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OT: Nats fans, what's up with Strasburg?

Chris92

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Dec 2, 2001
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No doubt this guy is good to very good. But, why isn't he developing into the elite pitcher everyone expected? With that being said, I'm sure he'll no hit my Phils five times over this season and next.
 
He just doesn't seem to have the zip he had before. His command isn't quite as good either. He is still an extremely good pitcher but he doesn't seem to be the same dominant guy post Tommy John as he was before.

Matt Harvey has come back and is throwing upper 90s and his command is extremely good which is a little surprising because command is the last thing pitchers normally get back after the procedure. Harvey is also having his struggles a little bit with his slider which was his bread and butter before Tommy John. His curveball and change now seem to be his goto off speed pitches, at least so far.

I think regardless how strong you come back, things change and you kind of have to reinvent yourself a little. Strasburg will have a long productive career and will make the necessary changes. He still has gas but may the average is down a little.
 
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Not sure about SS. Not sure he was ever going to live up to expectations. I will say that the Marlins (despite their record) look like a playoff team. We'll see what happens.
 
No doubt this guy is good to very good. But, why isn't he developing into the elite pitcher everyone expected? With that being said, I'm sure he'll no hit my Phils five times over this season and next.

When he first got to the majors, his throwing mechanics were very awkward. Put a lot of stress on the arm/elbow. Those mechanics might have been what were getting him to throw 100+ heat and low 90's "offspeed" stuff. But that arm was going to blow out if he kept it up, which it did. He has re-invented his mechanics for longevity sake, but in the process he's had to sacrifice a few MPH off his fastball. His control has also been rather poor last season or so.
 
242 strikeouts to 43 walks last year in 215 innings. That the poor control you're talking about?
 
Last night, Curt Schilling was explaining the difference between control and command. He said control means you can throw strikes and not walk a ton of hitters. But command is being able to put the pitch where you want it in the strike zone (or outside the strike zone for that matter). There is such a thing as being wild in the strike zone. Pitchers that are wild in the strike zone usually get lit up at some point.
 
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Last night, Curt Schilling was explaining the difference between control and command. He said control means you can throw strikes and not walk a ton of hitters. But command is being able to put the pitch where you want it in the strike zone (or outside the strike zone for that matter). There is such a thing as being wild in the strike zone. Pitchers that are wild in the strike zone usually get lit up at some point.

THANK YOU
 
You said he had bad control. So now we're changing it to bad command? How does he have a career 3.09 ERA and 2.84 FIP then?
 
You said he had bad control. So now we're changing it to bad command? How does he have a career 3.09 ERA and 2.84 FIP then?

Were those the #'s fans were looking for when they were calling him the second coming of Christ? He hasn't had a full season with a sub-3 ERA. So I'm not saying he's a bad pitcher, but has he lived up to his billing?
 
I don't care, I don't judge pitchers based on media hype and fans on message boards. He's 26, has led the league in K's, and has a career 3.09 era despite undergoing major elbow surgery. He's had a very good career so far
 
You want pitching stats? Here's some pitching stats. Name that pitcher?

IP: 264.1 H: 199 R: 74 ER: 72 HR: 15 BB: 60 K: 292 ERA: 2.45 WHIP: 0.98 BAA: .208
 
Here's another pitching stat. Only 2 pitchers in the modern era have given up 1 or 0 runs in 20 out of their first 40 starts.

They are....drum roll please.....Dwight Gooden and.....Matt Harvey.
 
If you are an advanced metrics guy, which I am not, Strasburg was considered on of the top 5 pitchers in MLB last year. So it doesn't really sound like he had control or command issues.

The other four listed were, Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, and Chris Sale just to show they weren't obscure guys based on obscure stats.
 
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