Nats should shut Strasburg down

As young pitching phenomenon Stephen Strasburg approaches his 160 innings pitching limit, the Washington Nationals face more pressure each day to protect their ace.

The idea all along has been to sit Strasburg for the remainder of the season after he pitches 160 innings, preventing him from wearing out his arm at too young an age.

After going through Tommy John surgery in 2010 to fix his throwing elbow, and missing most of 2011, Washington wants to be extremely careful with its young pitcher.

But many fans of both the Nationals and baseball at large do not agree with the Nationals’ handling of Strasburg.

With the Nationals at the top of the big-league standings, fans say the team needs to go for the championship this season, because nothing in the future is guaranteed.
Baseball has by far the most streaks of any sport, and sometimes bad streaks can last for years. Injuries can occur to key players at any time.

But I think the Nationals are doing the right thing.

Winning a championship in any sport is all about who is hot at the right time.
Just look at last year’s Major League Baseball playoffs. The St. Louis Cardinals were a good team throughout the regular season, but not the best. Of all eight playoff teams, the Cardinals had the worst record.

But in the first round, the Cardinals faced the Philadelphia Phillies, who had the best record in baseball by five games. The red-hot red birds took down the year’s best team, and the rest was history.

If the Nationals go for it all this year, they could very well be the 2012 Phillies. And in the process, Strasburg’s elbow could sustain unwarranted wear and tear.
But by saving Strasburg, Washington provides itself with a solid foundation for the future.

It already owns one of the best young cores in all baseball, including Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Jordan Zimmermann and Ryan Zimmerman, all of whom are 27 or younger.
If they can keep the majority of their roster intact, the Nationals will to be a strong team for many years to come.

Rather than going all out in one year for a title, the better solution is to stay healthy and strong for multiple years. That way, Washington will always be in the playoff hunt year in and year out, with a strong possibility of catching fire at least one of those years.

It’s like investing. The old adage is not to put all your money into one stock, because that one stock could fail dramatically and take all your money with it.

But if you spread out your wealth, your chance to strike gold dramatically increases.
The NFL’s Green Bay Packers worked this plan to perfection. They could have gone for one last title push with Brett Favre back in 2008 but instead entrusted their future with Aaron Rodgers.

They now already have one Super Bowl in the Rodgers era with a strong possibility of winning at least one more.

The Nationals will have to make a decision. Do they want to go all in and risk the future of their franchise for one year? Will they stay patient and trust their young talent
to bring home a title in years to come?

We’ll find out in October.

­— tlstutzm@indiana.edu