Note to Nationals: Save Baseball, Shut Stephen Strasburg Down

Filed under: MLB
WASHINGTON -- In Stephen Strasburg's last start on Saturday, when he was pulled in the fifth inning after grimacing after a thrown pitch, more people than there were seats for crammed into the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park. Even in Philadelphia -- which leads the National League in attendance -- that was worth noting.

It just didn't measure up to Strasburg's feat in his first road start in early June at moribund Cleveland, where he attracted an Indians baseball crowd that was twice as big as usual.

That second winning start, sensational too, was enough to get Strasburg etched in the public psyche, where he wound up selling more jerseys in his first month in the big leagues than any player ever. It all got him, the Nationals' rookie pitching sensation, emblazoned on the of "Sports Illustrated" above the headline "National Treasure."

But I was left wondering Monday at Nationals Park, where the Nationals announced they were placing Strasburg on the disabled list for the second time in less than a month, whether Strasburg might turn into a national disaster.

"The story with Stephen is," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said before Monday's game, "he had pain in his elbow."

The elbow. That's what Tommy John surgery ultimately fixes. (Pardon my pessimistic alarm, but I grew up here rooting, as best one could, for the Senators, and with nothing except lousy returns.)

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