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theBIGness
08-28-2010, 10:46 AM
The human body, in its beautifully flawed way, is built to withstand only so much before it breaks. Stephen Strasburg(notes) pushed his right elbow to the zenith of performance until it snapped on him. The accompanying news that Strasburg will miss at least a year when he undergoes Tommy John surgery caused another injury, one more far acute and widespread: Every Washington Nationals fan suffered a broken heart.

The repair of Strasburg’s torn ulnar collateral ligament will almost assuredly succeed. To envision him on the mound during spring training in 2012, throwing 100-mph darts, is no pipe dream.

Mending a dispirited fan base, on the other hand, will take years, and perhaps some psychotropic drugs to erase from their memories the Nationals’ first six seasons in Washington. Oh, there were moments to savor, chief among them Strasburg’s incredible 14-strikeout debut June 8. More than anything, though, being a Nationals fan has meant rooting for a team with allegedly corrupt management, sitting inside a half-empty stadium funded almost completely by tax dollars unilaterally spent by the city council, not witnessing a single winning ballclub and placing every iota of remaining hope on a 22-year-old whose right arm, the hype would’ve had you believe, cures cancer.

Turns out the arm can’t even stay healthy itself, which is not the most shocking thing ever. Pristine though Strasburg’s mechanics may be, he is still doing the most unnatural thing in professional sports: throwing a baseball. The very act of pitching puts remarkable strain on the elbow, shoulder and every piece and part in between. Muscles, ligaments, joints, bones – all of them must work in concert, and it must be more Beethoven or Bach than band camp.

Strasburg’s arm has barked twice this year, and that was enough to scare the Nationals into shutting him down and sending him into the MRI tube both times. The second scan showed the tear in his arm and caused the tears in fans’ eyes.

If ever a good cry were warranted in baseball, it was Friday morning in Washington. During Strasburg’s honeymoon period, all of those bad times were forgotten. The Jim Bowden era, which ended with the team’s original general manager being investigated by the FBI during a wide-ranging bonus-skimming controversy in Latin America, was pocked by ill-fated decision making. Under Bowden, the Nationals gave $1.4 million to an impressive 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic named Esmailyn Gonzalez. His name was actually Carlos Lugo. He was 20.

Bowden stepped aside last spring and was replaced by Mike Rizzo, a brilliant scouting mind who with back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in the draft – due to back-to-back 100-plus-loss seasons – took Strasburg and Bryce Harper. The Nationals spent $25 million on the pair, and along with Ryan Zimmerman(notes) they were going to be the centerpieces for the franchise.

Zimmerman is an All-Star. Harper, just 17, took his first batting practice at Nationals Park on Thursday and hit a ball into the third deck. Strasburg’s elbow soon will meet a scalpel.

So many of the steps forward this season were yanked back with one big tug Friday. Strasburg is so many of the things every franchise needs. A bona fide ace. A competitor. A bright mind. A strikeout-and-groundball pitcher. A marketing chip. The Nationals needed an identity. He gave them one.

And yet like everything in Washington today, it seems, the idyllic was corrupted. Almost every arm gives out eventually, sure. Josh Johnson’s(notes) did at 23, and he’s now back from Tommy John as one of the best pitchers in baseball. Jamie Moyer’s(notes) did at 47, and he’s probably done. Still, for it to happen so quickly, a year and a week after he signed for a record $15.1 million – that’s the sad part.

Because it was tough not to look at Strasburg like a Ripley’s figure, an oddity. Hundreds of pitchers his size came along. Hundreds more had his beautiful delivery. None threw like him, not even close. No one in baseball history had the combination of triple-digit fastball, off-the-table changeup and shark-bite slider Strasburg flashed in every start. Strasburg pitching was an experience worth savoring.

Now, it’s yanked away from those who deserve it, who desire it. One of these days, the black cloud will lift from over the Washington Nationals. It is unfair to call them cursed, because curses don’t exist, but ever since the franchise was hijacked from Montreal and sent to fulfill its manifest destiny in the nation’s capital, whatever Francophile juju came along has done its magic.

Until Strasburg starts throwing again toward the end of next year, all Nationals fans can do is hope and pray and begin their own recovery. It’s not easy, especially when the greatest consolation they can find comes via a timeworn cliché: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

It had better. Their tickers can’t take much more.

big in vegas
08-28-2010, 01:44 PM
I honestly don't think he'll make it back to where he was, yea there's been a lot of great pitchers get Tommy John surgery and make a comeback, but I just don't see him doing it. I feel bad for him because he's "the next big thing" and this happens. I went to high school with a kid that was drafted straight out of high school, but decided to do what his mom wanted and went to college just to throw his arm out and have Tommy John surgery, and he was never the same. I don't know what it is, but I just don't think Strasburg will make it back. At least won't be the same

Zeus
08-28-2010, 01:49 PM
Not trying to offend anyone, but I fucking hate baseball. It's like watching flys fuck. Just my op......

Lightsout
08-28-2010, 02:03 PM
I honestly don't think he'll make it back to where he was, yea there's been a lot of great pitchers get Tommy John surgery and make a comeback, but I just don't see him doing it. I feel bad for him because he's "the next big thing" and this happens. I went to high school with a kid that was drafted straight out of high school, but decided to do what his mom wanted and went to college just to throw his arm out and have Tommy John surgery, and he was never the same. I don't know what it is, but I just don't think Strasburg will make it back. At least won't be the same He is young and he will heel faster than a older player would. And I can still see him becoming one of the best pitcher in the game still. Look at all the guys that has had tommy John surgery in the last 10 yrs. Chris Carpenter won a Cy young award and Mario Rivera is the best closer of all times. So I think he can be "the next big thing" still.

theBIGness
08-28-2010, 03:03 PM
he has some serious talent i hope he can mount a comeback

Presser
08-28-2010, 07:58 PM
Well they say 75-80% of Tommy Gun surgorys return to 100% and I hope this kid is one of those ones who returns to full recovery! He was a bad ass his first few times on the rubber! Its realy sad to see this happen and only time will tell i suppose

big in vegas
08-29-2010, 09:08 PM
He is young and he will heel faster than a older player would. And I can still see him becoming one of the best pitcher in the game still. Look at all the guys that has had tommy John surgery in the last 10 yrs. Chris Carpenter won a Cy young award and Mario Rivera is the best closer of all times. So I think he can be "the next big thing" still.


That's one point, but the biggest thing with him is that over the last 4 years, his innings pitched per year has increased and I just don't think he's going to be able to handle the workload as a major league pitcher. Trust me, I'm not doubting the kid's talents, but it's just my opinion that he won't come back to what he was