2012 MLB Season

[NEW.ERA]

I can find solace in knowing that the Phillies and Sawks are just as awful as the Blue Jays.

[Kramerica Industries]

So I just heard that baseball is going back to the 2-3 format for the divisional series.

Uhhhh, why?

MLB bumrushed the new Wild Card format, after the television schedules had been set.

This is only a one year thing, but it can still end up penalizing the top two seeds, and especially the top seed, under some circumstances.

As I've said before, I strongly prefer a best-of-7, but if MLB wants a best-of-5, then the wild card matchup should be a 1-4 or 2-1-2. That would be a real penalty for the wild card winner.

[Epiphanic]

Okay, then look at the 2007 Diamondbacks. They were the last team that made the baseball world say, "Wow, these guys are going to win a lot of championships." Well, they were terrible the next three seasons. They won a division last year, but it's obvious they never became as good as they looked to be in 2007. Or take a look at the 2007 Rockies. They were loaded with young talent. They faltered in 2008 and had another crazy run to win the Wild Card in 2009, but they never became a great team.

Side note about the 2007 Diamondbacks. They were also one of the only teams ever to be outscored and win their division. The Pythagorean Expectation isn't the be-all-end-all of team analysis, but it is important to remember that their Pythagorean record was 79-83 and they finished with an actual record of 90-72. 11 games better! The idea that the Diamondbacks failed to be a great team after 2007 should be prefaced with the fact that they probably weren't a good team in 2007 to begin with.

[TheOldRoman]

Bartolo Colon suspended for 50 games for failed drug test.

So, high fructose corn syrup is banned now?

[Seadragon76]

Bartolo Colon suspended for 50 games for failed drug test.

So, high fructose corn syrup is banned now?

I just wonder where the hell all of this synthetic testosterone is coming from, because it was a literal unknown and now... Two guys from Bay Area teams get nailed for it.

[NJTank]

Bartolo Colon suspended for 50 games for failed drug test.

I guess he was the only one tricked into ordering suplements of Melky Cabrera's website

[STL FANATIC]

Then extend the regular season by two games and get rid of the Division Series. What the hell has ever happened in a Division Series.

I do understand your point, but there can be great moments in the NLDS. Last year's 1-0 Cardinals win over the Phillies in Game 5 was one of the best pitched post-season games of all-time.

Cards scored one in the first and Halladay shut them down for 7 inning after (pitching 8 total). Madson pitched a perfect ninth. And the Phillies lost because Carpenter pitched a complete game shutout.

It's a baseball game, and the outcome is important, so there's as much room for special occurrences as just about any time.

But all of that said... I wasn't lying when I said I understand your point, and I'm not sure I disagree.

[Lights Out]

I'm at the point where I just wish Selig and co. would give up the charade when it comes to steroids. If players want to roid themselves into oblivion and look like a freakish mutant for the rest of their lives, that's their choice.

[HedleyLamarr]

You're right that we don't know if pitching or not pitching Strasburg will lead to more injuries, however the fact of the matter is the Nationals staff believe that pitching him too much this year will lead to unnecessary strain and make him susceptible to injuries later in his career. They're taking this tack to hoping to give Strasburg the best chance at being a 200-inning dominating horse for years to come.

What if Strasburg pitches, they still flame out of the playoffs and then blows his arm out again? Will it still have been worth it? I say no. You have to be in October to win in October, and I'd rather the Nationals do what they can to give themselves the best chance at winning a series of division titles to play in October. This might be their only chance to win, but I'm willing to bet that it's not. And if Strasburg gets burned out because the team overworked him this year, I'd be more pissed about that than any kind of "missed opportunity" this year.

If you can guarantee that using Strasburg would win the Nationals a World Series title, then maybe, maybe it would be worth it to let him go. But the playoffs are a bit of a crapshoot (to paraphrase Billy Beane), so the higher risk of ruining his arm isn't worth the added probability of winning it all this year.

Regarding, Edwin Jackson pitching in a pivotal playoff game, I'd be okay with it.

IN RIZZO WE TRUST!

Edit: A few more replies while I was composing mine.

Heading into June, it was pretty apparent the Nats were having a special season and had a great rotation 1-5. They should have started skipping Strasburg every second or third start. It wouldn't have hurt them very much. Maybe throw him on the DL once or twice with a BS excuse to give him a breather. Get him to the 160-170 mark at the end of September. Not only would the innings have been less stressful because he had more rest in between starts, but that would allow him to be considered for the postseason. At that point, if 3-4 postseason starts pushed his innings total to 180-190, it wouldn't be as taxing since that number would be spread out over an extra month.

They did think about that, and they actually did that with Zimmermann a bit. But they found that Zimmermann pitched worse with the longer rest. At the beginning of the season, they felt that it would be best for Strasburg to take the mound every 5th day, have a routine, and get shut down when he's done. So that's the plan they've stuck with. You can argue that maybe they should've started him in June instead of April or whatever, but they didn't.

The important thing is that this situation doesn't have any kind of precedent. Everything that we all say is just pure speculation and I choose to believe that the Nationals are taking the course that will benefit them the best going forward.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but we don't have that benefit.

Maybe it's been discussed in the Washington area....

Have they given any consideration towards limiting his pitches/innings for the rest of the season (6 innings or 75 pitches or whatever) and keep him in the rotation this season.......then have Strasburg have a delayed Spring Training in 2013 and have him not pitch until May?

[St Louis Cardinals]

The Washington Nationals are 77-46, 7 games up in their division (and 10-4 against the Braves), have an offense that is rounding into form, and the best pitching staff in baseball.

Furthermore, the American League has been quite stricken by parity this year - the World Series is as up for grabs as ever. I think only the Reds are near the Nationals level in the NL.

So tell me, once again, how they can logically support shutting down their best pitcher? They are not guaranteed to be this good in 2013/14/15 - they have a chance for the title, they've gotta take it. Flags Fly Forever.

Since Strasburg pitches every fifth day or so, then the Nats still have a pretty good chance to win those games in which he's not pitching regardless of their opponent.

However, it would be beneficial for the Nats to not shutdown Strasburg completely since their possible playoff rotation would consist of Gonzalez, Zimmermann, Detwiler, and Jackson, which is still formidable, but not as daunting of a challenge as it seems.

I don't think the Nats will be able to pick-up a solid #2 starter at the waiver deadline, but if they do, then the rotation could consist of Gonzalez, #2 Guy, Zimmermann, Detwiler, and Jackson or Lannan.

Joe Saunders?

[Kramerica Industries]

Joe Saunders is not a formidable #2.

[epper]

The Blue Jays just ended their game with their 45-year old shortstop caught stealing 2nd with 2 outs in the 9th. Pretty sure this season just hit a new low.

[NEW.ERA]

Jays 5-15 in August

Rays 15-5 in August

Welp.

[NJTank]

Jays 5-15 in August

Rays 15-5 in August

Welp.

The amount of injuries the Jays have gone trough it would be unfair to expect anything else.

[St Louis Cardinals]

Joe Saunders is not a formidable #2.

ya but he's the best pitcher on the market right now

[Kramerica Industries]

White Sox drop the brooms on the Yankees for the first time in Chicago, in 21 years.

The Yankees once twelve game lead over the Rays is now 75% gone, and it's not entirely because the Yankees have been playing horrible ball lately.

[Epiphanic]

Maybe it's been discussed in the Washington area....

Have they given any consideration towards limiting his pitches/innings for the rest of the season (6 innings or 75 pitches or whatever) and keep him in the rotation this season.......then have Strasburg have a delayed Spring Training in 2013 and have him not pitch until May?

As I understand it, they have given consideration toward limiting pitches/innings per outing. Ultimately, they feel it's best to pitch Strasburg normally and when he reaches whatever his limit is, he's done. They think that trying to "game his starts" to make him last longer isn't the best way to go.

Regarding letting him go long this season and then start him late next year, I don't think that was considered a serious option. I'm not a physical therapist or kinesiologist or whatever, but I doubt that's the tack you'd want to take recovering from Tommy John. I believe the idea is to gradually build his strength and endurance up. Not run him dry and then give added rest later.

[Lights Out]

White Sox drop the brooms on the Yankees for the first time in Chicago, in 21 years.

The Yankees once twelve game lead over the Rays is now 75% gone, and it's not entirely because the Yankees have been playing horrible ball lately.

Definitely feels like 2010 all over again, hopefully with the same division champ at the end.

[ninersdd]

It's always great to sweep the Dodgers and take a 2 1/2 lead in the division!

[marlinfan]

I'm at the point where I just wish Selig and co. would give up the charade when it comes to steroids. If players want to roid themselves into oblivion and look like a freakish mutant for the rest of their lives, that's their choice.

They'll all have YOLO tattoos.