If you told me that you didn't expect Stephen Strasburg to "wear down" this year or next due to arm fatigue or being over-hyped, I would have kicked you in the nuts and called you stupid...and there are probably several people I owe the nut-kick to. The Nationals decided it was of tremendous urgency in early June to promote their future-ace to boost them from a 58-win season to a 64-win season. Thank god they made the move! Fact: Strasburg has been every bit as good as advertised since the recall. Fact: The Nationals have a better chance of winning whenever he toes the slab. But, Fact #3: The Nationals were and are going nowhere fast with or without their budding star. Washington hasn't been a baseball hot-bead by any stretch of the imagination, so you knew the hype was real when all of the sudden a Nats-Pirates game was on ESPN during primetime hours. I mean, really ESPN? You tabbed those two teams for the nightcap? Guy must be good! But what the Nationals failed to take into consideration was the fact that he's still young, and he's now got a ton of pressure thrown onto his shoulders. With all the hype surrounding him, Strasburg probably came into the league figuring he had to ring-up every batter he faced, which he basically succeeded in doing. Well, all that hype, all that pressure, and all those 100 mph heaters have now landed Strasburg on the Disabled List for the first time...already....yikes. I'm not trying to take away from the pitcher that Strasburg is (because he is already one of the tops in the game talent-wise), but I said then and I say now...you shoulda let him get his innings in the minors, Washington!
Moving on...I saw an article today on NESN.com that said Michael Ryder could be the next cap-casualty for the Bruins. Now, Ryder stinks, I don't like him at all as a player and don't think he is worth the $4 million he gets. BUT, the guy has produced in the past and remains mostly the same player he was when he potted 27 goals two years ago. More importantly...he doesn't struggle with injuries! What baffles me, is that amongst all the cap-hit talk, Marco Sturm is NEVER mentioned. Sturm is almost as frustrating to watch as Ryder. He has zero stick skills! Sure, he's fast, but he's going to be coming off of his second MAJOR knee surgery in the last two years! Now he's got no speed to go with the no stick skills. He carries a similar cap-hit to Ryder ($3.5 mil), yet he won't be on the ice until November, and even then he'll be a shell of what he used to be. Keep in mind, what he "used to be" wasn't all that special either. If the Bruins are desperate to move money around, get rid of Sturm...I don't care how, just find a god damn way.
I'll be brief on Carey Price, but that situation is just an absolute mess up in Montreal. Price has worn-out his welcome with Montreal fans already. He's been approached in the locker room for his "lack of effort" and "childishness," yet he is ready to hold-out because he isn't seeing the money Jaro Halak got from the Blues? Hmmm. Lets think here for a second. Last year, Price was unable to find any form of consistency, leading to choruses of booes from the Hab-faithful, and he was replaced midseason by Halak as the teams starter. Halak proceeded to get the Habs to the Playoffs (nearly single-handedly) and then he (single handedly) beat the Capitals and Penguins. Well, earth to Carey...you don't get the same money for sitting on the bench as you do for single handedly carrying a team back to relevancy! Pierre Gauthier alraedy fucked up once by keeping Price over Halak, and now he's realizing his catostrophic mistake. Yea, Price may have the better upside of the two, but his resume is less impressive than that of Halak. Good luck Canadiens figuring that mess out.
More to come later...maybe
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