Author Topic: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread  (Read 49350 times)

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Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #75: August 18, 2013, 12:44:02 PM »
I'm still trying to figure out what he was doing with Simmons

A little mystery is a good thing. Let the Barves stew about it a bit.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #76: August 18, 2013, 01:33:03 PM »
I'm still trying to figure out what he was doing with Simmons
I love going after Simmons and not hitting him. That was exactly the right guy to go after and throw behind.  He's irreplaceable for the Barves, maybe moreso than Justin U (with Gattis available). It even helps that he had done nothing.  If a team that is obviously a heavy favorite to be playing in October can engage in the chicken poop move of chucking at one guy 3 times and injuring him, then someone ought to put it into their messed up minds that they are the team with the most to lose in terms of a possible championship.  Throwing behind him was not going to hurt him if you threw low, like Stras did - unlike Avilan, who threw shoulder height at Bryce.  The first WP by Stras was to set up "Oh I've lost control."  Sort of a Nuke Lalouche move.  Then two straight low balls far enough behind Simmons to miss him. 

If Atlanta wants to throw at Bryce, they ought to sit down and talk to Nomar Garciaparra about getting hit on the wrist before the playoffs in 1999.  Facing the NYY with Lou Merloni as the shortstop had a bit of an impact. Nomar was pretty much permanently sapped of power after that.  Simmons is a nice guy, and it would be a shame if his meathead teammates ended up shortening his career.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #77: August 18, 2013, 01:40:36 PM »
This makes a lot of sense. I'm not going to hit you, but I could. How do you like it? Who's got the most to lose?

I love going after Simmons and not hitting him. That was exactly the right guy to go after and throw behind.  He's irreplaceable for the Barves, maybe moreso than Justin U (with Gattis available). It even helps that he had done nothing.  If a team that is obviously a heavy favorite to be playing in October can engage in the chicken poop move of chucking at one guy 3 times and injuring him, then someone ought to put it into their messed up minds that they are the team with the most to lose in terms of a possible championship.  Throwing behind him was not going to hurt him if you threw low, like Stras did - unlike Avilan, who threw shoulder height at Bryce.  The first WP by Stras was to set up "Oh I've lost control."  Sort of a Nuke Lalouche move.  Then two straight low balls far enough behind Simmons to miss him. 

If Atlanta wants to throw at Bryce, they ought to sit down and talk to Nomar Garciaparra about getting hit on the wrist before the playoffs in 1999.  Facing the NYY with Lou Merloni as the shortstop had a bit of an impact. Nomar was pretty much permanently sapped of power after that.  Simmons is a nice guy, and it would be a shame if his meathead teammates ended up shortening his career.

Online PowerBoater69

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #78: August 18, 2013, 01:40:51 PM »

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #79: August 18, 2013, 01:42:15 PM »

Online welch

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #80: August 18, 2013, 03:19:22 PM »
I wish Strasburg had just hit Simmons in the wrist. Period. Why tease them when you can hurt them?

Offline MorseTheHorse

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #81: August 19, 2013, 07:53:03 AM »
I love going after Simmons and not hitting him. That was exactly the right guy to go after and throw behind.  He's irreplaceable for the Barves, maybe moreso than Justin U (with Gattis available). It even helps that he had done nothing.  If a team that is obviously a heavy favorite to be playing in October can engage in the chicken poop move of chucking at one guy 3 times and injuring him, then someone ought to put it into their messed up minds that they are the team with the most to lose in terms of a possible championship.  Throwing behind him was not going to hurt him if you threw low, like Stras did - unlike Avilan, who threw shoulder height at Bryce.  The first WP by Stras was to set up "Oh I've lost control."  Sort of a Nuke Lalouche move.  Then two straight low balls far enough behind Simmons to miss him. 

If Atlanta wants to throw at Bryce, they ought to sit down and talk to Nomar Garciaparra about getting hit on the wrist before the playoffs in 1999.  Facing the NYY with Lou Merloni as the shortstop had a bit of an impact. Nomar was pretty much permanently sapped of power after that.  Simmons is a nice guy, and it would be a shame if his meathead teammates ended up shortening his career.


this is a joke, right?  It might be plausible if nobody was on base and it was the fifth or sixth, but Schafer scored from first on those 3 wild pitches and Stras got tossed in the second in a game we needed to win (we need to win all our games heh)

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #82: August 19, 2013, 08:08:07 AM »
this is a joke, right?  It might be plausible if nobody was on base and it was the fifth or sixth, but Schafer scored from first on those 3 wild pitches and Stras got tossed in the second in a game we needed to win (we need to win all our games heh)

You are operating under the premise that the outcome of the game mattered more than settling the score. I don't think the Nats believe that to be the case any more. They got pushed into a corner by the Barves and the umps (who should have tossed the idiot who threw at Harper the second and third time.)

I don't think this thing is over. Next batter who gets hit will start another round.

Online Slateman

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #83: August 19, 2013, 08:21:27 AM »
I wish Strasburg had just hit Simmons in the wrist. Period. Why tease them when you can hurt them?

Save that for the last series. Be kind of ironic if someone broke a wrist right before the playoffs.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #84: August 19, 2013, 08:33:53 AM »
this is a joke, right?  It might be plausible if nobody was on base and it was the fifth or sixth, but Schafer scored from first on those 3 wild pitches and Stras got tossed in the second in a game we needed to win (we need to win all our games heh)

Strasburg has shown himself to be an emotional cat. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he thought making a statement was of primary importance. The other starter was already out. We had a lead. :shrug:

Offline MorseTheHorse

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #85: August 19, 2013, 08:57:05 AM »
You are operating under the premise that the outcome of the game mattered more than settling the score. I don't think the Nats believe that to be the case any more. They got pushed into a corner by the Barves and the umps (who should have tossed the idiot who threw at Harper the second and third time.)

I don't think this thing is over. Next batter who gets hit will start another round.

damn that is depressing if scaring the Barves is more important than winning games, but you may be right. 

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #86: August 19, 2013, 08:59:22 AM »
damn that is depressing if scaring the Barves is more important than winning games, but you may be right.

It might have been a poorly calculated risk. We were up by three, and the Braves starter was already out. Maybe not all that well thought-through. Stras has shown himself to be an emotional player.

Or maybe he meant to plunk Simmons, and really was wild. :)

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #87: August 19, 2013, 09:10:13 AM »
damn that is depressing if scaring the Barves is more important than winning games, but you may be right. 

Its not about scaring the Barves. It's about sending a message to them and the rest of the league that they can't continue to try to intimidate the Nats (and particularly Harper.) You can sort of look at it as putting in the building blocks for next year.

The Barves are particularly stupid for picking a fight with a team that has nothing to lose. And, yes, that would be the Nats at this point.

Offline Matugi

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #88: August 19, 2013, 09:10:48 AM »
Stras was awesome and then Roark going out there and stunting on the entire Braves lineup was even more awesome.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #89: August 19, 2013, 09:12:44 AM »
Strasburg has shown himself to be an emotional cat. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he thought making a statement was of primary importance. The other starter was already out. We had a lead. :shrug:


Lead, schmead. That was not the most important thing at this point.

And, if you mean that Stras is one intense, competitive mofo by calling him an emotional cat, then I'm OK with that. The team can use more of that.

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #90: August 19, 2013, 09:34:26 AM »
Lead, schmead. That was not the most important thing at this point.

Winning is the only thing that matters in the major leagues.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #91: August 19, 2013, 09:59:59 AM »
Winning is the only thing that matters in the major leagues.

If you like, this helps the team win in the future. If you have to sacrifice ONE game to do it, so be it.

But I agree with you in general and that's why I have such a problem with the "let's play for a better draft pick" crowd.

Offline TigerFan

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #92: August 19, 2013, 10:02:07 AM »
Winning is the only thing that matters in the major leagues.

It is surely the most important thing but it is not the only thing. 

Offline Galah

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #93: August 19, 2013, 10:25:17 AM »
It is surely the most important thing but it is not the only thing. 

true dat

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #94: August 19, 2013, 10:53:51 AM »
It is surely the most important thing but it is not the only thing. 

It's jeopardizing your chances to win one game (which they won anyway) to better position yourself to win in the future.

Offline Ray D

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #95: August 19, 2013, 11:06:02 AM »
It's jeopardizing your chances to win one game (which they won anyway) to better position yourself to win in the future.

If by this we mean compromising a given game to improve the overall season record, yes, it's done all the time (for example you don't blow out your bullpen to win a game and have no relievers left for the next game). But if "win in the future" is intended to extend beyond the season then no, I don't agree.   Talk about tanking games to get a better draft pick makes me puke.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #96: August 19, 2013, 11:09:08 AM »
If by this we mean compromising a given game to improve the overall season record, yes, it's done all the time (for example you don't blow out your bullpen to win a game and have no relievers left for the next game). But if "win in the future" is intended to extend beyond the season then no, I don't agree.   Talk about tanking games to get a better draft pick makes me puke.

No, no, no. Not tanking games to get better draft picks. I feel the same way. Repulsive.

It's about risking one game to make a statement to the league that you are not going to be intimidated, i.e., don't throw at our best player or they will be hell to pay. That helps Harper and the team to win in the future.

Offline Ray D

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #97: August 19, 2013, 11:19:39 AM »
I agree with the principle.   

Problem is, I just don't believe in throwing at a batter.   No matter what the provocation.  You could kill someone.  Fight it out.  If Harper charged the mound and beat the crap out of Tehran, I'd be happy with that.

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #98: August 19, 2013, 11:29:10 AM »
I agree with the principle.   

Problem is, I just don't believe in throwing at a batter.   No matter what the provocation.  You could kill someone.  Fight it out.  If Harper charged the mound and beat the crap out of Tehran, I'd be happy with that.

I actually agree that you shouldn't threw at batters but it's the law of the jungle. When they are throwing at your players repeatedly and the umps are doing nothing about it, you have no choice. I too would have rather seen Harper kick that punk Teheran's ass but he would have never gotten there. That fatass McCan was going to get in the way.

My problem with this whole thing is that this follows the Hamels thing last year. Both were unprovoked attacks on Harper in particular. He seems to draw the ire of certain insecure dicks around the league. The Nats had no choice but to send a message that they're not going to tolerate this crap anymore.

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Re: The Stephen Strasburg Appreciation Thread
« Reply #99: August 19, 2013, 11:41:46 AM »
Trouble with charging the mound is that 7 Braves plus the catcher are already on the field. Nats are in the dugout. It would be Harper against five or six guys.

Principle with Simmons is that the Braves only "depth" at SS and 2B is Janisch and some minor-leaguers. They can't replace him, and they suffered last season when he was hurt in June or thereabouts.

Message from Strasburg: I can throw 99 mph, and, unlike the departed HRod, I can hit any spot I choose. Got it, Braves? I could have put those pitches at the back of Simmons head. Therefore, cut the crap.