They could have skipped 1 start per month which would have been around 4 starts. Considering that Strasburg would have around 4 or 5 starts this season if he kept pitching, he would have around the same amount of IP at the end of the season than he currently has now. That gives him 160-165 IP entering the playoffs. Then you can pitch him 20-30 IP in the playoffs.
So you push him to around 190 innings anyway, when he's only pitched 123 professional innings max? Remember, 24 and coming off TJ surgery. They would have had to skip enough starts to make him be at 170-ish innings for Game 7 of the World Series. That's a lot of skipped starts.
And what would all of these skipped starts have done to the rest of the rotation?
