After constant speculation all season about an innings limit for their top pitcher, the Washington Nationals have decided to shut down Stephen Strasburg following a rough start against the Miami Marlins.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson told reporters on Saturday morning about the decision, which was made in response to the constant media speculation and extra attention about Strasburg's innings count.
"To be honest with you, I think he just is thinking too much about the decision when we're going to shut him down," Johnson said Friday night to ESPN.com. "And he kind of wore it. He didn't like it. But that's the way it is.
Early in the season the Nationals announced that they would have certain restrictions for Strasburg, who was returning to his first full season since he had elbow-ligament replacement surgery in 2010. They decided an innings limit of 160 was reasonable, but that it wasn't set in stone.
As September rolled around, the sports media and reporters constantly hounded the team and Strasburg with questions about the limit, which was occurring at the same time that Washington is attempting to get to their first postseason since 1933. The team currently leads the NL East by 6 1/2 games with 24 left to play.
Johnson met with General Manager Mike Rizzo and pitching coach Steve McCatty after the game on Friday night, in which Strasburg had one of his worst starts of the season, lasting three innings and giving up five runs. He also gave up two home runs to the Marlins.
"I didn't command the fastball, kept on getting behind in the counts," Strasburg said. "I wasn't able to use my other pitches effectively and they kept teeing off on me a little bit."
Strasburg was 15-6 and will finish with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 159 1/3 innings. The Nationals set similar limits for another pitcher last year, Jordan Zimmerman, after he had the same surgery Strasburg did. This season Zimmerman is 10-8 with a 2.99 ERA and 131 strikeouts.
While fans will be disappointed that Strasburg will no longer pitch this season, both Rizzo and Johnson looked towards the bigger picture and decided to watch out for the best interests of the pitcher. They recognized that it was difficult for Strasburg to concentrate on just pitching with all the constant speculation and attention.
"I can understand where he's at," Johnson said. "And even in the conversations that I've had with him, he was having trouble sleeping, thinking about letting the guys down. So I understand his mood."
Strasburg was a No. 1-overall draft pick for the Nationals in 2009 after starring at San Diego State. He signed a record four-year, $15.1 million contract and made his major league debut a season later in June of 2010. In August the team announced that he would undergo Tommy John elbow surgery and would most likely miss the majority of the 2011 season. After returning from surgery he pitched 44 innings in both the major and minor leagues at the end of the year.
John Lannan will take the spot for Strasburg in the rotation.
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