Nationals: The "Shaqburg" Incident

The management/owners of the Washington Nationals scratched their rookie phenom starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg just minutes before the start of a Tuesday evening game. It was GM Mike Rizzo that is claiming the decision (short story). Fans in Washington DC have been scooping up tickets anytime that Strasburg is listed to pitch. And it was no different yesterday as a near sold-out crowd packed in to see the ace add to his 75 strikeouts. So far he has pitched 54 1/3 innings at the major league level (stats). He has pitched another 55 1/3 in the minor leagues (stats) this season. Combined that is already about 110 of the 160 innings the Nats team managers have said he will be limited to this year (160 cap). That's the smart move. Take it easy with a rookie just coming out of college. Was he really hurt though? MRI and x-ray come up empty and the Nats call it "shoulder inflammation" here. That's their story. But was this last minute scratch just a bait-and-switch on fans to sell out the stadium. Is this just a planned Shaq-esque mini-break in the season for Strasburg to stretch his 160 innings for all its worth? What will the fans think of management/owners because of this, both short-term and long-term? Listing a pitcher as a starter and selling out a stadium and then pulling him at the last minute when perhaps it was a plan all along?

The Amtrak World Series

We've had the Subway Series and now we are on the verge of a New York vs Philadelphia World Series. It's a relatively short train trip from New York to Philadelphia. Its even quicker by the Acela Amtrak trains. So perhaps even more appropriately, the Acela World Series. New York is just a 1 hour and 15 minute ride from Philadelpia by Acela. However, by comparison Google Maps says you could drive by car the 108-mile trip from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in 1 hour and 44 minutes. Factoring in the taxi and/or subway trips between the train stations and the parks; and weighing the costs of train tickets versus the amount of traffic, driving is likely more efficient. Nevertheless, Amtrak at least has an angle to stake on this potential World Series.

Rickey Henderson into the Hall of Fame

By a long shot, Rickey Henderson is the fastest player in Major League Baseball history: 1,406 stolen bases. The next best on the list is Lou Brock at 938 (record list here). Take a look at the career year-by-year numbers for Rickey here. Most people remember Rickey as an Oakland A and a New York Yankee, but he played for 9 different teams! Consider that he stole 3 bases for the Red Sox in 2003-- a full 22 years after he had his career high 130 stolen bases in 1982 for the A's. His first stolen base was in 1979 (the start of a 25-season career). See Rickey's career in video from MLB.com here.

MLB: Perfect Game from Mark Buehrle

For only the 18th time in baseball history, a perfect game (see the list of past perfect games here>)! The last time was just over 5 years ago by Randy Johnson. A perfect game is facing the minimum 27 batters without allowing a hit or walk or anyone on base-- quite an accomplishment. MLB has AWESOME video coverage here, including the saving catch in the 9th inning by CF Dewayne Wise.

Luis Castillo reminds sports fans of 1986

The Mets were ahead 8-7 with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the ninth when Alex Rodriguez popped up to short left field. Mets 2B Luis Castillo back peddled under the ball as A-Rod chucked his bat; and why not when you get paid that much with 2 on and 2 out you need a game winner. Well, saved by an error. Castillo dropped the pop up and the Yankees walked off as 9-8 winners.



Flash back to 1986. World Series: Mets beat the Red Sox on Bill Buckner's error. Much better to lose a regular season game, even against the Yanks, on an error, and win during the World Series. You can see the 86 World Series video clip here. We will leave the common denominator in this post unsaid.