Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg On The CBS Evening News...

• Stephen Strasburg on the Evening News.

In the same week he was on the cover of USA Today's Sports Weekly beneath a bright red headline which read, "Making it big", Washington Nationals' right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the number one pick in the '09 Draft, was featured on the Saturday CBS Evening News in a two-and-a-half minute piece which followed segments on the war in Afghanistan/Pakistan; the difficulties John McCain's encountering in seeking re-election to the Senate; the trouble college graduates are having finding steady work; the upcoming elections in Iraq, and art stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston over twenty years ago this month. Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell was quoted in the CBS story on Strasburg explaining that all the hype about the 21-year-old right-hander might be justified, "He's got a fastball that's a hundred, he's got a curveball that looks like it hit a bird, you know, he's got a change up that looks like it's a split," but as the CBS reporter Kelly Cobiella explains, "Strasburg hates all the hype, (and) hates being compared to baseball greats like Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan," since he thinks of himself, as Strasburg's quoted stating, as just, "...another guy trying to earn a spot in the big leagues some day." Whether that day is in April or late May/June is all that's left to be decided...unless he struggles this Spring in Florida or somewhere in the minor leagues...

BACKPAGE: 

• USA Today Sports Weekly.

• "Mets" Hammer Nats.

BACKPAGE:

• USA Today Sports Weekly.

In the USA Today Sports Weekly article by Jorge L. Ortiz entitled, "Young pitchers poised to make it big", (which features contributions from Nats Insider's Mark Zuckerman) Strasburg's examined as part of a twenty-ten rookie class which could include the Reds' Aroldis Chapman (who signed with Cincinnati for nearly double what Strasburg got from DC through the draft), the Giants' Madison Bumgarner, the Orioles' Brian Matusz, Rangers' Neftali Perez and the Rays' Wade Davis, all of whom are expected to make significant contributions to their respective major league clubs' on and off field successes this season. DC GM Mike Rizzo's quoted in the article (not)-explaining the Nationals' plans for Strasburg, and the Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman's past with Kerry Wood is rehashed, but there wasn't much in either story anyone following Washington's Nationals didn't already know...

• "Mets" Hammer Nats.

The only thing worse than looking at Washington's pitchers' lines from this afternoon's 14-6 loss, is looking over the New York Mets' lineup that knocked the Nationals' arms around, collecting 20 hits to the Nats' 10, from names like Jolbert Cabrera, Mike Hessman and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Fernando Martinez, Ike Davis and Mike Jacobs hurting the Nats' pitchers I can take, (and F-Mart and Ike were nasty, a combined 7 for 9 with 4 RBI's), but Ruben Tejada (who was in Baseball America's Top 10 Mets' prospects, I guess) going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's? Kurt, or Kirk Nieuwenhuis 2 for 5 with 2 RBI's? And even 8 left stranded by the Mets as a team...So far in 4 games, Washington's given up 50 runs and 67 hits while committing errors in three of the four games...

Eric Bruntlett's 3-run HR off Mike Pelfrey in the second put the Nationals up 4-2 after DC lefty John Lannan surrendered two runs on a walk and two hits in the first before retiring the Mets in order when he came back out, but once Lannan left the mound it just got worse...

Lefty Shawn Estes surrendered a walk, 3 hits, (1 a HR), and 2 ER in 1.0 IP. Right-hander Brad Wilkie surrendered unearned run in 1.0 IP. Aaron "Acquired in the Nick Johnson Trade" Thompson gave up a hit but pitched 2.0 scoreless, and Atahualpa Severino threw his own scoreless frame, as the lone pitchers to escape harm, but Thompson's 5th and 6th were followed by Tyler Walker's 7th inning, in which the right-handed former Philly got hit hard for 5 ER and 2 HR's in one frame, and Severino's scoreless eighth was followed by Sean Burnett's poor showing in the ninth, in which he allowed 5 hits, a walk and 4 ER, and needed to be bailed out by reliever Andrew Kown, who came on to close out the top of the inning only after New York had scored its fourteenth and final run.

But there was that Bruntlett HR, and Ryan Zimmerman and Cristian Guzman were both 2 for 4...and it is only the fourth game of Spring...who's worrying..........

Next Game: IS ON TV!!! MLB.tv at least, and WPIX in NY/NJ!!! Jason Marquis' DC debut against the Mets and left-hander Oliver Perez from Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie at 1:05 pm EST Sunday. Who's Watching The Nationals????