re: National's decision to shut down Strasburg

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I saw that there was a pitcher on Atlanta that was in the same situation as Strasburg. What Atlanta did though was start him in the bullpen, then move him to the rotation so they could use him the whole year. I forgot his name and someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but that seemed like a much better strategy.

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Yeah, Medlen was spectacular this year.

The problem with this whole debate is that everyone will try to justify their decision with hindsight if the Nationals lose. The fact of the matter is that there is no one correct answer to this question. Every pitcher and situation is unique.

quote:

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I saw that there was a pitcher on Atlanta that was in the same situation as Strasburg. What Atlanta did though was start him in the bullpen, then move him to the rotation so they could use him the whole year. I forgot his name and someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but that seemed like a much better strategy.

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Since hindsight is 20/20 how did this strategy work out for the Braves? I have pitched and been around the game for a long time and I'm not sure what is the right call. I can tell you that I continued to suit up and run out onto the field and have 5 knee surgeries and arthritis at 44 yrs old to show for it an I never even played on the pro level. I read an article in SI recently on Davey Johnson and he talks about putting players welfare in front of winning a few more games, kind of like an old wise man approach and the players love playing for him so it seems to work for him. Guess we will see.