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View Poll Results: What do you do with Stephen Strasburg in late August?

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  • He doesn't throw another inning

    7 18.42%
  • He goes the rest of the season, number of innings be damned

    6 15.79%
  • He pitches the rest of the season, but has a much shorter leash with much rest in between starts

    25 65.79%
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Thread: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

  1. #1
    Member cincrazy's Avatar
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    Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    You're the Nationals. It's late August, you're in first place, 3 up on the Braves, 5 up on the Phillies. You trail St. Louis for the best record in the NL by 1 game. And Stephen Strasburg has just completed 165 innings pitched for the season, with a 12 strikeout performance in 7 innings. What do you do?


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  3. #2
    Member RedsManRick's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    I really don't understand why teams put artificial innings caps on pitchers. It's so lazy. I'm sure there's evidence of the relationship between innings and injuries/effectiveness, but those innings are just a proxy. Why not measure the issue more directly.

    Measure his strength and his recovery speed. Look at velocity, command and mechanics. If a guy is at increased risk, surely there are physical signs. For a fraction of what you're paying the guy to pitch you could have a guy on staff solely dedicated to making sure you get the most out of him. Why be so lazy?
    Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.

  4. #3
    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    You pitch him. You may never be in that situation again and it would be foolish not to pitch him in regular turn up until you clinch or are eliminated.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

  5. #4
    Member cincrazy's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    I agree with both of you. From what I've read, however, it appears the Nats are almost certainly going to sit him. If I'm a Nationals fan, that would upset me greatly.

  6. #5
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Sit him. He is too important to risk another serious injury. Maybe keep him at 5 innings a start from now until August. If you figure he goes 6.3 in a normal start, and he would get another 15 starts or so between now and then, you get an extra 20 innings out of him. There is not an ideal way to go about it where everyone will be happy about it, but having him there to help you in 2013 is pretty important too.

  7. #6
    Titanic Struggles Caveat Emperor's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    If you're in contention, pitch him but monitor his workload in games.
    Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022

  8. #7
    Member kaldaniels's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    Sit him. He is too important to risk another serious injury. Maybe keep him at 5 innings a start from now until August. If you figure he goes 6.3 in a normal start, and he would get another 15 starts or so between now and then, you get an extra 20 innings out of him. There is not an ideal way to go about it where everyone will be happy about it, but having him there to help you in 2013 is pretty important too.
    Where does this number of 165 innings come from?

  9. #8
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Quote Originally Posted by kaldaniels View Post
    Where does this number of 165 innings come from?
    In 2010 he threw 133 innings. General rule of thumb is to add roughly 30 innings to the previous high work load.

  10. #9
    Member kaldaniels's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    In 2010 he threw 133 innings. General rule of thumb is to add roughly 30 innings to the previous high work load.
    Yeah I figured that is where it came from. But why not 40? Why not 25? It just seems so arbitrary to a degree.

  11. #10
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Quote Originally Posted by kaldaniels View Post
    Yeah I figured that is where it came from. But why not 40? Why not 25? It just seems so arbitrary to a degree.
    That is just what it is. Don't know why it was decided as the specific amount.

  12. #11
    Member kaldaniels's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    Quote Originally Posted by dougdirt View Post
    That is just what it is. Don't know why it was decided as the specific amount.
    And that seems weird to me that such a stat based group tends to accept that. Now I will say, if the Nats were in last place I would tend to shut a guy down. But in the midst of a pennant drive I just think you gotta keep a close eye on a guy and let him throw. Each situation would be unique to me.

  13. #12
    Waitin til next year bucksfan2's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    I don't understand why a team will put an innings limit on a player and then run him out there every 5th day so he is spent when the season still has a month plus left. If I were the Nats I would obey an innings limit, especially considering the arm issues he had last year. But I would look at sitting him for a month or so during the season or with a "phantom" injury. Or I would begin to skip his start in the rotation every couple of weeks to push his innings limit expiration to later in the season for a playoff push.

  14. #13
    Five Tool Fool jojo's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    I don't know if I'd sit him but I'd certainly give him a stern talking to....
    "This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner

  15. #14
    Member 757690's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    I'd ask Wayne Simpson and Gary Nolan what to do
    Hoping to change my username to 75769024

  16. #15
    Rally Onion! Chip R's Avatar
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    Re: Strasburg... sit him or start him until the end?

    If you sit him down, do you bring him back if the Nats make the playoffs?
    Quote Originally Posted by Raisor View Post
    I was wrong
    Quote Originally Posted by Raisor View Post
    Chip is right


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