The Nationals have officially quit…sending their best pitcher out to pitch. The loss of the team's ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg has officially taken place, after a poor performance against the Miami Marlins last night. Now, facing the franchise's first playoff berth since relocating to Washington D.C., the air is out of the Nationals' balloon. I think the effects will be far reaching and devastating to the Washington Nationals franchise.
Stephen Strasburg is not happy. Asked for comment about his early season-ending performance, Strasburg had this to say:
"I don't know if I'm ever going to accept it, to be honest. It's something I'm not happy about at all. That's not why I play the game. I play the game to be a good teammate and win. You don't grow up dreaming of playing in the big leagues to be shut down when it starts to matter. It's going to be a tough one to swallow."
Imagine how Strasburg's teammates feel. Instead of riding their horse into the playoffs, they will ride the back of a pitcher who is making $5 million to NOT make the major league team AND who had a losing record in AAA. Yes, the team still has Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson. But instead of having Strasburg pitch in a playoff opening game, Gonzalez has to. Edwin Jackson, not one of the best postseason pitchers, will have to pitch game two. By game three with Jordan Zimmermann it may be too late. How would the team feel?
Part of the reason this Strasburg shutdown is such an issue is that the Nationals used Strasburg to sell tickets, as if Strasburg was the only thing that they thought would attract fans (presumably because even the Nationals themselves thought the team would suck). So they got off to a good start, thanks to Strasburg, got fans coming thanks to Strasburg, and right now they figure that fans will keep coming because of the momentum they built. This is offensive to true Nationals baseball fans.
The Nationals could have easily sent Strasburg to extended Spring Training instead of the regular camp, and debuted him in the major leagues around May 15th. Then they would have him for the playoffs. If the Nationals could have sold tickets those first six weeks without him, they probably would have done things this way.
But hey, who cares about winning when you can sell tickets?
The Nationals Had Better Watch It
The Nationals are 6.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves heading down the stretch. There are 23 games left in the Nationals' schedule. Three are against the Braves, four the Cardinals, three the Brewers and six the hot Phillies. These are not easy. John Lannan should start four of them. If the team sees a poor John Lannan start, they may get angrier, unfocused, and fall apart. The Braves do not appear to be letting go of the accelerator pedal right now, either.
If the Nationals end up a Wild Card and have to pitch Gonzalez in a one-game buy-in, they could be cooked.
The Nationals Care About Long-Term Ticket Sales First
What's the meaning of baseball? Most would reply, "winning". The Washington Nationals? They are "protecting their investment". Strasburg will sell them more tickets later, so stretch him out as long as they can. He is an asset that generates revenue. If the Nationals don't win this year, they can still throw Strasburg out there in the Spring and people will come back to see him. If they win and he's hurt, they won't buy tickets.
The Nationals would be better off building a winning environment where fans learn to be excited about baseball. Then, they can deal with a Strasburg injury they got a World Series for, if that injury ever even happens.
I'm just glad the Nationals are in the same division as the Phillies.
