Author Topic: Stephen Strasburg Watch  (Read 98647 times)

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Offline R-Zim#11

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #275: March 09, 2009, 12:15:03 PM »
**Warning: Olney's usual cracks and misrepresentation of the Nats is present.

I didn't find his cracks that offensive -- the Milli Vanilli one was pretty funny. He also had a great point about the new GM. He will get signed.

I just hope he lives up to half the hype...

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #276: March 09, 2009, 12:18:24 PM »
I just hope he lives up to half the hype...
That's my concern as well.  He's coming with the hype of Roger Clemens and Sandy Koufax.  No pressure kid.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #277: March 09, 2009, 12:19:07 PM »
I didn't find his cracks that offensive -- the Milli Vanilli one was pretty funny. He also had a great point about the new GM. He will get signed.

I just hope he lives up to half the hype...

I'd have to agree, in this case I don't think he said anything particularly untrue or made any unfair remarks.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #278: March 09, 2009, 12:23:23 PM »
I'm getting sick of the amount of people saying we pass becuase of Boras, especially the people who use Crow as a reason we don't want to deal with Boras. They seem to forget that was the Hendrick brothers not Boras were Crow's agent. Boras seems far more professional to me (equally or more greedy), and more likely to try to get a deal done (i.e. get the medical exam before 4 hours until deadline)
Yeah, Boras isn't a clown.  He knows how to play the game, and he understands that he can't damage his reputation too much.  The Hendricks Bros. were greedy without discretion.  They picked our pockets with Austin Kearns and stupidly tried too hard to do it again with Crow.

Offline blue911

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #279: March 09, 2009, 12:32:43 PM »
Yeah, Boras isn't a clown.  He knows how to play the game, and he understands that he can't damage his reputation too much.  The Hendricks Bros. were greedy without discretion.  They picked our pockets with Austin Kearns and stupidly tried too hard to do it again with Crow.

I have to wonder if there was some bad blood from that deal. It doesn't appear as if Randy Hendricks has any interest in getting his client signed.

Offline natsfan4evr

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #280: March 09, 2009, 02:26:05 PM »
You know Buster Olney prays we don't get him, but this article makes me all giddy inside.

Quote
So just how good is Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State right-hander who is regarded as the No. 1 talent in this year's draft?



"The best I've ever seen," says a longtime scout. "And it's not even close."


C'mon. Better than Mark Prior? Remember how incredible he looked coming out of Southern Cal -- tall, big legs, good mechanics, robot-like. You're saying he's better than what Prior was then?

"Easily," says the scout, over the phone. "I'm telling you, it's not even close."


What did you see in him? "The day that I saw him pitch, his first fastball was 99 mph, and he was at 100-102 mph the rest of the way," says the scout, someone who is not inclined to hyperbole.



Yeah, heard he had a good fastball. Straight as a string, right? "That's the thing," said the scout. "Whenever you see a fastball at 100 mph, it's always straight. No movement. But his fastball has a lot of movement, which really doesn't make that much sense, because it's on the hitter so quickly. His fastball cuts."


Wow. His secondary stuff must be a work in progress. That's the way it usually is with guys who are that overpowering at that age.


"No," said the scout. "He's got a plus slider, at 93-94 mph, and he's got a plus changeup. He's the best I've ever seen."


How are his mechanics? "Fine," says the scout. "Looks totally fine to me. No real concerns."


Strasburg has thrown 20.1 innings this season, and he has 45 strikeouts. That means that out of the 61 outs he's registered, 45 are by strikeout. "It's like watching someone play one of those baseball video games for the first time -- it's like the hitters are completely guessing where he's going to throw the ball," said the scout. "They're just swinging in a spot and hoping that's where he throws it, because they can't track it."


The way you're describing him, I say to the scout, you're talking about someone who could be in the big leagues this summer?


The scout laughs. "You could put him in a rotation right now, and he could be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter," says the scout. "Right now, he's better than A.J. Burnett."


So in other words, in this scout's eyes, Stephen Strasburg, the ace of the San Diego State Aztecs, is better than the No. 2 free agent pitcher in the offseason, and he could be the ace of the Washington Nationals by the end of the summer -- if they decide to take him.


Here's the primary mitigating factor about the greatest pitching prospect that this scout has ever seen: He's represented by Scott Boras, who has been known to hold out players for months, for years, in his effort to get his clients what he deems to be a fair-market price. Who knows what Boras has in store.


So by the time the draft is held in June, there is going to be immense pressure on the Nationals to draft Strasburg and get him signed, for at least a half-dozen reasons:

1. They've been a disappointment since moving to Washington. Based on the television ratings, it's fair to say that the Nats' fans aren't growing restless so much as they haven't really been paying attention to a team that has basically been terrible.

2. The Nationals really don't have an identity. Strasburg would give them an identity, immediately, a talent that would inspire the fans and draw them to the club's year-old park.

3. The Nationals failed to sign their No. 1 pick from last year, Aaron Crow.

4. A player that the Nationals touted as a top prospect turned out to be the baseball version of Milli Vanilli -- a player who falsified his age, in a revelation that led to the dismissal of assistant Jose Rijo and GM Jim Bowden.

5. Stan Kasten may well choose his next general manager by the time the June draft rolls around, and the organization would not want to saddle that GM with the responsibility of explaining why the club either passed on the top talent in the draft, or why the team failed to sign the player.

6. The Nationals need pitching. Desperately. They will not be relevant in the NL East until they get more pitching.

If the Nationals passed on Strasburg, the Mariners presumably would pounce on the opportunity to pick the right-hander, given how much grief the organization has taken for passing on a local kid named Tim Lincecum a few years ago. And with the addition of Strasburg, the Mariners' rotation would have a backbone of Felix Hernandez, Brandon Morrow and The Greatest Pitching Prospect Ever.

There is a school of thought, among some teams, that drafting a pitcher very high in the first round carries too much risk. If catcher Matt Wieters was in this draft, for example, some teams might be inclined to take him, as a rising star prospect who might play 10-15 years in the majors, over Strasburg, as good as he is.

But, as Keith Law writes in our daily draft blog, there doesn't appear to be anyone comparable to Strasburg. He appears to be the best talent in this draft, and in the mind of some, the best talent ever. The immortal Sidd Finch has come to life, without the quirks and the baggage, and he's pitching for San Diego State. For now. He may well be in the big leagues, if somebody meets Boras' asking price, by August or September.

The Mariners' strong finish last year probably ruined their chance to get Strasburg, writes Jason Churchill.

Here's a look at a 23-strikeout game that Strasburg had last year.
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3963745&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d3963745%26name%3dolney_buster


Offline natsfan4evr

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #282: March 09, 2009, 02:29:33 PM »

Offline The Chief

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #283: March 09, 2009, 02:30:54 PM »
no worries

Offline natsfan4evr

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #284: March 09, 2009, 02:41:28 PM »
If we had to pick one year to finish dead last, I'm so glad it was last year.
The thought of him and Jordan Zimmermann being the front-end of a rotation makes me all warm inside.

This team can be incredible as early as next season if all cards fall into place.

Offline cmdterps44

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #285: March 09, 2009, 02:44:30 PM »
Came from natsfan post in the general section, that article is something that just adds to me already desperate anticipation. Someone saying hes better than AJ Burnett, already? And the nats have the first choice of getting him!? thats incredible.

Gonna be a good summer.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #286: March 09, 2009, 02:45:13 PM »
We could possibly sign Lackey in free agency too.  Can you imagine Zimmermann/Strasburg/Lackey?  Holy freak.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #287: March 09, 2009, 02:47:31 PM »
goddamn. goddamn. we NEED to get this guy. he is our alexander ovechkin

Offline cmdterps44

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #288: March 09, 2009, 02:48:19 PM »
goddamn. goddamn. we NEED to get this guy. he is our alexander ovechkin

Now if only the wizards can get theres.

Offline cmdterps44

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #289: March 09, 2009, 02:52:51 PM »
Quote
Quote from: ACTAvation Energy on Today at 01:45:13 PM
We could possibly sign Lackey in free agency too.  Can you imagine Zimmermann/Strasburg/Lackey?  Holy freak.


Holy freak, your missing our so far star with lack of run support: That is John Lannan!!!


Hes going to go far.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #290: March 09, 2009, 02:53:35 PM »
We could possibly sign Lackey in free agency too.  Can you imagine Zimmermann/Strasburg/Lackey?  Holy freak.
I'm pretty sure the Angels were working on an extension with him.  It's a sweet thought though...

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #291: March 09, 2009, 02:54:22 PM »
We could possibly sign Lackey in free agency too.  Can you imagine Zimmermann/Strasburg/Lackey?  Holy freak.

I somehow see either the Angels paying him a lot to stay, the Yanks using him to replace Pettite (or Wong who is a free agent 1 year later), or the Cubs or Red Sox going after him

Offline wpa2629

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #292: March 09, 2009, 02:56:39 PM »
Now if only the wizards can get theres.

Please draft Blake Griffin <pray>

Offline wpa2629

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #293: March 09, 2009, 02:58:41 PM »
Stephen Strasburg .... I'm all verklemped

Offline NatsDad14

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #294: March 09, 2009, 03:46:07 PM »
I'm going to copy a post I had on another board on Strasburg.

I stole this chart from Here, which compares Strasburg to other top pitchers in recent memory on their junior stats in college. I added a few categories and inserted Strasburg's numbers so far.



Strasburg ranks:
ERA: 4th
H/9: 4
K/9: 1
BB/9: 2
HR/9: 5th (small sample size)

Offline JMUalumni

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Offline UMDNats

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #296: March 09, 2009, 06:34:32 PM »
June is going to be nice month. Damn. Strasburg is going to be our ovechkin like i said. if he is as good as advertised he will be the face, not zimmerman.

Offline PC

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #297: March 10, 2009, 12:14:10 AM »
Quote
If the Nationals passed on Strasburg...

Won't happen Buster.  Not even a possibility!

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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  • pissy DC sports fan
Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #298: March 10, 2009, 03:06:38 AM »
I was reading somewhere, I think the "Federal Baseball" blog, that it's all but certain the Nats are going to draft Strasburg.  Nothing we didn't know already, but we can be even more certain that the signability concerns aren't going to get in the way of the Nats.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Stephen Strasburg Watch
« Reply #299: March 10, 2009, 03:11:49 AM »
Here we go!

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/3/5/782645/the-strasburg-files-episod

Quote
* Good news. I talked to a scout from the Rangers, (not sure why he was there with the #14 overall pick), and he said that he was on a west coast swing and only came to watch two innings to pay his due diligence. He said the Nationals have already informed the rest of the teams that they will be selecting Strasburg with the #1 overall pick. Bad News. Stephen will probably be pitching for the big league team in September. :D
Hmm, maybe it was sarcasm, or maybe this guy isn't to be trusted, but it seems plausiable to me.

Let's just pray for no injuries.