The boorish fans were in attendance to witness an uplifting tale in a sports town, where lifeless citizens reside near the nation’s capital, waiting for an extraordinary moment with the promising future of phenom Stephen Strasburg, the gifted right-hander declaring fame in a community after a marvelous start in his debut elicited much potential.
But of course, if the fans are anxious to be awed and glance at baseball’s magnet in the next decade, then booing the magnetic pitcher whose stardom is ripening quicker than the velocity of a hitless fastball, is honestly a misguided antic.
It sounds more like a disillusioned crowd that prefers to embrace an unhealthy rookie and watch Strasburg struggle from the mound, taking a huge risk and ignoring the signs of soreness and vulnerability, eventually blowing out his impressive arm.
In all likelihood, it was a common strategy for scratching Strasburg from the lineup Tuesday, whether it disappointed a sellout crowd or not, but it was a wise choice to take the flame-thrower out of the lineup to protect good health.
Realizing that he has to perform brilliantly and be the perennial ace with high expectations, he’s potentially the suitor and unique talent with ideal delivery, but he must stay robust and avoid a frequent trip to the disabled list. It’s too bad such a scary twinge of injuries postponed the odds of Strasburg transforming the dimension of an inferior club.
It’s unfortunate an MRI and X-rays revealed inflammation in his throwing arm, noticing the stiffness during warming up in the bullpen. That’s exactly what we never intending to witness or hear, amid a mediocre season when the grandiosity and brilliancy of the 22-year old pitcher heightened the relevancy in a paralyzed sport.
Better than the average rookie pitcher, it’s a rarity to discover a phenom as a cornerstone take the mound, strikeout batters with a speedy fastball, hitless changeup, nasty breaking ball and an invincible slurve, but Strasburg isn’t your ordinary pitcher.
Instead, he’s an artistic young pitcher with an earnest mindset, mastering his craft on the big league level, considering that being precautious is necessary for monitoring and weighing minor health issues.
Wisely enough, he likely will miss the next start on Sunday and could spend time on the disabled list. The irony of a dreaded letdown is that the Nationals are concerned whether he’s severely injured or was overused in his previous starts.
Yet it’s dangerous to wear down arms. He appears fatigued and has thrown 109 2/3 innings this season, matching the total of pitches he threw at San Diego State, where he emerged as a renowned prospect and baseball’s adorable savior.
If he’s the sweetest story in a fallen sport still overcoming the Steroid Era, a wrenched age that ruined the beauty of a traditional event in America, he needs to rest the ailing shoulder and minimize a heavy workload. If he’s thriving for a short-term career, he would pitch in his next start.
But if he’s planning for a long-term future, as the Nationals are a franchise not in conversations for the postseason, he should miss the next start and treat a minor ailment without throwing and putting tension on the damaged shoulder.
And if he’s the bait of baseball, exciting a national audience and getting the nod because of tremendous talent, it’s very pressing that he carefully nurtures health and heals to whereas he’s not aggravating the shoulder.
There’s much uncertainty as the Nationals are worried and petrified with their rising star’s well-being, realizing it’s inadvisable to overwork the shoulder of any pitcher, especially when bothered by what could be short-term damage and become career-threatening if the Nationals aren’t precautious and clears Strasburg too early than expected. He is seemingly a durable pitcher and fittingly he’s destined to stockpile individual awards in the majors.
In a couple of seasons, he could inspire worshippers by mastering plaudits and be elected to participate in at least a dozen All Star games, with his first appearance maybe next season. He is, in all likelihood, a Cy Young winner in a few seasons, but he must first maintain good condition to have the privilege at earning baseball’s most salient prize.
As he throws charmingly from the mound, he’s endorsed as baseball’s magnet and intrigues National Park, a venue curious relatively selling out seats with his sensational fastball alleged to have reached 103 mph. All this hype is worthy for mending the woes and mediocrity in a substandard, lousy Nationals franchise, emerging as the primary face in Washington and he’s prosperously talented at the nation’s capital.
If he’s already famous in an entire community for incredible talent, whenever he decides to retire on the mound he could flirt with the possibility of running for president, be elected and become a resident on Pennsylvania Avenue. By the logic that Strasburg overthrew and worn down his throwing shoulder, is a risky injury considering that he could damage a promising career and only last in the league a short time before he declines and suddenly becomes useless.
Among the uncertainty and jitters wandering in the minds of National manager Jim Riggleman and general manager Mike Rizzo, he was sent to the 15-day disabled list and he’s the latest scare in baseball with the slight possibility that he’s injury bound and endangered of suffering damage in his throwing shoulder. Because of his delivery, few believe he’s at higher risk of feeling exhaustion in his shoulder in which it could only be fatigued.
“They’re taking every precaution with me, obviously,” Strasburg said who is 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 15 walks in 54 1/3 innings since the impressive debut.
In the meantime, he’s expected to resume minor activity and will play catch Sunday since the Nationals scratched Strasburg from the start. For now, he’s on the disabled list until he’s eligible to be deactivated Aug. 6, and hopefully return to usual form, without badly irritating the shoulder.
If he doesn’t take precautionary measures, he could turn out exactly like Mark Prior, David Clyde or Kerry Wood. It’s a bit frightening for a convincing rookie with a bright future, but until he’s ready to return, Miguel Batista is probable for making the next start.
Next time, the Nats have to be careful, and booing is unnecessary.
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