BRAD’S SPORTS BLURB

Last summer the Washington Nationals selected the 21-year-old pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. Strasburg would officially sign his record four-year, $15.1 million contract with the Nationals just 77 seconds before the rookie signing deadline on Aug. 17, 2009. On June 8 of this year, Strasburg made his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski termed it "the most hyped pitching debut the game has ever seen." Strasburg picked up the win in his debut, pitching a full seven innings, allowing just two earned runs and no walks to go along with an astounding 14 strikeouts, which set a new team strikeout record.

Strasburg was the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out at least 11 batters without issuing any walks in his pro debut, while falling just one strikeout short of the all-time record for a pitcher's debut (Karl Spooner, 1954; J.R. Richard, 1971). Strasburg continued his success over the next six weeks, earning a record of 5-2 while holding down a strong 2.32 ERA.

Everything was going good for Strasburg and he looked as though he was worth every penny of that record $15.1 million contract. On the night of July 26, with Strasburg scheduled to take the mound in one of his most anticipated starts yet, he was pulled minutes before the first pitch because of tightness in his pitching arm. The Nationals made the right move by not sending Strasburg out to pitch. The team placed him on the 15-day Disabled List to give his arm some rest.

When Strasburg came back from his time off, he was a different pitcher and not the one Nationals fans had envisioned. In his three starts since coming off the DL, Strasburg went 0-1 with a 5.27 ERA. In the Nationals' case, things went from bad to worse. In Strasburg's last start, he had to be pulled after pitching just four innings because of pain in his pitching arm. On Aug. 27 the Nationals announced the their rookie sensation would not pitch again this year because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament which would likely require Tommy John surgery, followed by 12-18 months of rehabilitation.

Tommy John surgery has a history of being very controversial. For some major league pitchers, it turns their career around and they throw harder than they ever could before. Could you imagine Strasburg's fastball then? It already tops out at over 100 mph. For other pitchers, they just can't seem to stay healthy after they have Tommy John surgery, usually leading to more surgeries and an early retirement.

So essentially in a matter of months we have seen Strasburg go from what some called a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame (I being one of them) to him possibly never having a successful MLB season over the remainder of his career. I wish Stephen Strasburg all the best with his surgery and rehab, and hopefully one day he can help turn the Nationals into a serious championship contender.