Strasburg to start opening day plus more

"Not that there was any uncertainty about it, but Davey Johnson made it official nonetheless this morning: Stephen Strasburg will start Opening Day for the Nationals.

"I guess you want me to say it," the 70-year-old manager said. "He's going to be my Opening Day starter. You drug it out of me."

Johnson's selection of Strasburg is hardly a surprise. The right-hander got the Opening Day nod last season in Chicago, then went 15-6 with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts before his much-debated shutdown in early September after 159 1/3 innings."

Source: CSNWashington.com

CJ Wilson effective in off-day assignment

"For most major league veterans, spring training is a pretty low-key affair. All you have to do is get a little work in, break a sweat occasionally, and fine-tune a few things for the regular season.

But even by those standards Tuesday was a relaxing day for left-hander C.J. Wilson, who pitched four innings against a team made up primarily of minor leaguers on what was, for the rest of the Angels, a day off.

"We have to make it like a real game even though we're just facing our own guys," Wilson said. "So I'm trying to go in and kind of get rah-rah and have fun. 'Let's go! Let's beat these Angels!'"

Source: LAtimes.com

Carl Crawford faces live major league pitching

"Carl Crawford faced relievers Kenley Jansen andJ.P. Howell on Tuesday, marking the first time he took live batting practice against major league pitchers since he was shut down two weeks ago.

“A step in the right direction,” said Crawford, who resumed working out last week.

Crawford, who is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery, was encouraged by how he felt.

“Your timing at this point is never going to be the way you want it, but it wasn’t as far off as I would expect it to be, either,” he said."

Source: LAtimes.com

Carlos Gomez agrees to deal with Brewers

"Outfielder Carlos Gomez and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a $28.3 million, four-year contract.

The 27-year-old outfielder would have been eligible for free agency after this season. He had agreed to a $4.3 million, one-year deal in January, and the new contract includes salaries of $7 million in 2014, $8 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016."

Source: ESPN.com

Hochevar transitioned to bullpen

"Right-hander Luke Hochevar, eternally inconsistent as a starter, is shifting, at least temporarily, to the Royals’ bullpen.

Manager Ned Yost announced the move Wednesday morning prior to a game against Seattle at Surprise Stadium.

“I think it makes us a better team,” Yost said. “I think it makes us a stronger team. It gives us a better chance to win every day. With three weeks left, I want to get him acclimated to that role.”

Source: Kansascity.com

Casey Kelly might need "Tommy John" surgery

"The already cloudy picture regarding Padres starting pitching turned darker Wednesday afternoon when it Padres manager Bud Black confirmed that right-hander Casey Kelly has had tests on his right elbow and could be a candidate for elbow reconstruction surgery.

“Anything is possible,” the Padres manager said of the possibility that Kelly would be the Padres pitcher to have “Tommy John” surgery in the last 10 months.

“It is that part of the elbow that we’re concerned about,” Black continued. “The doctors are concerned about what the tests looked like. There’s going to be a lot of discussion between Kelly and his family. They’ll probably want a second opinion.”

Source: UTSandiego.com

Dodgers hoping plasma injection helps Greinke

"Zack Greinke has a sore elbow and Chad Billingsley doesn't, neither of which the Dodgers really expected this spring.

What they have in common is that Billingsley's partially torn elbow ligament responded last year to injections of platelet-rich plasma, and now the Dodgers are waiting to see if a similar injection, along with anti-inflammatory medication like cortisone, will have the same beneficial result with Greinke.

The Dodgers have been using the treatment since 2008, when reliever Takashi Saito responded well to the procedure as has Billingsley, avoiding Tommy John surgery."

Source: MLB.com

Brennan Boesch released

"The Detroit Tigers have released outfielder Brennan Boesch, the club announced Wednesday morning.

The Tigers should have nontendered the 27-year-old outfielder last December, but they thought they could trade him. As it turned out, they weren't getting any bites, so cutting bait now was the right move. Boesch's contract for the 2013 season was worth $2.3 million. By cutting him now, the Tigers only owe him a sixth ($383,333) of that.

Also note that the Tigers have Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, Andy Dirks, Quintin Berry andAvisail Garcia as outfield options, so there's no need for Boesch.

Boesch finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2010 and then hit .283/.341/.458 with 16 homers in just 115 games in 2011, but last season was a different matter. Boesch regressed to .240/.286/.372 with 12 homers in 503 plate appearances. He struck out 104 times while walking just 26. For those into the advanced metrics, Boesch's WAR was 2.3 in 2011 and negative-1.4 last season."

Source: Cbssportsline.com

Strasburg's season comes to an end...and not a moment too soon

Stephen Strasburg is done for the year and his Washington Nationals teammates will presumably progress to the postseason without him, the only question now is how long will they continue to play?

Strasburg is 15-6 record this season with a 3.16 earned run average, striking out 197 in 159.1 innings. Those numbers only tell part of the story that has two sub-sections.

Strasburg made 28 starts this season and it is worth looking at his first 14 starts versus his last 14 starts.

Here are Strasburg's first 14 starts April 5, 2012 to June 20, 2012 versus Strasburg's second 14 starts June 25, 2012 to Sept 7, 2012:

	First 14 starts	Second 14 starts
Team result	12-2	7-7
Strasburg result	9-1	6-5
ERA	2.46	3.94
Innings pitched	84.0	75.1
Batters faced	332	321
Pitches thrown	1332	1275
Hits	65	71
Walks	22	26
Strikeouts	110	87
Runs	26	36
Earned runs	23	33
Home runs	6	9
BA against	.214	.247
OBP	.274	.308
Slugging	.313	.408
OPS	.586	.716

Here is the graphic look at Strasburg's first 14 games:

Here is the graphic look at Strasburg's second 14 games: 

And as you can see there is a significant difference in Strasburg's effectiveness as the season has progressed.

It got worse in his last five starts:

In his last five starts he had a 4.50 ERA to go along with his 1.346 WHIP

Here is Rick Peterson, director of pitching development for the Baltimore Orioles, with the great Ed Randall of WFAN on September 8 explaining the rationale behind shutting down Strasburg at this point. Peterson has contended that had the Nationals started Strasburg's season on April 28 and this would not have been such a controversy.

After all is said and done, I wish the Nationals well and I have to feel this was a smart decision for the long-term Strasburg investment particularly when you realize that in the short-term it may not have been that bad a baseball decision.

Stephen Strasburg: Awesome at the Plate, Too

Stephen Strasburg is an awesome pitcher. Considering that Strasburg leads all qualified starting pitchers in K/9 (11.6) and ranks ninth in ERA+ (144), that statement won't come as breaking news unless you crash-landed on the LOST island and just made your way back to civilization. But did you know he has been a threat at the plate too?

As if his mid-90s heat and knee-buckling curve weren't enough to beat opponents into submission, Strasburg is raking in 2012. He's batting .323, getting on base at a .400 clip and slugging .548 in 37 plate appearances. It's a tiny sample, of course, and Strasburg's prior history with the bat isn't promising (he hit .038 with nary a walk or extra-base hit in 30 PA from 2010-11). But he's showing a shockingly disciplined approach at the dish this season.

Check out Strasburg's swing rate in 2010-11, and then 2012:

2010-11

2012

In 2010-11, Strasburg did what most pitchers do: he let a lot of strikes go by (55 percent in-zone swing rate, 63 percent MLB average) and swung at a lot of crappy pitches out of the strike zone (38 percent chase rate, 29 percent MLB average). This year, though? Strasburg has swung at 72 percent of in-zone pitches. His chase rate is 12 percent, which is actually tied with George Kottaras for lowest in the majors among those with at least 30 plate appearances.

That's a whole different level of hitting mockery, isn't it? No longer content to just make batters flail while on the mound, Strasburg is taking and raking at the plate. It's like he's peering at the opposing position players and saying, "You call THIS hard? [BAM]" Maybe he is a cyborg after all.