Stasburger in paradise!!

Not that Nationals Ballpark is paradise, as a matter of fact, for avid Nationals fan(s),  The park represents 2 consecutive 100 loss seasons, and early season hopes crushed by the time the mid summer classic rolls around. (Mets fans can relate). However, The Nationals Ballpark will be transformed into a garden of Eden, at least for tonight, as the long awaited, and highly over publicized, Stephen Stasburg takes the hill for his Major League debut!!

What can we expect? The only thing for sure is a sellout, standing room only crowd in DC. But beyond that, How will the 21 year old phenom respond to the national spotlight?? At best guess we can only look at his past numbers. In 2008 while at San Diego State, Strasburg went 8-3 with an ERA of 1.57, and 133 K in 971/3 innings. Of  his 13 starts, he threw 4 complete, 2 of which were shutouts, while setting a conference record with 23K in a single game!!

Incredibly, he actually improved in 2009 (while still at SD State), going 13-1, posting an ERA of just 1.32, and 195K in 109 innings pitched. Oh yeah, throw in a no hitter vs Air Force, where he recorded 17Ks!! Additionally, Stephen was the only collegiate level player named to the 2008 Summer Olympic US Baseball Team. In his International debut, Strasbug Fanned 5 of the first 6 he faced, while giving up only one hit over 7 pitched. Great composure for the then 19 year old!!

It is my opinion that the 21 year old will not disappoint the baseball world tonight. I believe he can easily come away with 8-10Ks over 7  IP, and a win tonight. (it is after all the Pirates!!).  In his immediate future, Stephen will face 3 more teams with losing records (currently), and should gain a comfort level before facing some of the nastier lineups down the road. (great timing/planning by the Nats). Will this put the Nats in playoff contention? No, as starting pitching only impacts games once a week, and the Nats lack many of the tools required to be competitive (Hitting, relief pitching, management,  starting pitching depth, no bench depth, etc), but, it will bring a new sense of hope to beleaguered fans in DC, and at least once a week, a trip to paradise.

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