I can understand why Rob Dibble believes the Washington Nationals would be foolish enough to rush young pitching star Stephen Strasburg back just to sell tickets.
After all, if you are Dibble, you are thinking that any organization that was stupid enough to approve Dibble for its broadcasts is capable of such foolishness.
Strasburg, the fireballer who set the baseball world ablaze last season with his dominating performances only to be sidelined with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow, made his first minor league rehabilitation start since his Tommy John surgery Sunday with Single-A Hagerstown before a media circus and sellout crowd.
He appeared right on track with the club’s plan for his return, throwing 25 strikes in 31 pitches, displaying a fastball in the upper 90s and striking out four batters.
Everything Strasburg does is magnified because of the promise and potential he showed last season. So the spotlight is on Strasburg in his return — which could come on a major league mound next month if his rehabilitation starts continue successfully — and how the Nationals are handling their prized pitcher.
The club is following the same formula it did with Jordan Zimmermann, who came back to pitch in Washington in September last year following Tommy John surgery in August 2009. This season Zimmermann has been the team’s best pitcher with a 3.12 ERA in 1381Ú3 innings.
The debate is not an unreasonable one. Tommy John told me in February that the Nationals should be cautious with Strasburg’s return.
“What difference does it make if Stephen Strasburg is out 10 months or 15 months?” he asked.
A legitimate debate, yes. Does Dibble get to take part in it? No.
Dibble, who has to rally to be a moron, is the one who criticized Strasburg on Sirius-XM radio last year for not “sucking it up” and pitching through the pain before Strasburg was diagnosed with the torn elbow ligament. Dibble was fired shortly after his comments.
Last week, on MLB Network Radio’s “First Pitch,” Dibble suggested the Nationals were rushing Strasburg back to make money.
“There’s absolutely no reason, other than to sell tickets and to put butts in the seats, to bring Stephen Strasburg back to make a few starts at the end of the season …” Dibble said. “But in their case, having worked with those people, the only thing I can say is that there’s some people there that think that they invented the game of baseball. Which they did not.”
Those in charge of the Nationals organization have shown themselves capable of stunning foolishness — Dibble being Exhibit A. But to rush Strasburg back early to sell seats for a couple of September starts? Not even their minds are that small. But we know whose is.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
