I expected to be writing about the Washington Nationals having signed either Carl Pavano or Adam LaRoche this afternoon, but since neither player has agreed to a deal anywhere as of this moment, I was searching around for something to write about for a quick post when SBNation.com editor Jon Bois sent me a link via Twitter to a list of the The Best Animated Sports GIFs Of 2010, which includes a clip of the Nats' '09 no.1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg dropping a "Back-to-the-Bench" 81 mph 2-2 bender on yet another overwhelmed hitter. (ed. note - "Pretty sure that's Delwyn Young, who would hit the first HR off Stras.")
Here's what Mr. Bois had to say about this particular pitch (which I've posted after the jump to spare you all the slow load times these things often cause..."):
"When you saw Ubaldo Jimenez's pitch included in this list, you may have been expecting this one. This pitch was thrown during Stephen Strasburg's first major-league start. Jeff Sullivan simply posted this and said, "Good luck everybody."
As I said before, I don't remember ever seeing so much slack-jawed gawking at pitch movement. This is the GIF I sent to my friends who don't like baseball (most of my friends). If you don't like baseball, that's fine, and I understand. At the least, though, we should be able to appreciate the moments at which it's at its most terrible and beautiful."
Great stuff and definitely worth a look. If we have to wait til August/September or 2012 to see Stras on the mound again, that's fine, I'll just keep watching this over and over again...
SWING AT IT!!!!!!!!!!