sliding several times. Not sure what all the griping is about. Buck Martinez and Eckersley had no issue with it, and supported Strasburg's concerns with the mound.
All accounts from sources all over the league seem to indicate this kid has come to the big leagues with a purposeful humility.
Another case of people just looking for some flaw to knock a popular guy down.
|
|
MSBNYY
Administrator
El Guapo
Posts: 15,545
|
Post by MSBNYY on Jun 16, 2010 21:57:47 GMT -5
WHAT A JERK!!!!
|
|