Stephen Strasburg put on his usual show over the weekend, striking out 14 batters in seven innings against the No. 16 team in the country while improving to 9-0 with a 1.54 ERA on the season. However, the consensus No. 1 pick (and then some) also showed that he's human by running out of steam racking up a huge pitch count for the second straight start and eventually serving up a three-run homer in his final inning of work.
"I didn't want a walk there with two men on," Strasburg said. "I threw a fastball over the plate and I paid for it." At this point Strasburg simply giving up runs is a surprise, so a three-homer is nearly unheard of, but the bigger concern from his latest performance is that San Diego State pitching coach Rusty Filter allowed his 20-year-old phenom to throw 121 pitches one start after throwing 129 pitches.
Worse, he pitched two innings after complaining of cramping and dehydration. "I hit the wall in the sixth inning," Strasburg said. "I don't know if it's because I had a complete game last week or not. I was cramping up. It was really a nagging thing." So what did Filter and head coach Tony Gwynn do to allow Strasburg to go beyond 120 pitches for the second straight outing?
"The cramp thing hit him about the fifth inning, so the trainers pumped a bunch of fluids in him and he was fine," Filter said. Wonderful. San Diego State's coaching staff is no doubt simply trying to win as many games as they can and they'll never have another pitcher like Strasburg, but is there no obligation to look past that night's Mountain West Conference game to a career that could be worth several hundred million dollars?
If nothing else Strasburg is six weeks from becoming perhaps the richest player in the history of the draft, yet he's throwing 250 pitches in back-to-back starts and pitching through cramping. Strasburg is often called the best college pitcher since Mark Prior, but if he follows the same unfortunate path professionally Filter may end being the next Dusty Baker.
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It is ridiculous how some colleges overuse top pitchers. I wonder if this is a bigger problem at a school thinking a particular pitcher might be their best chance for a CWS title.
I agree. It is ridiculous. I am so glad that other big-time college sports, like football and basketball, consider the professional prospects of their athletes before pumping them full of pain killers and sending them out to play for nothing. I do not know what motivated Strasburg to come back to San Diego for another season in college, but he must have known that he was risking his financial future in doing so. Can the coaches be blamed for trying to win? I think there is a material difference between sending an elite college athlete out to pitch through a cramp then sending him out to pitch with arm soreness. Maybe Nolan Ryan should work with this Stasburg kid.
Tony Gwynn is about an 80 IQ... He made MILLIONS yet filed for BANKRUPSY years back. That tells you about his intelligence. It's all about hype. Just because you can hit 3000 grounders through the shortstop hole doesn't make you a baseball coach. The man doesn't know anything about the physical makeup of pitchers and innings pitched and sore arms and dehydration... He's never been there. He wants to ride this pitching phenom horse for his own personal glory. Once you've been in the spotlight and are now just a retired Joe without the glory and attention you tend to do stupid things to get noticed. He should not be a baseball coach.
Tony Gwynn is making it a lot easier for big league clubs to sell prospective pitchers on going to the minors rather than playing college ball.
For all of you who haven't followed how SDSU has handled Strasburg all season, Gwynn has been applauded for his use by Scott Boras and many MLB teams, inlcuding the Nationals. He could easily be running his ace out every Friday and then again as a closer in the midweek games, but instead is just using him on a week's rest. We all know there's a lot more to this kid's career than college, but let the kid throw some while he's there.
Don't base your opinions on the last two weeks of SDSU's season. Gwynn and Filter have brought Starsburg along very well and gradually. He already had a repertoire of MLB pitches while throwing a 100 mph fastball.