Two or three starts remaining for Stephen Strasburg in the season, says Davey Johnson-MLB Update
The shutdown of Washington Nationals’ ace Stephen Strasburg has almost become a reality as the manager Davey Johnson says only two to three starts remain for the end of his expedition in the season.
Nationals' General Manager Mike Rizzo has never stated anything which rules out the idea of shutting him down and whenever he has been asked about this he clarified that the innings-limit will be imposed on him in any case.
The Nationals are meticulous about caring for their pitchers. Instead of aiming to gain short term objectives from them if they are prone to some injury the team officials give proper time for recovery so that they benefit the club for a longer period of
time.
Their starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann had gone through Tommy John surgery. Realising the vulnerability of the hurler’s shoulder, team officials set an innings limit and did not allow him to throw more than the specified number in the upcoming season.
In this way, they helped the starter gradually return to his groove as a pitcher.
Similar was the case before them at the start of this season with their most dependable arm on the rotation as Strasburg had undergone Tommy John surgery. Unsurprisingly the management decided about his shutdown late in the season regardless of the circumstances.
Right now as the season heads toward its conclusion, Strasburg has been informed about how many games he is left to throw.
Meanwhile, Johnson proclaims they are getting rid of a starter who is throwing impeccably in the season. Certainly this calls for reliable replacement so that a major setback can be avoided.
"He's perfect as far as I'm concerned, his work habits. ... It's just (he still has a) learning curve, with hitters, how he locates the ball, not getting frustrated," Johnson said. "Just stuff that comes from experience."
However, Johnson believes that Strasburg still has a long way to go for maturing in many areas for example how to stay hopeful in the face of hopeless situations during the games and how to hit the right spots in the strike zone consistently.
Therefore, he will hope that by the beginning of the next season Strasburg has worked out all the issues with his throws and his temperament. It will be fascinating to see as to how Strasburg appears next year and takes up the responsibilities.
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