Strasburg Live Blog

PREGAME

So we’re going to try to do an inning-by-inning live blog of Washington Nationals’ phenom Stephen Strasburg’s debut tonight. Our inspiration: The old Associated Press fight reports… if you’re younger than, say, 25 or 30, you might have no idea what I’m talking about. It’s remarkable how many things — rotary phones, pay phones, typewriters, partial scores — have been swept away, virtually unmourned, by progress. Not so long ago the Associated Press (and for all I know, they still do this) would send round-by-round reports of major boxing matches along the wire. While this is a pretty easy concept to get — and we still get round-by-round reports on the Internet — the fun part is that newspapers facing to-the-minute deadlines would just shove these round-by-round reports into the paper as they came in. “Hey, fourth round of the Foreman-Young fight is in.” And when deadline struck they would go with whatever they had had already put on the page. So, the next morning, a newspaper reader would pick up the paper with, say, punch by punch coverage of the first six rounds of what turned out to be a 15-round fight.

Fifteen-round fights… those are gone too.

Anyway, these reports would go something like this: “Norton charged out of his corner and was the aggressor for the first 30 seconds. A left-right combination dazed Shavers briefly, but he recovered to land a left hook to the side of the head that slowed Norton’s pursuit. Shavers landed a body blow 54 seconds into the round that further slowed Norton. The pace was lively. Norton missed a wild right uppercut, but Shavers was unable to take advantage, missing with a straight hand of his own. Referee Arthur Mercante warned Shavers to keep his punches up; Shavers pleaded innocent. Norton partially landed a big right hand and followed with a left cross but was unable to press his advantage. A Shavers uppercut landed at 2:13, his best punch of the fight so far, and it clearly dazed Norton. A wild flurry by Shavers followed but delivered little damage — the flurry seemed to take more out of Shavers than Norton, who ended the round with a solid left jab-right cross combination. THE ROUND GOES TO: Earnie Shavers.”

I always loved this stuff — could not read enough of it. Sure, it was pointless: The round-by-round was almost always incomplete and by the time it came out the fight was long over. But I didn’t care. I ate it up anyway. I also loved the inning-by-inning “How they scored.” Yeah. Strange.

Anyway, we’re hoping to recreate a little bit of that round-by-round feel tonight for one of the most anticipated debuts in the history of American sports: Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, live, 7:05 p.m. Eastern. Happy to have you along.

* * *

FIRST INNING

There is something poetic about having Jim Kaat here to call the game on MLB Network — Kaat was the opposing pitcher when David Clyde made his hyped debut for the Texas Rangers after being the first pick in the draft. I remember talking to Kaat about it for a story, and Kaat talked at some length about how he felt for Clyde, who wasn’t ready for all that pressure. Who could be ready for that pressure? Kaat told me then that he thought Clyde was gripping the ball so hard, he probably put indents in it. Fitting that tonight, Kaat says the key for Strasburg will be holding the ball loosely enough to throw strikes, especially early in the game.

And sure enough, Stephen Strasburg’s first two pitches are hard — 97 mph according to the gun — and wide. When Strasburg is right, he just pours the ball through the strike zone. He looks a bit nervous — but, again, how can he not be? He throws a 98-mph two-seam fastball that Andrew McCutchen lashes on a line to shortstop for the first out. McCutchen crushed the ball — it’s a good bet that he’s going to be a big star in the game, too.

Strasburg is wild to the second batter, Neil Walker, too. He does hit 99 on the gun twice, though, and the second time Walker grounds out hard.

Then we see the Strasburg of the hype, facing Lastings Milledge. His 99-mph fastball with crazy movement is called a strike. His 82-mph curveball is high but has so much movement that Milledge buckles as the ball cuts in the strike zone. And then he throws his best pitch so far, an 83-mph curveball that starts in the zone but drops out — Milledge feebly swings at it.

This is going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

SECOND INNING

Twiter is giving me the overcapacity message. Gee, I wonder why.

OK, let’s focus on the three pitches because, yes, Strasburg struck out the side in the second. Yes, he is living up to the hype. All yes.

Pitch #1: A 99-mph fastball on the outside corner that struck out Garrett Jones. The thing that was so impressive here was that Strasburg fell behind 3-0 to Jones and looked, again, to be gripping the ball with a vice grip. But he righted himself and followed with a 97-mph fastball for a strike, a 99-mph fastball for a strike and finally, the knockout pitch, which was on the outside corner and which was such a vicious pitch that Jones did not appear to swing until the ball had been in the glove for a complete second.

Pitch 2: An 82-mph curveball to Andy LaRoche. Now, LaRoche would get the first hit off Strasburg on a terrific piece of hitting — he cracked a a line drive to right on a 99-mph fastball that caught too much of the plate. But first he looked at a curveball that seemed to be heading for his chest, flinched and watched it cut back into the zone. Strasburg has that curveball, one that moves like a wiffleball, and another another that ducks out of the zone. I suppose he throws the ball the same, but the action is completely different. Sick stuff.

Pitch 3: An 89-mph changeup. This is the pitch that strikes out Ronny Cedeno — poor Cedeno had absolutely no chance of getting to it. And Strasburg threw it while pitching out of the stretch.

Well, he’s showing it all tonight.

* * *

THIRD INNING

It is so much fun to see someone who is as good as the hype. That is the question I have been asked most since I went to see Strasburg pitch in the minor leagues: Is he REALLY as good as the hype? And perhaps even more to the point, CAN he be as good as the hype?

And I kept saying this: He throws a 100-mph fastball for strikes (he has already hit 100 on the gun tonight). He throws a devastating curveball that, as mentioned, can serve about nine different purposes (in this inning, the third, he struck out Jason Jaramillo on a backdoor curveball. He throws a nasty changeup that he has not thrown much tonight but will, undoubtedly, become an out pitch for him. He throws them all with a balanced delivery, meaning he’s not overthrowing and shows great command.

I’m telling you: There has never been a more advanced pitcher to come into the big leagues, not ever. So, this inning he strikes out Jaramillo on that curveball, strikes out the opposing pitcher Jeff Karstens on a 98-mph fastball (six strikeouts in seven batters) and gets Andrew McCutchen to ground out to third — and it just feels like he’s doing exactly what he should be doing with that arsenal of pitches.

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FOURTH INNING

Well, as they like to say: “Welcome to the Big Leagues, Mr. Strasburg!” Part of what’s fun about watching a player this talented is seeing how big league hitters will adjust. And they will adjust. They hit Nolan Ryan. They hit Sandy Koufax. They hit Walter Johnson. All those great pitches that Strasburg throws, yes, big league hitters have hit them through the years.

So, Neil Walker singles on a down-and-in curveball, the sort lefties will hit in the big leagues. Lastings Milledge cracks a line-drive single on a 96-mph fastball that catches too much of the plate. Strasburg induces the double play, but then throws a changeup to Delwyn Young that isn’t a bad pitch (it probably gets beaten into the ground in the minors). But in the big leagues it isn’t a good one, either — a little too high, a little too much of the plate — and Young drops the bat-head on the ball, hits it good, and takes it deep.

So, for those trying to keep up with this stuff for posterity — it’s LaRoche with the first hit, Young with the first home run off Stephen Strasburg.

One of the interesting things over the next few weeks will be to see just what kind of pitching pattern Strasburg will develop. Like the line from the original Batman, he has a lot of wonderful toys (or is it fabulous toys?) and he can throw any of them at any time. But you have to wonder why a guy with his fastball is fooling around with changeups to Delwyn Young. John Smoltz did say he liked the pitch selection — and he certainly knows a lot more about it than I do.

* * *

FIFTH INNING

More dominance from Strasburg. A 99-mph fastball makes Cedeno swing way late. An 82-mph curveball makes Jaramillo ground out feebly. Karstens looks at a 99-mph fastball and walks away with that “Yeah, let me get back to the mound where it’s safe” head tilt.

I mentioned earlier that it’s right that Jim Kaat should be calling this game for MLB Network — it’s also right that John Smoltz do it, because Smoltz undoubtedly ranks as one of the best stuff pitchers I have ever seen. He was a GREAT pitcher, too, that goes without saying. Smoltz will go into the Hall of Fame someday soon — I suspect first ballot. But that’s not exactly what I mean here. I mean there are pitchers you watch and think, “How does ANYONE ever hit that guy?”

Nolan Ryan, of course, is the ultimate stuff pitcher. There’s a great story that they tell about Ralph Garr — he led off a game against Ryan, struck out, and they say that all over the stadium you could hear his high-pitch voice shout, “Forget about it boys, we have NO shot tonight.” Sandy Koufax, of course, was an amazing stuff pitcher with that fastball and curve — two of the best pitches in baseball history.

But not all the stuff pitchers were great pitchers. Sid Fernandez was a great stuff pitcher — when he was on, he was virtually unhittable. He wasn’t always on. I remember Jose DeLeon being a great stuff pitcher. I thought before he was exposed in the playoffs, Fausto Carmona was a remarkable stuff pitcher — you would watch him and think, “No human being can hit that diving fastball.” And Smoltz was a great stuff pitcher with his arsenal.

Obviously, if Strasburg can maintain his stuff he will be like that — no-hitter potential every time he goes out there. But, maintaining it IS part of the trick.

* * *

SIXTH INNING

Well, why not? Strasburg strikes out the side. Gets McCutchen to swing over a nasty changeup — not a much different looking pitch than the one on which Young homered, but obviously McCutchen was looking fastball. Gets Walker to strike out on a young Dwight Gooden special — a 99-mph fastball up around the eyes. Gets McCutchen to swing at a 92-mph changeup in the dirt. A 92-mph changeup.  There are plenty of good pitchers in the game who would LOVE a 92-mph fastball. This is like the old Tiger Woods days when he would talk about how far he hit his 7-iron and make other golfers swoon.

That makes 11 strikeouts in six innings. And no walks. More on that in a bit.

Nobody knows if Strasburg will come out for the seventh inning. I suspect he will. He’s thrown just 81 pitches, there’s a huge crowd at the game, and as Jim Kaat says: “He’s cruising.” Then again, Adam Dunn just hit a two-run homer to give the Nationals the lead — and the announcers think that could mean Riggleman taking out Strasburg so that he’s in line for the win. I hope the decision wouldn’t come down to something that pointless.

* * *

SEVENTH INNING

Well, Strasburg did come out for the seventh… glad to see that. I’m all for the Nationals doing whatever  they reasonably can to keep Strasburg healthy. But, as Bob Costas says — and yes, I absolutely love hearing Bob call baseball again — this is theater. Give everyone their money’s worth.

And, sure, the kid gives them theater. How about another inning of strikeouts? He strikes out Garrett Jones on a crazy curveball. Then, facing Delwyn Young, guess what? No changeups this time. Strasburg throws 98, 98 and 99 to get his 13th strikeout of the game. At that point, Andy LaRoche simply had no chance. He saw two curveballs and a 99-mph high fastball and that was strikeout No. 14. Strasburg ran off the mound to great cheers. He’s done for the night. And he lived up to the hype.

OK, so I was curious: How many 21-year-old pitchers had ever struck out 14 in a game without walking anyone? Of course, no one has ever done it in their first game in the big leagues. Heck, Strasburg was only one strikeout away from the first-game record of 15 strikeouts. But how many young pitchers have ever even struck out more than 10 in a game without walking anyone?

Well, first I will tell you that since 1920 only five pitchers 21 or younger have struck out 14 in a game without walking anyone. Dwight Gooden actually did it twice. The other four are Kerry Wood (with his famous 20-strikeout, no-walk game), Frank Tanana, Gary Nolan and Vida Blue. Those are five very good pitchers, but you will note that all five of them ran into trouble in their career. Gooden’s trouble is well-documented as is Blue’s. Tanana, Nolan and Wood all had significant arm trouble.

But the more interesting one to me is this: Eleven 21-or-younger pitchers since 1920 have had more than 10 strikeouts and no walks in a game. Nolan, Blue and Gooden did it twice. But one pitcher did it three times. Can you come up with the name? I never would have guessed it.

Answer: Rick Ankiel. Yes, that’s right, Rick Ankiel.

In other words, this was an amazing performance by Strasburg tonight… every bit as good as the hype leading in. But, yeah, it’s only one game.

* * *

WRAPUP

So, what’s left to be said about the most-hyped debut in major league history? There’s probably not a whole lot more that you can say after 14 strikeouts, 0 walks, one bad pitch, a 100-mph fastball, a few wiffleball curves, a few nasty changeups and the ability to turn a June Nationals-Pirates game into something electrifying.

John Smoltz talked on television about how this performance  will send the hype even higher for Strasburg — now people will expect him to strike out 14 every game or whatever. I think there’s probably something to that, but I also think it’s at least possible that the opposite is true. The pressure, it seems to me, was in proving that he was as good as advertised. He proved it on a bright-lights stage, in front of a sellout crowd, with a national audience watching on television. He proved it under extreme circumstances. Nobody who saw those pitches can doubt his ability. Nobody who saw the weak swings, especially in the sixth and seventh inning, can doubt his talent.

So now, it’s just a matter of him pitching. The stuff is real. The command is real. This wasn’t an adrenaline show — this is how he pitches. And he doesn’t have to be at his wicked best to get big league hitters out. I don’t know that it will be pressure and hype that defines him from this point on; I think it could be how he mixes his pitches, how he responds when he makes mistakes, how he handles himself when he’s getting squeezed by the umpire, how he works when he’s not feeling his best. You know, all the same things that define the success of big league pitchers. Today was about expectation, about pressure, about showing everyone that he’s not some overhyped scout creation. He proved it. Nobody can doubt that now.

And perhaps that’s the greatest gift of all. Now he can be 21 years old and a remarkably talented big league pitcher, which I suspect is all that he wants to be.