Baseball Jesus can hit, too!

 

(Photo by Getty Images. Stephen Strasburg runs the bases spectacularly after doubling in Altoona April 11.)

"I was just really happy to hit the ball."
(Stephen Strasburg, via MLB.com, 4/28/2010)

Strasburg goes 1-2 with an RBI, raises average to .333 in 1-0 win against Reading.

He also pitched pretty well, too:

5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Groundouts-flyouts 8-2. 64 pitches. Not too shabby.

So, that's 3-0, 17.1 IP, 23 K, and a Clippard-esque 0.52 ERA in four starts with Harrisburg.

So, when's he coming to Washington?

"I've got to stick with the program here."
(Stephen Strasburg, via MLB.com, 4/28/2010)

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune talked to Jim Riggleman about Strasburg and...Kerry Wood. Riggleman says they're not going to "ride him too hard"...*gulp*!

"We want him to experience pitching in September, so we have a cap on the innings. He will have maybe 50 of those innings in the minor leagues, and he will have another 100 to give us. … We're not going to ride him too hard, but we do want him to experience that spring training through September cycle."
(Jim Riggleman, via Chicago Tribune, 4/27/2010)

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Comments

[ckstevenson]

I'm all for FJB's hilarious calls to promote Strasburg and have him start at the All-Star game, but why don't we just cool our jets, promote the kid to Syracuse and see how he does up there?

[The Nationals Enquirer]

I think everybody knows how he'll do "up there"...

The Nats have a Plan for Jesus, and history shows us that the Nats do not deviate from a Plan, especially if it is a capital "P" plan and even if it is not working.

In this case, the Plan is working just fine. He's got what, one more start slated for Harrisburg, then it's on to 'Cuse.

Here's hoping he doesn't make his debut in DC on the weekend of June 5, because Nationals Enquirer staff will be attending a wedding in Vegas (not our own) that weekend....

[bdrube]

I look at it this way, you can much more easily justify holding the kid to five innings per start in the minors than you could if he was competing in the bigs. Riggleman says they want him to be available in September. And if the Nats are on the edge of contention at that time they are sure as heck going to WANT him to be available then.

Better 5 inning minor league starts in April/May than Strasburg getting shut down on 9/1 with the Nats five games behind in the wild card chase. Some may argue that he should pitch to the end of the season regardless, but with all that's invested in him that's not going to happen.