Running 2017 MLB postseason thread

He was ready to pitch at the start of the season.

They went 19-9 in his starts and won the division by four games. It's not like they were sitting there April 1 and planning their postseason rotation.

 

You don't have an intelligent answer b/c there is none. The Nationals would be dangerous if they were half as smart as they think they are.

 

He was coming off an injury and maybe they wanted to see early how he would perform? The Nats won the division by 4 games. Holding off Strasburg until the beginning of May could have been the difference between winning the division or losing it. They won 4 of his 5 start. he went 32 inning and 4 earned runs in those 5 starts.

in hindsight, Giving up 2 starts before the ASG and 2 starts after the ASG would have kept him within the pitching limits and allowed him 4 post season starts.

 

A team doesn't get many chances at the brass ring. The Nationals advancing to the LCS or beyond this year won't change the fact they didn't adjust the plan when a title was within their grasp in 2012. The Mets don't do much right, but they were absolutely right to adjust their plan/push Matt Harvey in 2015, especially since it might be another three decades before they get back to the World Series. The easy retort (not necessarily from you, but in general) is to say "well look at how Harvey has pitched and gotten hurt since then," but Harvey would still be an off-field disaster who didn't take care of himself if the Mets shut him down in September '15. At least Strasburg is a mature human being.

 

a mature human being with a history of arm problems. Shutting Strasburg down was the right move. People are far too often blinded by the short term, they stuck to the process and they were right to do so.

 

And if they never win it all? (Fully understanding this hot take may be cooling dramatically in seven hours)

 

I still think its the right move at the time regardless of results.

I'd rather follow medical advice and a thought out plan for the players long term future than emotional fans who aren't rational, not that fans should be expected to be rational but teams should be.

 

But there's no guarantee shutting Strasburg down maintained his long-term future (also, of course, no guarantee they win it all with him in 2012, but I'd rather take a shot with him than without). He's had all sorts of injuries since then, including the flexor tendon injury last year, though none as serious as Harvey's last two injuries. The Nats' own research indicates they are wary about rebuilt elbows before a decade is out (The Nationals' $175 million gamble on Stephen Strasburg's elbow). He's gonna be 30 next summer and has one 200-inning season under his belt. The odds he becomes a 32-start-a-season horse in his 30s would seem to be slim. So if they don't make the World Series this year, the odds increase they played it safe for...what, exactly?

 

Why do they need him for 32 starts a season or some ungodly number of innings?

They need him for October. Period.

 

In my book, absolutely. With one more year, he'll have a chance at 250 career wins. With five-man rotations instead of four, 250 is the new 300.

 

Just saying, their explanation was they were protecting his long-term future when he's done little to nothing to indicate he can become a reliable, every-five-days guy since the kid gloves treatment.

 

Did they ever define that as being what they wanted or needed?

He made 28 starts this year. They went 22-6. I imagine they're pretty happy with that even if they go 0-4 in the four starts he doesn't make.

TJ is a new world. Seems like a guy giving you 175 incredible innings and being there for the postseason makes him worth his value.