Originally posted by rwingett
Montreal/Washington has been around since 1969 and this is only their second trip to the postseason. You get players like Strasburg for no other reason than get you there. If they wanted to shut him down for the regular season, then fine. They had enough of a lead. But to have him not pitch in the postseason as well boggles the mind. There's no guarantee they'll get there again anytime soon. It looks to me more like inflexible obstinance than guts.
Well, I was a pitcher and when they shut you down for three weeks, and I mean the complete
shut down that they did, it is not that easy to get back up to speed over night.
He would have had to have been maintaining his throwing during the time he was
supposed to be shut down. Their lead was such that they knew what the possibilities
were, Strasburg didn't like it, but they did it for his own good. I am not sure I would
have had the guts to do it if I had been in their shoes, but I commend them for sticking
to it.
You are correct, and as I pointed out before, you are not guaranteed of getting there
again, so it is tough to pass on a potential shot at the brass ring.