This is what the fans want to hear: The Nationals are greedy you-know-whats; they watched everyone buy tickets to the June 4 game, anticipating the arrival of Stephen Strasburg, then let it slip that his first start would be one series later.
But the fans won’t hear that from us. Of course, we also didn’t buy tickets.
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Here’s the problem. The Nationals never said they were going to start Strasburg on June 4. That was merely speculation by knowledgeable baseball people, based not on sources but on their own logic. (One who said it was more likely to be later was Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, who has a good rapport with Scott Boras, who is Strasburg’s agent. Capeche?).
So fans bought tickets to something they hoped to see; not something they knew they would see. They gambled and lost. Now it appears he’ll debut vs. Pittsburgh between June 8-10. And he will make a number of starts at home this summer; this is not a one-time deal.
Was this a greedy move by the Nats? Money is a factor in everything. Yes, they gained one large crowd and now likely will have a big one for a midweek game vs. Pittsburgh. That’s significant, but how much so? Also, the Pirates are hitting .239 as a team and are 15th in the NL in runs scored; he has a better chance at instant success against the Bucs.
The Nats have done a good job handling Strasburg from the start. It’s hard to criticize them now for delaying his major league career by a few days.
In many ways, this move makes sense. The Nationals will limit him to approximately 150 to 160 innings this season (including the 55 or so he’ll get in the minors). If he doesn’t start until, say, June 9, then he has a chance to pitch into September (more time off in June and a long All-Star break). If, amazingly, the Nats are in contention at that time wouldn’t you rather have him make one or even two starts down the stretch?
The Nats are trying to protect a young kid. Teams are always greedy. But in this case the Nats are doing the right thing.
