I heard lots of headlines about him being shut down, but I thought that was just for the regular season. So, the Nationals have the best record in the majors, but Strasburg won't pitch in the playoffs?

I read about the long term health concerns....I get it. I still think it's odd. What are other baseball fans' thoughts?

I would have thought if they wanted to limit innings they should have had him going on 6 or 7 days rest with a 6 inning per game cap long ago. I think shutting him down is a bad idea if they plan to have him available at all for the postseason.

I read an interview with Chipper Jones before a game with the Nats a week or so ago and he said that it was crazy after playing 140 plus games and have a great record and a chance of going to the World Series to sit a great pitcher like Strasburg. You never know what the next season might hold injuries etc.. as Chipper said it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don't know much about the injury itself or the long term effects but I couldn't imagine Nationals fans being to pleased about it.

As a Nat fan, I think it both sucks and is the right thing to do. We have a good starting rotation and bullpen along with the return of Lannan everything still looks good. They told everyone at the begining of the season that they were going to shut him down for health reasons and stuck to it. Kudos to them for sticking to the plan, but I really hope that Strasburg can deal with it. :-)

Rare that you see a professional franchise do the right think for the long term when following a different path could benefit the short term. I give the Nats props.

I think they are crazy. If my team is in 1st place, I want to win the World Series.

They are crazy. If they wanted to limit him, they should have started doing so earlier in the season so he could pitch in the playoffs and not hit his limit.

That's the thing, Matt....they are NOT pitching him in the postseason. I think that's nuts. :-)

The Nats are just stupid IMO. Why didn't they skip some of his starts during the last 140 games if they are worried about his inning count? Now, they pull him for the rest of the season.. Talk about an inexperience ball club.. He would have helped them NOW, nothing is guaranteed for next season or the one after. Each year you try to build a club that can help you win NOW, and also make strategic moves to plan and build for the coming years. There is a balance of both short term and long term investment planning. Clearly the Nats don't have the right people in the front office:-)

Same. I'm impressed they are actually following through with it.

They could have made plans to pitch him less during the regular season so that he would be able to pitch in the post season... Poor planning is really all I see with this move. Certainly shutting him down hurts the Nats starting rotation, I don't see anyone that would fill his shoes. Why hurt your club that has a very good shot of winning the whole show?

The Nats hurt themselves bad by not planning this thing right. They could have had their cake and ate it too. Balance between short term and long term investment is clearly not the Nats thinking right now.

They could have done a lot of things but he came back from surgery to have a successful season. They had a rehab plan in place and followed it. The team has played really well through injuries to a number of players and they'll get through this.

I understand they've already implemented their plan and that it is too late to change anything or allow him to pitch in the post, but I'm just saying they didn't do it right. They could have planned it so that he could have pitched in the post season while still having a successful rehab.

TOUGH call

but

David Clyde...

I think the line of thinking is give up one season for many...

but..

why not tailor the program to include the possibility of getting into the playoffs.

But

The Goal is TO GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS and then try and take it from there so the thinking was probably "lets try and use him as long as we can to try and get us there and then win it without him in the final games

I could argue this with myself for hours... :-)

but

I do understand the move

Rob :-)

That's the thing Rob, the Nats are not promised a post season next year, or the year after that! All they can do is do everything they can to win in the present and balance that with making conscious moves to help them in the future as well.

All correct but gotta play the odds do you want the kid for ONE season or many...

"you don't save a pitcher for tomorrow because Tomorrow it might rain"

Look you know These guys want to win, so THIS must have been one tough call for many reasons. :-)

Rob

Yeah I'm sure they want to win, but I think now that the reality of their planning for the kid is coming to fruition, they must be kicking themselves. There was a way to preseve him for future seasons while also preserving the present season. Chicago has done a little bit of preserving a young pitcher in Chris Sale. He's had at least 3 of his planned starts skipped to keep him fresh for the hopeful post season, while also preserving him for seasons to come. Damn what a season the Nats are having though!

I agree with you, Nate. When they were in a great position come late July, why not limit his starts and have some innings left for the postseason. Lots of teams only make the dance once or twice a decade, not sure why they didn't plan better and have him available for playoff games.

I'm on the fence on this one. I see the point in limiting him and protecting the future. At the same time there's data out there that show that limiting innings after TJ surgery is really not necessary (atleast to the point that the Natsare limiting him to. I don't want to see anyone's career ruined due to neglect, but at the same time, don't be overly cautious either when you have a World Series caliber team. Strasburg could mean the difference in bringing a championship to a franchise that has never won it all.