Nats manager and GM get in shouting match

[9RoyHobbsRF]

http://tracking.si.com/2012/08/27/washington-nationals-davey-johnson-mlb/?sct=mlb_t2_a4

lol

[chicagowhitesox1173]

Thats interesting, I would say Rizzo has done a excellent job for the Nationals but I think he needs to let his coaches decide whats best for the team on the field. I don't think shutting down Strasburg is a good idea at all.

[RaysFan_98]

Thats interesting, I would say Rizzo has done a excellent job for the Nationals but I think he needs to let his coaches decide whats best for the team on the field. I don't think shutting down Strasburg is a good idea at all.

Agreed he seems to wanna be anything and everything that goes on.

[Ben Grimm]

Is there any chance that Rizzo's shutting down Strasburg due to maybe a previous agreement financially with Boras? From the the day he was drafted, it was made public how Boras didn't want his arm burned out at an early age. IIRC, Strasburg's initial contract expires this year. He'll still be under team control for the next few years, but is it possible Boras offered the first year of Steven's FA eligibility in a fairly team-friendly multi year deal under the condition the Nats don't tear up his arm? If so, then Rizzo has done precisely that and Boras has fully backed this decision bringing up past clients who were young and had blown arms by the time they were 27 or so - Steve Avery being the one I remember hearing lately.

Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels were asked about the situation, and neither would be happy being shut down - mainly because you can't simply take reaching the playoffs for granted. Both pitchers had alot of single-season innings on them at a young age and suffered the following year - most recently being Hamels in 2009. Both of them said it wasn't due to being over-used, tired or dead-armed, but that neither prepared correctly during the offseason.

[RaysFan_98]

Is there any chance that Rizzo's shutting down Strasburg due to maybe a previous agreement financially with Boras? From the the day he was drafted, it was made public how Boras didn't want his arm burned out at an early age. IIRC, Strasburg's initial contract expires this year. He'll still be under team control for the next few years, but is it possible Boras offered the first year of Steven's FA eligibility in a fairly team-friendly multi year deal under the condition the Nats don't tear up his arm? If so, then Rizzo has done precisely that and Boras has fully backed this decision bringing up past clients who were young and had blown arms by the time they were 27 or so - Steve Avery being the one I remember hearing lately.

Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels were asked about the situation, and neither would be happy being shut down - mainly because you can't simply take reaching the playoffs for granted. Both pitchers had alot of single-season innings on them at a young age and suffered the following year - most recently being Hamels in 2009. Both of them said it wasn't due to being over-used, tired or dead-armed, but that neither prepared correctly during the offseason.

Thus why i hate Boras trying to deal with him is such a pain.

[Rich the Giants fan]

No one said a thing when they did the same thing with Jordan Zimmerman last year. Last I heard he was going to be skipped a few starts. I also heard that Strasburg's dad is on board with this after meeting with Rizzo.

[RubeBaker]

No one said a thing when they did the same thing with Jordan Zimmerman last year. Last I heard he was going to be skipped a few starts. I also heard that Strasburg's dad is on board with this after meeting with Rizzo.

But Zimmerman is not one of the best pitchers in the NL, and the Nats weren't on the brink of the first postseason appearance for Washington D.C. in decades. If the Nats were in 4t place right now, no one would be talking it about it this year either. It just a completely different set of circumstances.

[Rich the Giants fan]

But Zimmerman is not one of the best pitchers in the NL, and the Nats weren't on the brink of the first postseason appearance for Washington D.C. in decades. If the Nats were in 4t place right now, no one would be talking it about it this year either. It just a completely different set of circumstances.

Zimmerman is 3rd in the NL in ERA and ERA+, while Strasburg is 8th and 5th. Strasburg is 7th in hits allowed/9 while Zimmerman is 7th in BB/9. Strasburg is 7th in WHIP and Zimmerman is 9th. And I can go and get all saber on you and point out that Zimmerman is 3rd in Pitchers WAR, while Strasburg is 8th.

I'd say Zimmerman is definitely one of the top pitchers in the NL, with numbers comparable to hit pitching mate, and a key component to their success. Without him, they might not be in first place. Perhaps, if they had not shut him down last year, his surgically repaired arm might not have withstood the strain. Then again, maybe it would have, but the Nats were wise to shut him down, just as they are wise to be looking at the bigger picture with Strasburg, IMO.