It's hard to imagine that Stephen Strasburg was going to be happy with the decision by the Washington Nationals to shut him down regardless if the team made the playoffs. But he's been quiet on the subject. Understandably so, as it's still controversial with Nationals fans and baseball fans in general, but so far we haven't heard how he really feels about the decision.
Stephen Strasburg ‘Not Happy’ With Shutdown Decision
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, though, gives us our first glimpse at how Strasburg feels. From 106.7 The Fan in DC, by way of Sports Radio Interviews:
“Well Stephen Strasburg is an ultra competitor. He’s not happy with the decision. He thinks he can continue to contribute to the ball club and that type of thing. He expressed his opposition to it and we just tried to explain to him what our thinking was and gave him our rationale and at the end of the day I think he is accepting of our decision. He disagrees with it.”
The Nationals have a chance at a Bryce Harper/Strasburg marketing duo that will last for a decade, but only if they're careful. They also have the chance to go deep into the playoffs this season, and Strasburg would likely help those efforts. We'll know which path is right only in retrospect, but at least we can pretend that we had the right answer from the start.
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