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DENVER – Stephen Strasburg has been pondering this embarrassing question since he returned from the list of people with disabilities. He knows his business is not what it was before a shoulder injury cost him two months. And although he may sometimes be evasive on such issues, Strasbourg has admitted his doubts and has been open to change.
"It's not what I'm used to," said Strasburg after his 12-2 win over Colorado Rockies on Saturday, a win that assured a winning season for the Nationals, no matter how valuable. The Rockies had won eight straight games in the game, but as they lost, they will start Sunday tied for the first time in the National League West.
These implications in the playoffs mean nothing else for the Nationals, for whom Strasbourg is a constant and necessary priority. He is supposed to win matches like the one he launched Saturday against the Rockies, in which he allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. He is supposed to easily rack up seven strikeouts, as he did on Saturday night.
But Strasbourg is not the same since the shoulder injury that has placed on the list of disabled this season. Nobody can dispute it. Her fast four-seamed ball started the night at 92 mph on Saturday night, much like she started all her starts since returning from the disabled list.
[Nationals-Rockies box score]
He used his change and his curved ball early in the accounts and late in the accounts – more like a pitcher who nibbles than the powerful pitcher he's always been. Whatever one says, even if everyone involved doubts optimism by saying that Strasbourg is learning to become a more complete pitcher, it's just not the same.
"That's not quite what I'm used to, but at the same time, I think it shows that when I get older, things tend to go down, they still play," Strasburg said. "It's just a small confirmation, and I think I have more in the tank, that's for sure. I have to get it back this season. "
Strasbourg said the doctors had told him that the shoulder problem he had this season needed time to heal himself. The shot that he received in the neck helps to lessen the pain but does not cure the problem. That's why he will finish the season with a fastball average speed above 95mph, a skewed statistic because he was throwing normally before the injury. It will be the lowest speed of his career of more than half a kilometer an hour, a fairly significant decline and sufficiently important to cause concern. A large number of launchers survive with the low-90, but the Nationals have not committed $ 175 million over seven years to Strasbourg to be one of those pitchers – at least not at 30 years old.
"I think it'll come back. 100%, just about what the doctors said I had to deal with, "Strasburg said. "… with time, it will be better."
The difference comes when he tries to put the batters out of the way. For example, in the first run, after the Nationals opened a 2-0 lead, Strasburg beat Nolan Arenado 1-2. He needed 10 shots to induce a flying ball in the left field. Fewer jumps and fast ball misses mean his throw counts for the climb. Strasbourg needed 100 shots to play four innings on his last start, which will not work for this rotation. He eventually needed 26 shots to finish the first run on Saturday, although he had held the Rockies aimlessly in the process.
[Ryan Zimmerman is finished for the 2018 season]
He does not have to be perfect. Juan Soto scored a double in the first heat, a fifth inning and finished the night with four RBIs. His homer, his 22nd, tied Bryce Harper second in the season by a teenager in baseball history. Adam Eaton finished with three hits. Trea Turner has homer and finished with three hits. Wilmer Difo scored two points with a single in eighth. Supported by the assault, Strasbourg remained stable.
He started down the second with Carlos Gonzalez, who hit the ball over the center fence. But apart from that, Strasbourg settled in the middle of the heats and worked more efficiently in the sixth. With one goal in that inning, Arenado hit a fast 150kph ball in the middle. Strasbourg can not afford errors at these speeds. He worked for the rest of the sixth inning and that was all.
"I think it's good for his mentality of getting into the winter," said director Dave Martinez. "I know he's going to work diligently to be healthy, become stronger and come back in better health, then come back in 2019 and be ready to go."
The right-hander finished this season with a 3.74 ERA, the highest of his career, although he had one of 2.66 in his last seven starts – the healthiest postoperative start. He made 22 starts in total, the least he has done in a season since his Tommy John surgery.
"I'm going to throw the glove [the neck injury]. It seems that every year there is something different, and I obviously have enough, "Strasburg said. "So I will stay focused and do everything I can to see how the chips will fall next year."
Last year, Strasbourg made 28 starts in a relatively unhealthy season. This year, he made 22.
Six more starts in Strasbourg – especially Strasbourg before the injury – would have given nationals a better chance. A dozen starts from Strasbourg to Strasbourg, which would have linked his career to 34, could have completely changed their destiny, not only with victories, but by relieving the rest of the rotation and the enclosure. Both units struggled in his absence this summer.
This team, which won a winning season with Saturday's win, will have to redefine its rotation this winter. And he will have to decide exactly on which Stephen Strasburg can count on going forward – the one who is in full health, the one who runs at the lowest speed but who is still successful, or an unhealthy and unreliable version . As they have done this season, their 2019 fortune will revolve around it, one way or the other.
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