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Strasburg Starts Today


and my planning period at school just so happens to fall during the 1PM hour.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010, 7:37 AM and is filed under Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  1. #1 by Sue Dinem - March 9th, 2010 at 08:27

    “Just so,” huh?

    BTW, NationalsProspects.com has done a redesign, and we’re looking for contributors: http://bit.ly/cCql0x

  2. #2 by Jaxpo Nat - March 9th, 2010 at 09:41

    WELL PLAYED, sir!

  3. #3 by VladiHondo - March 9th, 2010 at 13:12

    Sizemore starting for the Tigers, he may be the only who has faced Strasburg, in the AZL. He also had his leg broken thanks to Danny Espinosa coming in hard to break up a double play.

  4. #4 by TimDz - March 9th, 2010 at 13:22

    Can anyone tell me, at least in their opinion, what the major problem with pitching has been thus far?

    Are the pitchers making bad pitches? Are they being let down by infielders not getting to ground balls? Is it just early in spring training and these guys need more time to ramp up?

    Any opinions and/or insights would be appreciated.

  5. #5 by peric - March 9th, 2010 at 23:26

    Brian, Sue methinks Aaron Thompson might move way up in your prospects rankings …

  6. #6 by estuartj - March 10th, 2010 at 11:54

    speaking of phenom #1 draftees, how about a check in on Bryce Harper.

    Amazing numbers, but how do you translate NJCAA D1 numbers to compare with NCAA D1 hitters?

  7. #7 by Jeff E. - March 10th, 2010 at 13:46

    Rob Dibble brought up the Harper subject theme which, Brian, you raised recently. The question should be asked: as in a BA Top Ten list narrative- do the Nats want to be remembered for skipping over Justin Smoak and bryce harper for two arms which hit ceilings??? Yet, again there can always be a landon Powell or a Cole Armstrong available to add to the mix. Darrin Fletcher on that 1994 expo squad which would have gone to the World Series was from OOO ( outside of ORG).

  8. #8 by Jeff E. - March 10th, 2010 at 13:50

    I guess no knuckleball in Aaron Seuess future.

  9. #9 by Pilchard - March 10th, 2010 at 14:12

    For Harper, you need to factor in that he is only 17, and would only be HS junior right now if he had not taken the GED. Pretty incredible for a kid to compete at that level against players that are 3 and 4 years older than he is.

  10. #10 by Jef E. - March 11th, 2010 at 07:36

    HS kids can learn the habits nats brass wants versus old habits learned under a college teaching experience…..Roy Clark truly corraled HS kids to learn the braves bluebook ways….

  11. #11 by estuartj - March 11th, 2010 at 13:04

    Pilchard – I would agree with the age thing, except that that we will likely be drafting him at 17 years old and still have a limited window of time to control his services. Hopefully more then just 6 years, but how much more is a crap shoot. If he’s a FA at 24 or 25 and only then coming into his own (and playing for the Yankees) then drafting him isn’t nearly as beneficial as it would seem at first glance. In other words, would Seattle have been better off taking someone else instead of A-Rod?

  12. #12 by SlowPitch63 - March 11th, 2010 at 13:47

    Folks, Keep in mind that Harper is also using exclusively wooden bats so far this season. Let’s play two!

  13. #13 by Sue Dinem - March 11th, 2010 at 15:19

    estuartj :

    Pilchard – I would agree with the age thing, except that that we will likely be drafting him at 17 years old and still have a limited window of time to control his services. Hopefully more then just 6 years, but how much more is a crap shoot. If he’s a FA at 24 or 25 and only then coming into his own (and playing for the Yankees) then drafting him isn’t nearly as beneficial as it would seem at first glance. In other words, would Seattle have been better off taking someone else instead of A-Rod?

    One also has to wonder if he has the mental maturity. With parents that are enabling him to pursue baseball under the guise (read: farce) of enrolling him in junior college that even Curt Schilling could get into as a student, one has to wonder how he’ll deal with failure when he’s away from the cocoon he’s been living in.

  14. #14 by estuartj - March 11th, 2010 at 16:47

    Sue, why are you hating on Curt Schilling? Where did that come from? and on CSN too? Like what Junior College is holding out for the Harvard kids?

    I do agree you can’t judge his maturity or mental state like you would a true (read D1 for 3 years) college kid, but for now I’m just trying to get a handle on how you would compare his very gaudy NJCAA D1 stats vs a NCAA D1 hitter.

  15. #15 by estuartj - March 11th, 2010 at 16:48

    SlowPitch63 – can you verify that he is using a wood bat, I saw some footage from a recent game and I was sure he was using a metal bat.

    I think the wood only thing was only for the international competition…

  16. #16 by estuartj - March 11th, 2010 at 16:54

    SlowPitch63 – I stand corrected, re-checked the footage at;

    http://thedugoutdoctors.com/2010/03/phenom-bryce-harpers-big-weekend/

    and it sure sounds like a wood bat.

  17. #17 by SlowPitch63 - March 11th, 2010 at 17:01

    estuartj, I believe it was in one of the articles linked to the CSN webpage. I’ll double check and send you the cite if I find it. I’m sure I did read it because it made a big impression on me. Of course it makes it even harder to compare to D1 statistics. He sure seems like an legitimate phenom. Let’s play two!

  18. #18 by Sue Dinem - March 12th, 2010 at 09:06

    <

    blockquote cite=”#commentbody-396712″> estuartj :

    Sue, why are you hating on Curt Schilling? Where did that come from? and on CSN too? Like what Junior College is holding out for the Harvard kids?

    estuartj – Schilling was a brilliant pitcher, at times, but apparently you forgot how much of a blowhard he was, too. Plus, if you’ve ever read his blog, let’s just say he’s not Bill Lee or Jim Bouton.

    If there’s anyone I’m criticizing, it’s Harper’s parents for putting him in this fishbowl. Maybe it’s what he wants, but I’m not convinced that there’s not a vicarious element to this either.

    And I’m also tired of reading how some writers breezily mention how he got GED and is pulling down a 4.0 at CSN, as if either of those things were that difficult or impressive. There are hundreds of kids, if not thousands, in the DC area that could do the same academically. We’re not talking Craig Breslow here.

    That’s not a crack against CSN; it’s just an acknowledgment of the reality that junior college is less challenging. Clearly, Harper’s enrollment is a means to an end. He’s hardly alone in that endeavor, juco or otherwise.

    I’m as excited as the next person about the potential, but I’m extremely wary about betting big bucks that Harper will be the next A-Rod/Junior and that the Nats can retain his services beyond the age of 23.

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