Stephen Strasburg and his $15.1 million will make his Triple A debut tonight for the Syracuse Chiefs. Strasburg spent a month in Double A with the Harrisburg Senators where he went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in 5 starts. Strasburg also struck out a whopping 27 batters in 22 innings while only walking 6.
Strasburg is expected to spend about a month in Triple A as well before getting called up to the Majors. Strasburg was originally expected to provide nothing but hope and a reason for Nationals' fans to buy a ticket every 5th day. However, the Nationals have been the surprise of the first month of the 2010 season.
Through the first 28 games, the Nats are 15-13 and only 2 games back of the 2-time NL Champs Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. And looking at the stats, it's hard to see why as they they rank in the bottom half of the National League in team hitting, pitching, and defense. The Nationals are ranked 10th out of 16 NL teams hitting .255, 10th in fielding, and 11th out of 16th in pitching with a 4.64 team ERA. The difference in pitching lies in their starters and relievers. The Nationals' starters have a combined ERA of 5.17 which ranks 14th, while they're relievers have a combined ERA of 3.83 which is 7th in the NL. The bullpen has also converted 11 of their 13 save opportunities mostly thanks to free agent signee Matt Capps and his perfect 11 for 11 start to the season.
Because Washington's biggest weakness so far this season has been their starting pitching, it's not far off to think Stephen Strasburg and his 100+ mph fastball would be an upgrade over Jason Marquis or Craig Stammen and their 20.52 and 6.75 ERAs.
Strasburg's fall could slightly resemble David Price's in '08. The odds are Washington will not come anywhere close to accomplishing what Tampa Bay did in '08 (best record in baseball and a World Series appearance), but Strasburg could the shining light the Washington, D.C. sports community needs.
The Wizards are in complete disarray following Gilbert Arenas' gun issues which led to the mass exodus of every other star on the team. Strangely enough the front office decided it was a good idea to keep Arenas, the one star who actually got in trouble and is widely considered the most grossly overpaid player in the sport today, and one of the most ever. Ironically enough, most people in the know feel like Wizards' management had an opportunity to void the remaining 4 years and almost 75$ million with no strings attached due to a morality clause. To continue with the irony, Arenas was released from the halfway house he had been living in for the past 30 days this morning. You know, the same day Strasburg takes anoter huge step towards the Majors. In case you didn't remember the exact point of this entry.
In the past calendar year, the Redskins have spent 154$ million on Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall, fired head coach Jim Zorn, and finished 4-12. Redskins fans have had reason to celebrate though. They hired former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan and traded in the division for Pro Bowl QB Donovan McNabb.
The Washington Capitols just ended the 2009-2010 NHL season with the best record in the league with sky high expectations. And then lost in the first round of the playoffs at home in Game 7 to the 8 seed Montreal Canadiens.
And the DC United started the season 0-5-0 before finally winning their first game Wednesday night.
Good luck Stephen. Not even Obama brought this many expectations.
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