The glass half full view of the Strasburg injury
By: Turner Sports Desk
Jim Turner
Turnersportsdesk.com
August 30, 2010
The first reaction of most Washingtonians to the Stephen Strasburg
injury was I told you so. There was something too good to be true about all of
the hype and promise this incredibly hyped pitcher brought to a city that rarely gets a player like this. Until recently, players that are the best in their respective sport like Alexander Ovechkin came here on other teams so Washington fans caught them in passing. Strasburg is a once in a generation talent and if he
lived up to the hype he would have turned Washington into a baseball friendly town and if things went really well brought
a chance for a championship with him.
Hey it is still early and all of those things could still
turn out to be true but the nay-sayers and doom prophets are clucking like
chickens now. I choose to take a different path with regard to Strasburg’s
recent setback. I think his injury will help the Nationals more in the long run
because they will be below average again and likely get another high draft
pick. The Nationals need more talent at just about every position and
unfortunately you have to be bad in order to get the best talent.
The Nationals recently signed another once in a generation
player in Left Fielder, Bryce Harper. The kid has posted incredible numbers at
the age of 17 but he is not likely to get to the big club until late 2011 or
early 2012. Harper is an everyday player which is likely to have more impact on
the nationals than Strasburg who starts every five days. The silver lining in
the Strasburg injury is the Nats will either be able to draft a talented
position player or another talented pitcher. If Strasburg can return to be the
guy the scouts touted him to be the Nats still need pitching help beyond
Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman. The bottom line for me is this is a glass half
empty or half full scenario for Washington
fans. You can choose to be a doom prophet or you can choose to see the
possibilities. I think the Nationals will be the better team through this temporary
setback.