Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Believe the Hype?


This morning Brett Favre ended his (9th?) retirement and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. I just can't stomach talking about his situation again (I already correctly predicted he'd be back in an earlier BrockTalk column)...so we move on to baseball.

Apparently, Stephen Strasburg, is Nolan Ryan, Cy Young, Walter Johnson and Roger Clemens (minus the 'roids) all rolled into one.

At least, that is what the hype machine is telling us.

In case you are unaware, pitcher Stephen Strasburg was the number one pick of the Washington Nationals in the last MLB amateur draft.

He has been called a phenom. An ace in waiting. A can't miss super-star. And he's a young man who yesterday signed the richest contract ever for an amateur player, more than $15 million for four years.

In the end, Strasburg may end up being absolutely lights out and a phenomenal pitcher (the Nats and their fans, me included, and banking on it). But really, who knows?

All it takes is one awkward twist of the arm while delivering a 100 mph fastball and it could be "So Long Strasburg!" Careers for pitchers can be like fine china, delicate.

It's not easy living up to the hype of being "the next great player." Just ask athletes like Tim Couch, Alexandre Daigle and Michael Olowokandi. They were all first overall picks and were all first class busts.

Will Strasburg be more like Nolan Ryan, or Brien Taylor?

For his own sake, maybe it's best just let Strasburg do his thing, and until then, don't believe the hype.



BrockTalk

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

WillingSLAM


Okay, first blog post and what am I going to do to mark the occasion?

I'm writing about a player you likely have not heard of, playing on a team that you likely don't care about, accomplishing something you SHOULD pay attention to:


  1. Josh Willingham


  2. Washington Nationals


  3. 2 grand slams hit in one game
Click here to see the slams and read more.

Not only is this accomplishment rare...it's more rare than pitching a perfect game!

Last week White Sox hurler Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game...18th in MLB history. WillingSLAM's accomlishment, just the 13th in MLB history.

Although, WillingSLAM's accomplishment is still bettered by what Fernando Tatis did back in 1999: he hit two slams in ONE INNING off the same pitcher (Chan Ho Park)...now that is something else!

Regardless, show Josh WillingSLAM some love today.


BrockTalk