The Strasburg Watch: 5/19/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

5/19: 8th Minor League Start, 3rd At AAA Syracuse:
The Line: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, Win
The Highlights: Longest start yet, fastball consistently in upper 90s.
The Lowlights: Allowed baserunners in 4 of the first 5 innings, although a couple were due to errors and not his fault.
My Take: For the first time he got into the 7th, he continued to pitch very well. It should also be noted he was to have started Tuesday but that game was rained out, the teams and Nationals agreed to let him play the night game of a day-night doubleheader yesterday. Although the fastball was in the upper 90s, the curve looked good which makes him less a one-dimensional pitcher. The biggest news though is a rumor that The Call is less than 2 weeks away-he could make his Nationals debut on June 4. That would be a home game against Cincinnati.
Season Line: 40.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 10 BB, 49 K, 6-1, 0.89 ERA, 3-8 4 RBI
Next Scheduled Start: Monday vs. Toledo. It’s in Syracuse so if you’re in the area, get out there because you may have only 2 more chances to see him there, if even that. If not, you can listen to the game via Minor League Baseball Gameday Audio and may be able to watch live video via the Chiefs’ official website, Syracusechiefs.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 5/12/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

5/12: 7th Minor League Start, 2nd at AAA Syracuse:
The Line: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, Win
The Highlights: Everything was working this time on a borderline cold night. Only faced one batter over the minimum. Sat down the last 12 he faced. Fastball topped out at 98.
The Lowlights: None. OK, maybe he didn’t get an at-bat, I believe the DH rule was in use at this ballpark.
My Take: As good as his last start was, this was even better.What also may have affected him a little bit was a long time on the bench in the 5th as the Chiefs scored him 4 runs to allow Strasburg to be win-eligible. He wasn’t on a strict pitch count but they pulled him after 80 pitches through 6. Considering how long the Nats likely will wait to call him up, I’d say that if the schedule holds he’s looking at 3 more AAA starts. And to make it even better, the popular Racing Presidents, one of the most fun things about a Nationals home game, were in attendance.
Season Line: 34 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 8 BB, 40 K, 5-1, 1.06 ERA, 3-8, 4 RBI
Next Scheduled Start: TBA, but if schedule holds it should be Monday at Pawtucket Red Sox. You can listen to the game live for FREE via Minor League Baseball Gameday Audio through the Chiefs’ official website, Syracusechiefs.com. First pitch is at 12:05 PM.

The Strasburg Watch: 5/7/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

5/7: 6th Minor League Start, first at AAA Syracuse:
The Line: 6 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 6 K, 1-1, Sac Bunt, 2 RBI, Win
The Highlights: No first-start jitters this time. Established the fastball and control early. Needed only 65 pitches to finish 6 innings, which was his limit for the night (or 85-90 pitches). Had 2 more RBI.
The Lowlights: None.
My Take: What a way to bounceback from the loss in his last start. The fastball topped out at 98 and was sustained all game, not really dropping lower than 96. The curve was woking well too. He also no-hit the opposing batters through 3 innings and even contribued 2 RBI on a single and a sac bunt. Now the question seems to be not just when he might start again at Syracuse, but possibly if. The question still is when the call will come-general consensus now seems to be no later than early June.
Season line (AA/AAA): 28 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 33 K, 4-1, 1.29 ERA, 3-8, 4 RBI
Next scheduled start: TBA, but if not called up before then it’s projected to be Wednesday vs. Norfolk Tides. If you happen to be in/near Syracuse get there and check it out but buy tickets in advance-last night’s game sold out in advance and this one could as well. Otherwise you can listen to the game live for FREE via Minor League Baseball Gameday Audio through the Chiefs’ official website, Syracusechiefs.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 5/2/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

5/2: 5th Minor League Start
The Line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP, 0-1, Loss
The Highlights: None really.
The Lowlights: Worst start yet, and it came at perhaps a bad time-theis could be his final start at AA.
My Take: It appears there was a roughly 35 minute rain delay at some point, so that could have factored into his worst start yet, or perhaps anticipation of a potential impending promotion to AAA right after this start. Or maybe he just had to come back down to earth eventually. No matter what, this was easily his worst start yet. Perhaps this one could be written off due to hype or weather. Either way he went about as far as he was going to be allowed to, which was 5 IP or 85 pitches. The 3 ER also more than tripled his season’s ERA to a still-outstanding 1.64. It also doubled his walk total to a still-outstanding 6.
Season Line: 22 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 27 K, 3-1, 1.64 ERA, 2-7, 2 RBI.
Next Scheduled Start: TBA. If he still gets promoted despite today’s outing it could be as soon as Friday against Gwinnett (GA), the AAA affiliate of Atlanta.

5/4 UPDATE: He has been promoted to AAA. Next start will be Friday at 7 PM ET vs. Gwinnett Braves. You can now follow Strasburg at AAA and listen live to his start and other games for FREE via Minor League Baseball Gameday Audio through the Syracuse Chiefs’ official website, syracusechiefs.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 4/27/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

4/27: 4th Minor League Start
The Line: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 1-2, RBI
The Highlights: Very effective, needing just 64 pitches to get through 5 innings. Only allowed one baserunner on a passed ball. Drove in what proved to be the game-winning run.
The Lowlights: None.
My Take: This was the closest to a complete game for him yet, the game was only 7 innings (his scheduled Tuesday start was rained out so they played 2 on Wednesday; In some minor leagues doubleheaders are 7 inning games, not 9) and driving in the only run was just icing on the cake. He retired the first 13 batters he faced, the batter who advanced on a passed ball had otherwise whiffed.
Season Line: 17.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 23 K, 3-0, 0.52 ERA, 2-6, 2 RBI
Next Scheduled Start: TBA. The rainout may affect the plans but depending on the rotation plans now it likely will be either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon vs. Altoona Curve. Whenever he does pitch again, if you’re in Harrisburg get down to Metro Bank Park to see him in action or you can also listen to the game LIVE via Minor League Baseball Gameday Audio via the Senators’ official website, Senatorsbaseball.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 4/21/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

4/21/10: 3rd Minor League Start
The Line: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 0-2, Win
The Highlights: Maybe his best start yet. Only faced 17 batters over 5 innings and averaged over 1 K per inning.
The Lowlights: None really, unless 0-2 batting counts, plummeting his BA to only .250 (1-4).
The Season Line: 3 games, 3 starts, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 17 K, 2-0, 0.73 ERA, .250 BA (1-4) (Today’s game is in progress as of this post, so no decision yet but if Harrisburg maintains it’s 1-0 lead through 6, he will get the win)
My Take: Sounds like easily his best start yet, certainly his best line. I’d like to see him pitch a little deeper into games but I know he’s on an innings limit this season and they probably don’t want to get him too used up before the Nationals call him up. Outings like this only increase the anticipation and impatience among fans who probably have to still wait another month because of the stupid business stuff. But the wait will be worth it.

Next scheduled start: TBA. If they stay on schedule it probably will be Monday vs. Reading Phillies again. If you’re in the area make sure to get there and watch in person (it’s a 6:35 PM ET start), otherwise you can listen to the game LIVE via minorleaguebaseball.com’s Gameday Audio or via the Senators’ official website, Senatorsbaseball.com.

Note: When I know if Strasburg got the win today I will update this post.

Update: Strasburg is the winning pitcher. Harrisburg wins 3-0. Strasburg is now 2-0 on the season.

The Strasburg Watch: 4/16/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

4/16/10: 2nd Minor League Start
The Line: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
The Highlights: Another sharp start, better control and continued good strikeout rates.
The Lowlights: Start cut short by lengthy rain delays. Had some trouble in the 2nd but the run scored against him was unearned.
The Season Line: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, 1-0, 1.23 ERA
My Take: Rain delays of nearly 4 hours totally messed up his start last night, so this one can just be thrown out. He got off to a great start, breezing thorugh the first before having some trouble in the 2nd, the run he allowed was unearned due to fielding errors. He had the lead at the time and left with the game tied so he wasn’t on the hook for the loss (Harrisburg would lose 2-1). He didn’t get a chance to bat. We’ll have to wait until next time out to see how he’s really progressing.

Next scheduled start: Wednesday vs. Reading Phillies. If you’re in the area make sure to get there and watch in person (it’s a 10:30 AM game so take an early and long lunch!), otherwise you can listen to the game LIVE via minorleaguebaseball.com’s Gameday Audio through the Senators’ official website, Senatorsbaseball.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 4/11/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

4/11/10: First Minor League Start for the AA Harrisburg Senators
The Line: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, Win; 1-2, 2B, RBI
The Highlights: Picked up right where he left off in Nats Spring Training. The fastball consistently topped out at 97-98, so it’s getting closer to 100. He even got his first pro hit and RBI, coming on a 5th inning double. Got the win as the Senators held on for a 5-4 victory.
The Lowlights: Allowed 4 runs including 3 in the 4th, but only one run was earned. The 3 4th inning runs he gave up were unearned due to 2 Senators errors.
The Season Line: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 1-0, 1.80 ERA; 1-2, .500, RBI
My Take: Sounds like he didn’t miss a beat. He even showed he can hit and score as well, which always helps when you’re playing in the NL. Didn’t seem to have much trouble adjusting to minor league hitters, and it sounds like he’s just passing time until the money stuff is taken care of in DC in a month or so, then he should be called up.

Next Scheduled Start: Friday vs. New Britain Rock Cats. This would be his debut at the Senators’ home ballpark, Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg, PA. If the schedule holds after this he’d then start April 21 vs. the Reading Phillies. I’ll post stats & results Friday night or Saturday morning. If you’re in the area make sure to get there and watch in person, otherwise you can listen to the game LIVE via minorleaguebaseball.com’s Gameday Audio through the Senators’ official website, Senatorsbaseball.com.

I Wonder If The “Natinals” Are Playing In San Francicso This Year…

Yep, we had another uniform FAIL last night in baseball:

San Francicso Giants player Eugenio Velez sporting the unspotted fail. It’s Francisco, not Francicso. That’s 2 years in a row it’s happened in a game, following the “Natinals” debacle last year. Thanks for the great laughs though, Majestic.

(Hi-five to Yahoo Sports’ “Big League Stew” blog for this)

The Strasburg Watch: First Minor League Start Set

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

Late yesterday the Nationals announced that his first “real” start of the season (and thus his next appearance) will come for AA Harrisburg on 4/11 against the Altoona Curve, the AA affiliate of Pittsburgh. There were rumors he could pitch-even start-Saturday’s Nats exhibition game in DC against Boston, but that’s not happening. No reason given. That means he’ll start the Senators’ 4th game of the year.

I’ll pass along the line and notes from the game once it’s in the books. In the meantime, keep up with everything Strasburg, the Nationals & the Senators at the Nationals’ official website, nationals.com and the Senators’ official website, senatorsbaseball.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 3/24/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

3/24/10: 4th Spring Training Start, intrasquad minor league game:
The Line: 4 1/3 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 0-0, SAC, ND (Tie-game ended at 0-0, called when Strasburg left game)
The Highlights: Whiffed 9 and even got his first at-bat, a successful sacrifice bunt. The fastball had a little more, topping out at 98.
The Lowlights: Had control issues in the 5th, when 2 walks ended his day (pitch count). Only 46 of 79 pitches were strikes.
My Take: Despite some still-present control issues, he continues to justify the hype. The fastball creeped closer to 100 but he also showed some improvement in timing with pitches, and he knows how to fix the control issues. Still averaging about 2 K per inning, which is extremely impressive. As for the future, word is he could make a total of 25-30 starts between the minors & majors this season, with a rumored total innings cap of 158 all year that would mean an average of 5-6 IP per start with 11 starts in the minors, 15 in the majors. He could make one major league appearance before the season begins, rumors are he is being consiered to start a 4/3 exhibition game against Boston at Nationals Park, then likely will make his minor league debut for AA Harrisburg on 4/8. 4/3 could be a great glimpse of things to come in our couple months-our first real look at Our Savior. I’m very excited.
Next scheduled start: TBA. Probably 4/3 in a major league exhibition or 4/8 in the minor league opener.

March Madness 2010 Bracket Update: Round 2

First up, if you read the posts you were reading yesterday, and quite a few were…THAT WAS PROBABLY LAST YEAR’S BRACKET! New year, new bracket, now that I have some time here’s how it looks-even though I’m playing the Yahoo game as usual I’m also doing ESPN Tournament Challenge for the first time, that’s the one I refer to here:
Round 2 Results:
Games: 16
Correct Picks: 7
Incorrect Picks: 9
Points: 380 out of 640
Ranking: 2,132,140
Percentile: 55.4%

Highlights & Lowlights of my picks:
Busted: Kansas. Northern Iowa has essentially ended my tournament. Cost me my National Champion.
Busted 2: Villanova. No miracle comeback against St. Mary’s. Another Final 4 pick out.
Busted 3: Pittsburgh. Makes 3 of my Elite 8 out.
Well, There’s Still: Kentucky. At least they cruised so they’re still on track to lose in the National Championship in my bracket.

The picks above sum it up, my bracket is done for the year. Well, there’s still Yahoo Sports Second Chance Tournament Pick ‘Em! A fresh bracket from the Sweet 16 on!

Round 3 update coming Friday or Saturday.

The Strasburg Watch: 3/19/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

3/19/10: 3rd Spring Training Appearance
The Line: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 0 BB, 8 K, Win
The Highlights: Got his first Spring Training win and averaged 2 K per inning. At one point, he whiffed 4 in a row.
The Lowlights: Gave up 2 homers in the 1st.
My Take: He saved the best for last. The HR were a bummer but other than that it looked like the Strasburg we were hoping for, clearly showing improvement and flashes of brilliance. Alas, it’s indeed the last we’ll see of him here for now…the day after the game (Saturday) he was sent to the minors and will start the season with the AA Harrisburg Senators. It’s said Nats GM Mike Rizzo doesn’t like to rush pitching prospects to the bigs (it should be noted that last year’s #10 overall pick and teammate Drew Storen is also AA-bound, that’s more of a surprise) but there could be business involved too-Tampa Bay & Baltimore did similar 2 years ago and last year with super-prospects Evan Longoria & Matt Wieters, respectively. Keep them in the minors until the end of May and you delay their potential free agency & arbitration eligibility by a year or so. So it sounds like Strasburg won’t be up until maybe Memorial Day. But if he pitches in Harrisburg like he did here, the wait will be worth it. And too long. See you in a couple months, Stephen!
Next scheduled start: TBA. The major league time for Strasburg may be over for now, but The Strasburg Watch will continue! I’ll continue to follow his progress at Harrisburg and you can too-the minor league season begins April 8 and you can follow the Senators with me both here (when Strasburg pitches) and at the team’s official website, Senatorsbaseball.com.

The Strasburg Watch: 3/14/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

3/14/10: 2nd Spring Training Appearance
The Line: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The Highlights: Got 3 innings and 49 pitches in, hasn’t allowed a run in 2 starts, and only one walk in 5 innings with a K/BB ratio of 4:1. 7 of 11 first pitches were strikes.
The Lowlights: Fastball still isn’t near 100 (again topped out at a still-solid 97) and still having control problems (only 29 of 49 pitches were strikes) but weather-namely strong gusty winds-may have been a slight factor.
My Take: He’s going to make the Nats’ decision on where he starts the season very tough. The control needs improvement and the fastball hopefully gets faster but he’s showing he’s not just about 100+ heat down the middle and the ratios are good so far. He’ll get at least one more chance before he learns his next stop, it looks like he’s got another start coming. So far I like what I’m seeing and hoping for more early on.
Next Scheduled Start: Friday vs. a St. Louis split squad. 7:05 PM ET start. TV/radio broadcasts TBA but if on radio it’ll be on MLB.com Gameday Audio via the Cardinals Radio Network (KTRS in St. Louis) or the Nationals Radio Network (WFED in Washington). If the latter it may air in Washington on 1500 AM unless it conflicts with a Capitals hockey game.

The Strasburg Watch: 3/9/10

A new feature I’ll be doing this baseball season, regularly tracking the hopefully fast track to fame-and the majors-of Washington’s future baseball savior, 2009 #1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg, as he begins his career in the Nationals system and hopefully works his way up to starting this season at Nationals Park and elsewhere.

3/9/10: First Spring Training Appearance
The Line: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The Highlights: The fastball topped out at 95-97 in his “official” Nats debut, and he also showed off a VERY nasty breaking ball. He did allow a couple of 2-out singles but came right back with whiffs afterwards.
The Lowlights: The fastball didn’t hit 100+ yet and understandably the nerves got to him just a little bit, but that’ll change soon. Only threw 27 pitches (plan was 30-40) and just 15 were strikes.
My Take: The first-time jitters/nerves are understandable, I hope to see the triple-digit fastball but still looked very good. In highlights of the game I saw yesterday morning (you can see them on mlb.com and nationals.com) I was impressed by that breaking ball he got a whiff on-that really had some hang on it! A good debut, the question still will be does he start in the majors or in the minors? If the minors, word is he might go to A Potomac instead of AA Harrisburg or AAA, Potomac is farther south plus warmer weather (and it’s closest to DC). Still too early to say but the Strasburg Era is off to a fine start.
Next Scheduled Start: Sunday vs. St. Louis. 1:05 PM ET start. The game is not scheduled to be on TV but if you have MLB.TV or MLB.com Gameday Audio you will be able to listen to the game online via the Cardinals Radio Network (KTRS in St. Louis).