Stephen Strasburg

Before anyone utters one more ridiculous statement about how wrong it is to heed medical advice and take Stephen Strasburg out of a pennant race to preserve his surgically reconstructed right arm, here's what Leo Mazzone, John Kruk and others need to know: There is no best record in baseball, there are no visions of a World Series run, if the Nationals had decided to do it any other way. Because Scott Boras, the agent who represents Strasburg,...

On Saturday, Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo ran into Stephen Strasburg 's dad, who was in Phoenix to watch the team play the Diamondbacks . Jim Strasburg braced Rizzo with the same question as the rest of the baseball world: What's the deal with ending my son's season — protecting his arm even though he feels perfectly healthy — because of some voluntary innings limit that Rizzo has chosen? "Mr. Strasburg, don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the full answer," Rizzo replied.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. Stars are stars no matter where they work. The size of the venue isn't important. It's all about the status of the performer. The sellout crowd at tiny Municipal Stadium understood. That's why fans came Sunday afternoon to watch pitcher Stephen Strasburg 's first rehabilitation start for the Class A Hagerstown Suns. Media credential requests were double that of what the Suns received for the professional debut of touted prospect Bryce Harper. Although marquee entertainers rarely visit these parts, Strasburg would have received spotlight treatment in many locations.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Stephen Strasburg 's first pitch Wednesday night was a 97-mph fastball that popped into his catcher's glove for strike one, and his final pitch was a wicked, 84-mph curveball that hit the poor batter on the top of his back foot, even as he was twisting himself into a pretzel in flailing away at it. But in between, Strasburg made about as big a mess of his start — the third of his minor league rehabilitation assignment —...

I really don't need an entire column to explain that the Washington Nationals shutting down Stephen Strasburg before season's end is the dumbest decision in contemporary times since Decca Records passed on the Beatles in 1962, but I'm paid for 800 words, so what the heck. Let's be frank: In the thick of a magical season that may not come around again for 50 years, the best interests of the Nationals are for Strasburg to pitch until his arm falls off. (By the way, if it does fall off, with modern medicine it can be surgically reattached and — at most — he misses two starts.)

Last July, Stephen Strasburg went on the disabled list because of shoulder tightness. Last August, he tore the main pitching ligament in his elbow and missed a year following Tommy John surgery. In his last start, he was taken out after three innings; his velocity had dropped from 97 to 92 mph , for no apparent reason, before he'd even reached his 35th pitch of the game. "Are you okay?" Washington Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty asked Strasburg on a mound visit — in the second inning.

With so much ridiculous noise surrounding the Washington Nationals ' wise decision to shut down pitcher Stephen Strasburg shortly, it's easy to forget how much fun it is to simply watch Strasburg work. The end of Strasburg's season is drawing near — and he's going out in style. Even a 51-minute relay delay Tuesday night couldn't slow the National League East leaders and their soon-to-be-out-of-the-rotation ace in a win over the fading Atlanta Braves. Strasburg was dominant in a six-inning, 10-strikeout performance.

The Washington Nationals , who've rocketed up baseball's hierarchy at warp speed all season, will now face another in a long series of challenges, tests that will continue through September, into October and on to future years. No one of them will be definitive. But each will examine a different part of the club's talent, psyche, resilience and leadership. The Nats' biggest loss will be the deletion of Stephen Strasburg's presence , with his long name barely crossing the broad back of his jersey, as well as his ability to intimidate any team when he is sharp.

Few Washington Nationals are looking forward to the 2013 season as much as Stephen Strasburg . When the right-hander arrives in Viera, Fla., in two weeks for spring training, he will be anticipating the first full season of his young career, all restrictions lifted. Asked about his offseason in a telephone interview Monday night, Strasburg's response was telling: "It's been a month longer than everybody else. I'm [champing] at the bit. " Strasburg, 24, went through various stages of coping after he was shut down on Sept.

Stephen Strasburg met every reasonable expectation, and exceeded several ridiculous ones, in his nearly flawless return to the major leagues Tuesday night at Nationals Park. Where's the rust or the lost command? Who returns to the big leagues after 382 days away for elbow surgery with more precision and better efficiency than when he left? Who fans one Dodger on a 99 mph fastball, barely allows an audibly struck ball in five innings, but has the touch and finesse to fan both Matt Kemp and Andre Eithier on 90 mph change-ups?