Waiting on the Strasburg start
By: Sam Smith
June 12, 2010
As we await Stephen Strasburg’s next start, we must remember that he is only a rookie. Don’t look for something extravagant such as another 14 strikeout game, because that rarely happens.
Strasburg said himself that the 14 strikeouts were lucky, and keep in mind that he will be facing a Cleveland Indians lineup that has been on a tear the last four games. They’ve scored 33 runs in that span.
However, we are still talking about Strasburg. It is fair to put the recent success in Cleveland aside and look at the facts. It’s Cleveland, they are a losing team, Strasburg should dominate.
Judging by Strasburg’s minor league dominance and the ridiculous first game he pitched, he has not had an inconsistency problem. If he can just restrain from hanging his changeup again, in the middle of the plate, we should expect the same velocity and location. Cleveland is in trouble.
Ivan Rodriguez will have the catching duties once again. Cleveland is in trouble. Oh that’s right, I already said that.
Hopefully Rodriguez will be catching all Strasburg’s starts. Strasburg seemed comfortable throwing to Pudge, and it would be nice to see him develop a relationship and learn from the future hall-of-famer early in his career.
Austin Kearns thinks he is hot, but he better be ready to swing early and often, because in the words of Bruce Springsteen, “he can throw that old speed ball by you.”
Oh yeah, and don’t flinch on the breaker.
