Nationals don't second guess shutting down Stephen Strasburg

Biggest choke job this year......................



Sorry Nats fans..................



I had picked the Nats to advance..........

Real simple - you roll your closer out there three consecutive games, you are playing with fire.

Clearly, the Skipper had no Plan B.


But - as I told Chico last night - I genuinely feel for Nats fans. I know how they feel right now.

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 09:14 AM ET  10.13 by Otis B. Driftwood

Real simple - you roll your closer out there three consecutive games, you are playing with fire. Clearly, the Skipper had no Plan B. But - as I told Chico last night - I genuinely feel for Nats fans. I know how they feel right now.

Yep...............What Otis said..............

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 09:04 AM ET  10.13 by Mickey Bad Arse

Biggest choke job this year......................Sorry Nats fans..................I had picked the Nats to advance..........

Choke is not too harsh. They played really tight with the lead last night from Gio to Espinosa to Desmond to Clippard and Storen (to name a few). It is a young team and I hope they learn from this moving forward and not let it define them.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 09:21 AM ET  10.13 by Hatrunner

Choke is not too harsh. They played really tight with the lead last night from Gio to Espinosa to Desmond to Clippard and Storen (to name a few). It is a young team and I hope they learn from this moving forward and not let it define them.

Yep................This could crush them unless they are mentally tough...........

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 09:14 AM ET  10.13 by Otis B. Driftwood

Real simple - you roll your closer out there three consecutive games, you are playing with fire. Clearly, the Skipper had no Plan B. But - as I told Chico last night - I genuinely feel for Nats fans. I know how they feel right now.

I don't..........I think the DC area fans should have voice outrage on a daily basis to let ownership know how foolish this decision was. I don't care if it was done collectively by ownership/gm/manager, it was foolish and they better have somethin in place better next year or I think the commissioner's office ought to get involve with it. You simply don't cheat you team and most importantly the fans outta your best chance to win a championship by sitting you best pitcher. Fools!

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 09:19 AM ET  10.13 by Mickey Bad Arse

Yep...............What Otis said..............

ditto....

Nationals losing last night had nothing to do with Strasburg. If starting pitching was an issue, then yes, blame management. This was the bullpen, namely the closers.

Perhaps the Cards are just the better team. They are now. New season.

QUOTE(#9):

Originally posted 09:44 AM ET  10.13 by 50yearfan

Perhaps the Cards are just the better team. They are now. New season.

They damn sure were last year...




<kicks dog>

I put this game on the manager. It's an elimination game. You have to play the game like there's no tomorrow. Davey left Gio out there in the fifth like he wanted him to eat innings and save the bullpen. He should have pulled him immediately when he started struggling.

QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 09:45 AM ET  10.13 by Flea Biscuit

You can move them to Washington, but you still can't pull the Expo out of them. A Shame.

Expos were never "one strike away" (unless you count the player's strike). You are in the right neighborhood but I see a different parallel. The loss was excrutiatingly gruesome and their Sox were red. The Curse of the Stras, year one. Only 85 more to go.

QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 10:07 AM ET  10.13 by williewilliejuan

I put this game on the manager. It's an elimination game. You have to play the game like there's no tomorrow. Davey left Gio out there in the fifth like he wanted him to eat innings and save the bullpen. He should have pulled him immediately when he started struggling.

Exactly.

QUOTE(#14):

Originally posted 10:09 AM ET  10.13 by Flea Biscuit

These secondary wild card teams are making winning the division seem quite irrelevant. Why not just add a third upstart wild card team next year and watch them run the table

How is the second wildcard any different than the first one? Why is a wildcard any worse than a team that snuck in by being the best team in a weak division?

QUOTE(#17):

Originally posted 10:12 AM ET  10.13 by Hatrunner

Exactly.

I also thought he should have pulled Storen in the ninth after the Cards tied it up. The camera cut to him and you could just see the Cards were in his head.