Image Source: Rumors and Rants

BY: MOLLY HULSEY

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368 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound for his first big-league start since 2010... and many critics say, it was a beauty.

"This last night in Washington as the Nationals pitcher looked great - struck out four Dodgers in five shutout innings with a fastball clocked at a sizzling 99 miles per hour. Strasburg was limited, though, to just five innings in his first major league game back. After 56 pitches he left the game with a 3-0 lead, the bullpen blew it though, and they ended up losing 7-3."

Although Nationals fans have been itching to see Strasburg on the field again, the young ace will probably only start three more games this season, a plan Sports Illustrated’s Joe Lemire sees as the future of the MLB.

“It's an era of pitch counts and surgeon's scalpels... It's a time when a huge number of pitchers are on the disabled list but also an age when a significant surgery like Tommy John results in a success rate greater than 95 percent for major-league pitchers.”

Over at ESPN, Baseball Tonight’s analysts are concerned that Strasburg’s quick return might be for the wrong reasons.

"To me, there is absolutely zero upside to this and the downside is potentially enormous. (FLASH) I’m not sure if 12 months after Tommy John... again, they know his arm, I’m sure the doctors are all okay with it, but when I hear conversation around the start which is that if they get him out there tonight they’ll get him back there for a Sunday home game in front of that crowd... those are the conversations that should have nothing to do with Stephen Strasburg pitching."

Sports kinesiologist Zig Ziegler, who actually predicted Strasburg’s injury in 2009 - a year before it happened - takes that concern a step further, saying the elbow operation fixed the injury, but not the problem.

“It’s pretty clear to me what lies ahead in his career. Stephen Strasburg might make it through 2-3 starts for the major league ball club, but if he continues to throw with the same mechanics, he will re-injure the same elbow, or he will shift the stress to his shoulder and rotator cuff surgery is next.”

But at Yahoo! Sports, analysts have a brighter outlook, suggesting- Strasburg’s injury might actually teach him lessons for the long run.

“He was so dominant in that first start in Washington last summer the team openly worried that he hadn’t faced any great adversity. That, unfortunately, came in one painful thrust of his right arm. But the result might be a more complete pitcher.”

 

Transcript by Newsy.