Tightness in arms not hurting Stephen Strasburg as he throws bullpen session - MLB Update
Stephen Strasburg was scratched after five innings owing to tightness he felt in his arms, in the last outing. Ever since he has gone through Tommy John surgery, the Nationals have been conservative and hardly asked him for more than five innings in one
game.
Their concerns mounted following arm tightness, which was taken as a sign of injury and thus his possible sit-out from the season was feared.
In light of the role he has played in bringing the Nationals to top position on the Division table, Strasburg holds immense significance to the teams’ prospects in the season.
His ability to throw strikes at will and retire batters one-by-one without being hit frequently explains the concerns fans showed as soon as it turned out that tightness may be a beginning of an injury.
The manager Davey Johnson was however sure that tightness had nothing to do with anything worth being concerned about and that he will be starting as usual.
Even Strasburg himself was outright in denying, rubbishing reports of an injury. He went on to explain that it was more a result of rigorous practice and termed it a normal happening with pitchers.
Bullpen session Strasburg has thrown now is pure evidence of fitness and shows resumption on the mound soon by him. Despite being fit, Strasburg is aware of the fact that he will be used sparingly and will not be allowed more than five to six innings by
the club. Gradually management will be lengthening his time on the mound, he stated.
"I try not to think about too much out there," Strasburg said. "I just pitch. But they feel like there's times when they feel like it's better to take me out a little bit earlier than a little bit later. It's a long season, so I guess they're trying to maximize
my innings this year."
Strasburg will be starting as per the schedule. The manager will be hoping that his performance will not decline and whatever issues he had with his arms will not reflect on his momentum in the season.
Strasburg, on the other hand, will want to continue striking out batters the way he has been doing throughout the season.
Tags: