In case you didn't hear, Stephen Strasburg is making his debut tonight for the Washington Nationals. I have to admit, I feel sorry for Strasburg. The hype around him has been insane. I will root for him because he seems like a nice kid who is facing impossible expectations. My prediction for Strasburg: 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 BB, 5 strikeouts. He is facing the Pirates though at home, so he could throw a no-hitter.Also feel free to use this thread to discuss the NBA Finals tonight. Keep an eye out on the officiating for the game. Bennett Salvatore, Bill Kennedy, and Danny Crawford are the officials. Salvatore has a bad history of reffing NBA Finals games (See: Miami vs. Dallas 2006) and Bill Kennedy has proven to be anti-Celtic. I wouldn't be surprised if the officiating will be talked about once again after this game.
Also watch for how the Lakers guard both Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. Will Allen be able to shoot 3's like he did in Game 2? Will Rondo dominate late in Game 3 like he did in Game 2? Is Garnett still breathing? What type of voodoo magic Phil Jackson will use?
Enjoy the Strasburg debut and Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Leave comments, but don't be a troll.
Strasburg's 1st pitch is only 97 mph. And a ball. BUST!
ReplyDelete/kidding
I don't have the MLB Network, so I'm watching the Giants-Commies game and getting updates on Twitter about Strasburg.
ReplyDeleteOuch. You're missing out on Bob Costas & commercials about Ken Burns' "10th Inning."
ReplyDeleteThen I'm not missing much.
ReplyDeletePer MLB-N's scroll: You can bid on game used Strasburg items from tonight.
ReplyDeleteDear God. No.
Imagine if Hideki Irabu was making a debut in 2010...
I want the audio clip of King George calling Irabu a "Fat Toad."
ReplyDeleteThere will not be a no-hitter tonight. LaRoche singles to right.
ReplyDeleteCostas on a terrible swing by Cedeno: "That's just not fair. Cedeno's up there like 'What? What?'"
ReplyDeleteCostas channeling his inner Rod Allen.
"Is there something important today happening in D.C.?"-Duane Kuiper
ReplyDeleteNice sarcasm, Duane.
I don't think Nationals fans want John Smoltz invoking the name of Mark Fidrych.
ReplyDeleteHow embarrassing: Aubrey Huff is playing his first game of the year in Right Field and he managed to catch a fly ball and double off Brandon Phillips.
ReplyDeleteAs Kuiper likes to joke, Huff is the best athlete on the Giants.
I hope the Pirates can break out the bats for 1 night (1 Night!) tonight and give Strasburg a good shellacking. His hype deserves it.
ReplyDeleteHuff should've used that athleticism to pry the Tigers' hands from around their throats last September.
ReplyDelete/still bitter about him & Jarrod Washburn'd
JFein, the Pirates can only beat the Cubs.
/bitter about that, too
@JFein @Keith @RJBO too late. Dibble has already declared him to be the best pitcher he's ever seen. He must have too much alcohol in the 90's and missed Maddux and those guys.
ReplyDelete5 Ks for Strasburg. Nice curveball.
ReplyDeleteBitterness runs through RJBO tonight.
ReplyDeleteCostas: "Now he's done! Six have fanned!"
ReplyDeleteAlcohol runs through me tonight, Keith.
/like most nights
@ kt: Which is why a pair of grand slams against him would suffice quite nicely today.
ReplyDeleteOn second thought, can I change those grand slam hopes from the Pirates to the Phillies? It's the fucking Pirates after all. They are a hopeless wreck. Strasburg's Hype can be dealt a few body blows later, right now I just want to see the Phillies score some runs.
ReplyDelete@RJBO it's too bad you can't see this MASN broadcast. Rob Dibble has completely lost what little mind he had to lose.
ReplyDelete@JFein this is why the Nats scheduled him to face the Pirates...
You want to know how bad this is? Gary Thorne is practically begging people watching the O's to switch to the Nats game. Can't say that I blame him either.
ReplyDeleteWhat's Strasburg's schedule? Pirates-Indians-Good Guys?
ReplyDeleteSTRASBURG COULDN'T HIT A HOMERUN! THIS BUM'S SUCH A BUST!
ReplyDeleteDuane Kuiper and Mike Krukow just went on a 5 minute rant about the lack of "Matt Stairs type of hitters" in the majors.
ReplyDeleteIt put me to sleep, so I turned on Jon Miller on the radio broadcast.
I seriously wonder how many of those fans at Nationals Park are actually Phillies fans. I would venture quite a few.
ReplyDelete@RJBO yep and then the O's before the Nats play the NL East again...i guess he'll be the #2 NL pitcher in the All-Star game going against this crew...
ReplyDeleteFrom Twitter: Justin_Stangel
ReplyDeleteStephen Strasburg- This kid is such a sure thing Pete Rose started betting on baseball again
kt, you were talking about Rob Dibble's blowing Strasburg. Thankfully, T-hom does the games for the Reds, otherwise spending 5 or 20 minutes with Stephen would change your life...
ReplyDeleteANOTHER hit against Strasburg! Send him back to Double-A!
ReplyDeleteRYAN HOWARD JUST HIT A HOMERUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! A HOMERUN!!!! A HOMERUN, I TELL YOU!!!!! A HOMERUN!!!!! IT'S WHERE THE HITTER HITS THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK AND EVERYONE ON BASE CAN ADVANCE HOME!!!!!! IT'S ALMOST AS IF I AM SEEING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME*!!!!!!
ReplyDelete* - Really.
@ RJBO: Hahahahahaha!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBack to back hits against Strasbow.
ReplyDeleteDelwyn Young hits a 2-run shot off Strasbow.
ReplyDeleteDFA STRASBURG!
ReplyDeleteClearly Strasburg needs to go back to the minors...
ReplyDeleteAccording to Dibble that homer wasn't Strasburg's fault...
ReplyDelete@ kt: According to Rod Dibble, Stephen Strasburg is the greatest pitcher ever and no hit or earned run against him will ever be his fault. This guy is expected to throw nothing but perfect games and no-hitters for his entire career.
ReplyDeleteCurt Schilling concurs with Dibble's assessment, JFein.
ReplyDeleteAn aside: is it trite to just add the suffix -bow to anyone overhyped in sports?
Just your luck, Justin. Pat Burrell just hit an upper deck home run.
ReplyDeleteIt's Hawk Harrelson Night on the South Side (no lie). The Good Guys are trying to get fewer people in the stands...
ReplyDelete@RJBO: Amy K. Nelson joked that she's at that game and not the Strasburg game.
ReplyDeleteThe 1st 10,000 fans (or by the looks of it, everyone) will get a T-Shirt with a "Hawkism" on it. Is it too late to get a "He Gone" one?
ReplyDelete@RJBO: I want a "Can of Corn" Hawk shirt.
ReplyDeletePat The Bat FTW!
ReplyDeleteHis defense is beyond terrible, though. He is now an AL DH at best, and an NL pinch-hitter at worst.
@JFein: I thought Aubrey Huff would be beyond terrible in the outfield and he has been a pleasant surprise. Burrell has also done a nice job tonight in the outfield.
ReplyDeleteMark Kotsay (he with the .195 BA) is batting 5th for the Good Guys. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteStrasbow strikes out his 10th Pirate.
ReplyDeleteMark Kotsay is still playing?
ReplyDeleteOmar Vizquel is playing 3rd and batting 2nd for the White Sox, too.
ReplyDeleteI missed it. Did Strasburg strike out McCutchen?
Omar Vizquel? He's too old to play for the Giants.
ReplyDeleteGiants Trivia Question: Can you name the pitcher that gave up the only home run to Duane Kuiper in his career.
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Steve Stone
The Tigers drafted Jim Leyland's kid in the 8th Round today. The signing bonus is going to be 500 cartons of Marlboro Reds.
ReplyDelete/had to
The Twins drafted Jamie Moyer's kid today.
ReplyDeleteNepotism ran wild today as Leyland, Tracy, and Bochy's sons were drafted by their father's teams.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, JFein I knew about Moyer's kid being drafted.
To answer my earlier question, Strasburg has 11 Ks through 6. Also, in case you're wondering, Galarraga gave up a hit to Juan Pierre to lead off the game.
ReplyDeleteWill Strasburg pitch in the 7th? I'm on pins & needles*!
*not really
"Volstad normally has good stuff, he just comes up a bit short." - Sarge
ReplyDelete14 Ks for Strasburg.
ReplyDeleteCostas: "It is difficult to restrain yourself."
They have Depends for that, Bob.
Delwyn Young is currently the #1 Trending Topic worldwide.
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm listening to Jon Miller on the radio and watching the basketball game.
ReplyDeleteGarnett with the first 2 buckets of the night.
ReplyDeleteArtest gets his 2nd foul early. Natch.
ReplyDeleteI will now avoid ESPN until the World Cup.
ReplyDeleteHave fun dealing with the DC sports media tomorrow, kt!
Rondo is lighting up the Lakers.
ReplyDeleteJackson: "Want to know why the Celtics lead early? Two words: Ron. Do."
ReplyDeleteTo even things up, Kendrick Perkins gets 2 quick fouls.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't have cracked on Kotsay. He hits a bomb off Galarraga for a 2-run shot.
ReplyDeleteRondo and Garnett with all of Boston's scoring.
ReplyDeleteThe end of the 1st Quarter & Gavin Floyd carving up the Tigers both almost put me to sleep.
ReplyDeleteThe Lakers lead is now 14. Geez.
ReplyDeleteSnooze
ReplyDeleteMario Impemba: "The Strasburg Hype can't match the hype around the arrival of Matt Wieters.
ReplyDelete...He could walk on water there."
I've never disagreed with a statement Mario's made doing games for the Tigers. Ever.
PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OFFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCs on a 9-0 run...ended by Bynum.
ReplyDeleteMatt Cain dominates in his third straight start. He shut out the Reds for his 2nd shutout of the season. He's without a doubt, the best pitcher for the Giants at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHow nice of Garnett to show up for Game 3.
ReplyDeleteBrennan Boesch (Cal-Berkeley's own) with a 3-run bomb off Matt Thornton to give the Tigers a 6-2 lead.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, can Lidge get out of this bases loaded jam?
The Phillies won a baseball game 10-8. Pinch me.
ReplyDeleteRay Allen just scored his first 2 points. I guess repeating his Game 2 performance was asking too much.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a boring game, but it's not boring enough for JVG to bring up getting beat up in school for having a buzzcut.
ReplyDeleteCeltics have managed to cut this lead down to 5.
ReplyDeleteTony Allen has more FG's than Ray Allen.
ReplyDeleteNickel-dimer call for Paul Pierce's 5th foul.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know why the Celtics even bother slowing the ball down. They clearly have the edge in scramble situations.
ReplyDeleteThis game has certainly become interesting.
ReplyDeleteRay Allen doing his best John Starks impersonation with that 0-11.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see the reanimated corpse of Kevin Garnett
ReplyDeleteDid we really just get a comparison between Phil Jackson and Bill Russell?
ReplyDeleteRefreshing for one of these forced shots by the Lakers to actually go in for Fisher.
ReplyDelete"If you're down there should be a no faces to the crowd policy." JVG
ReplyDeleteJVG for commissioner!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFisher after a couple of big shots picks up his 5th foul.
ReplyDeleteWow Garnett!
ReplyDeleteCeltics just can't get over the top..
ReplyDelete1st points by Kobe in the 4th to push the lead back to 4.
ReplyDeleteThe Lakers have blown their huge halftime lead. Shocking.
ReplyDeleteNotre Dame only makes $9 million a year off their TV deal, while every Big 10 school gets $23 million per year? Really?
ReplyDelete/turned to College Football Taped on ESPN2 during the break
NOW the stripes get the review right
ReplyDelete/the NBA is FANNNNNNNNNNNNNTASTIC
Fisher! AND-1!
ReplyDeleteOh what a finish by Fisher!
ReplyDelete/Game Over
What the heck was that?
ReplyDeleteOof, Boston.
Ray Allen is 0-13. Wow.
ReplyDeleteRay Allen has killed Boston tonight.
ReplyDeleteShrek glasses from McDonalds. Now with 1000% of the daily allowance of cadmium.
ReplyDelete/had to throw away the glass I bought my nephew
Paul Pierce! It might not be over yet!
ReplyDelete/can I hedge anymore than that?
Offensive foul on Garnett. Done.
ReplyDeleteMoving screen on KG...Gasol flops
ReplyDelete/World Cup starts Friday
The Frank Caliendo Hats!
ReplyDelete@RJBO you just should have gotten a Shrek toy.
ReplyDeletelead > cadmium
91-84 Lakers.
ReplyDeleteStrasburg would've had 31 points if he took 13 shots at the TD Garden tonight.
Hopefully this series goes to 7. Goodnight everyone, I'll have a recap of the game by tomorrow morning.
ReplyDeleteThe Traitor has an awful game, yet the Lakers still win.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that the 2 most insufferable NBA franchises must be playing in this series?
@JFein the Knicks didn't make the playoffs...
ReplyDelete