Easy People

I've got to admit it, Stephen Strasburg was much better than I anticipated him being in his MLB Debut. For his first start, he lived up to the hype that is Strasburg-mania. Throughout his seven innings, he either torched Pirate hitters with his upper-90's flamethrower that he calls an arm, or he buckled their knees with his incredible curveball. Just from seeing the highlights on SportsCenter, it's obvious that the kid has A+ stuff. But I think baseball needs to temper it's expectations of the phenom, at least for this season. Is it conceivable that he finishes the year with that 2.57 ERA and a K per inning? Yea, it's possible, but lets not write it into the books just yet. People have to keep in mind that Strasburg lit up Nationals Park on Tuesday against the worst hitting team in all of baseball. You look down the Pirates lineup and you could mistake it for the Triple-A and Double-A teams that Strasburg had already tortured.

Now it'll be hard for fans to calm down in the wake of his next start, too. He was a man among children when facing the Pirates, and he'll likely be a man among teenagers against the Indians in his next start. The Tribe have struggled all season to get runs, 3rd-to-last in the AL in runs-scored. This could have been the plan all along for the Nationals. They have found a stretch of games that is seemingly perfect to introduce the world to their future. If all goes to plan, Strasburg will face the Indians, White Sox, and Orioles in his next three starts. The Nats have found the path of least resistance for the start of Strasburg's career. Not only will that build the hype around the kid, but it should do wonders for his confidence...although he seemingly has plenty of that.

So, as I said, temper your expectations. He's not going to strike out double-digits every fifth day. He might even toss a stinker here and there. For the Nationals, you only hope that they stick to their "Strasburg Rules" so as to conserve their young ace, because he is the franchise.