Strasburg shines in debut
By: Turner Sports Desk
Jim Turner
Turnersportsdesk.com
June 8, 2010
Pressure does not build character, it reveals it. Imagine
you are Stephen Strasburg with the weight of the entire Washington Nationals
franchise on your back along with the hype of being one of the best pitching prospects
in the history of baseball. How does Strasburg respond to the biggest and most
pressure packed night in his life?
Seven
innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 runs and the 2nd best strikeout
performance of any rookie with 14 strikeouts. He was challenged when Delwyn Young took a 90 mph change up to the seats for two runs Strasburg struck out the next 7 batters he faced. He was tested and he responded. This was the Pirates so we need to keep
this in perspective but Strasburg showed some wicked stuff and he is only going
to get better.
The Washington Nationals franchise came to DC in 2004 but
any credibility attached to this franchise began tonight along with the Stephen
Strasburg era. It is now up to the Lerner family ownership to surround him with
enough talent, skill, experience and grit to challenge for a championship with
this once in a generation player. The drafting of another once in a generation
player like Bryce Harper gives the Nationals two cornerstone players along with
a finite window to do something special.
Strasburg and Harper have the chance to present a high level
of baseball to local kids thus planting the seeds of a baseball tradition in
Washington. Let us hope that this is the beginning of a journey down the path
to respectability and eventually championships. Fairly or unfairly the Nationals fate is now linked to Strasburg. If every journey begins with a single step Strasburg took a very large first step with the weight of the world on his shoulders.