Strasburg Story Is Just More Bad News For The Nationals

Yesterday, as I heard the news that Stephen Strasburg had been scratched from his 10^th major-league start, I was reminded of a phrase from one of Despair, Inc.’s ironic “demotivational” posters: “It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black.”

Losing three in a row to a Milwaukee team with bad pitching was pretty dark. But I’m pretty sure it can’t get worse than discovering that the future ace of your team’s pitching rotation can’t get loose in the bullpen and will need an MRI to clarify the problem.

Thankfully, the MRI showed no damage to Strasburg’s shoulder, just a bit of inflammation. It turns out that the Nationals just want to play it safe with their pitching phenom, a decision that I can’t say I disagree with. And give credit to the kid for admitting the fact that he didn’t feel right. Remember, there’s a story to be told about another Nationals pitcher who experienced shoulder problems. His name is Scott Olsen, and he kept quiet about his issues for a few games before his discomfort became a full-blown injury. By holding Strasburg out of Monday’s game, the Nationals might very well have prevented a bad situation from becoming worse.

Per GM Mike Rizzo, Strasburg’s status is day-to-day, but he doesn’t expect the young pitcher’s inflammation to become a serious injury. The team will take it easy with Strasburg for the time being, and let the anti-inflammatories do their work.

 But it’s just one more obstacle to overcome for a team that doesn’t have a stellar track record when it comes to overcoming obstacles.