"Rookie ace Stephen Strasburg exited early, wincing with a strained tendon in his right forearm." That's how the local paper here in the Garden State greeted me this morning in the AP's widely circulated, "NL Roundup" which is titled, "Strasburg strains tendon." The Nationals are reportedly going to have their 22-year-old '09 no.1 overall pick undergo an MRI this morning, and til that's completed no one expects to hear much from the DC Front Office. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) quoted Adam Dunn this morning on Twitter discussing the injury to the Nats' right-hander:
"Adam Dunn on Strasburg: 'Obviously it scared him. But after seeing his reaction, I would probably say it's not too serious.'''
Which was a lot more comforting than reading Nats Insider.com's Mark Zuckerman's (@markzuckerman) tweet last night which quoted Phillies' outfielder Shane Victorino saying, "...to #Phillies reporters," that, "[Plate ump O'Nora] said he heard something pop." USA Today's Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) expressed the sentiment you're hearing from all corners of NatsTown and elsewhere around the country when he wrote this morning that, "No matter what the result of Stasburg's MRI today, it's difficult envisioning the Nats letting him pitch again this year."
Lost in all the injury talk is just how good Strasburg looked last night before that last changeup. There's a reason the Philly fans gave a warm ovation to the Nats' starter when he left the mound. (ed. note - "I know, but why acknowledge the lack of class.") Through 4.1 IP, Strasburg had thrown just 56 pitches, 38 for strikes, allowing 2 hits and 1 ER to go with 6 K's, 3 backwards, 3 swinging, including the second K of the night he got from Raul Ibanez, who stared a 2-2 curve in for a called strike three in the at bat before Strasburg exited the game.
The latest word this morning is not good though, though it's probably what's expected. Will Carroll (aka The Injury Expert @injuryexpert), sent out the following message via the Twitter around 10:30 am EST:
"Sources telling me Strasburg's season is done and that Nats fans will hear those five magic words soon."
No word from the Nationals as of 10:34 pm EST...