SB Nation DC - Stephen Strasburg's First Rehab Start Done After 31 Pitches, Gives Up Solo Home Runhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48897/dc-fave.png2011-08-08T10:05:21-04:00http://dc.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21138712011-08-08T10:05:21-04:002011-08-08T10:05:21-04:00Stephen Strasburg Returns: Reflections On When 'The Circus' Came To Hagerstown
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<p>Stephen Strasburg made his first rehab start for the Hagerstown Suns on Sunday, and the circus that ensued showed that the media and the fans hadn't forgotten about him. </p> <p>HAGERSTOWN, MD - When I emailed the Hagerstown Suns director of communications about getting a credential for <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>'s first rehab appearance on Sunday, he responded by saying, "You're all set, thank you for covering the circus." I knew it was going to be an event, but I didn't realize just how much of a zoo it would be until I got there.</p>
<p>I arrived two hours early, just to be sure, and I still had to park at what looked like an abandoned mental hospital that was a 10-minute walk away. A stadium that normally sees about two or three hundred fans per game was filled to capacity way more than an hour before the game. The general scuttlebutt among the assembled media was that they had let in about 500 fans over a sell out. Every single seat was full, and people were standing three deep in all of the concourses.</p>
<p>Just to make sure they got a shot, everyone with a camera lined up outside the clubhouse more than a half hour before Strasburg emerged for the first time. I'm not sure it was intentional, but the staff brought him out of a different door of the clubhouse than everyone was expecting and he ended up sneaking up behind the line of cameramen, who then had to scramble to get their shot. He looked like a rock star leaving a venue through a group of fans, both overwhelmed and slightly put off by all the attention he was getting.</p>
<p>While he was warming up and playing long toss, everyone tried their best to analyze his delivery and whether or not the elbow appeared to be bothering him, as if any of us knew what we were looking for or if long toss even tells you anything. But his first pitch of the game lifted all doubt. He might not be all the way back, but he was as back as anyone could reasonably expect him to be in this stage of his rehabilitation.</p>
<p>His first pitch drew a standing ovation from the crowd, who was just happy to see him back on the mound doing what he does best. Even though it was his first competitive action in almost a year, nobody seemed surprised that he struck out his first batter. His focus in this start, per the request of the team and the training staff, was to establish his fastball. The heater sat between 95-97 miles per hour, reaching 98 once in the first inning according to the Suns' radar gun. His offspeed stuff will probably take some more time to come back, but when he did throw something other than the heater, it had some pretty nasty bite. Once it was clear that he was pitching without much restriction, the focus shifted from what he was throwing to the fact that he was throwing it at all. Everyone was just happy to see him out there.</p>
<p>He gave up three hits and a home run over 1.2 innings pitched and struck out four of the eight batter he faced. When all was said and done he got another standing ovation when Suns manager Brian Daubach took him out of the game. That was it. As quickly as it had come, Strasmas 2011 was over in just about 25 minutes. He was relieved by another top prospect in the organization, A.J. Cole, but that didn't stop people from leaving the stadium after catching only an inning and a half of baseball.</p>
<p>By the time the second game of the double header kicked off, Strasmus was officially over and the stadium held only it's typical crowd of a couple hundred people. He's going to throw again in five days, but nobody knows which level of the organization that will come a, and which city you will be able to find him in. But Stephen Strasburg is back, he is pitching very close to what we remember and that is very good news for everyone, whether they reside in Hagerstown, Harrisburg, Potomac or Washington D.C.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/washington-nationals/2011/8/8/2351068/stephen-strasburg-return-rehab-start-hagerstownJordan Ruby2011-08-08T09:07:34-04:002011-08-08T09:07:34-04:00VIDEO: Stephen Strasburg's First Strikeout During Rehab Start
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<p><object width="290" height="240"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mOU24d0JgM4?version=3&hl=en_US">
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mOU24d0JgM4?version=3&hl=en_US" mce_src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mOU24d0JgM4?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="290" height="240" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </p>↵<p><span>Stephen Strasburg</span> retired five batters in his first rehab start on Sunday afternoon, and four of those hitters were retired via a strikeout. Here's video of the first of those four batters going down. As you can see, Strasburg quickly gets ahead in the count, then unleashes a nasty curveball to get the hitter to bite on a ball out of the strike zone.</p>↵<p>It wasn't all roses for Strasburg on the scoreboard, as he surrendered a home run and two other hits. But it was all roses otherwise. Strasburg threw almost all strikes (25 out of 31), looked downright nasty at times and said he felt stronger than even he expected while out there. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> fans excited to see Strasburg pitch in September have to be pleased. Also, anyone concerned with Strasburg's future should take comfort knowing that Strasburg has hit every benchmark thus far on the road to recovery.</p>↵<p>(Video via <a href="http://www.natsenquirer.com/2011/08/stephen-strasburg-first-start-hagerstown-suns-tommy-john.html">Nats Enquirer</a>)</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/washington-nationals/2011/8/8/2351072/stephen-strasburg-strikeout-rehab-start-nationalsMike Prada2011-08-07T19:05:11-04:002011-08-07T19:05:11-04:00Stephen Strasburg Says He Felt 'Strong' In First Rehab Start
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<p>Stephen Strasburg's first rehab start for Hagerstown since having Tommy John surgery last September ended with him giving up a home run and two other hits. However, the Nationals' phenom said after the game that he felt really good about how he pitched and how his arm felt. <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/nathanfenno/status/100335790499971073">Via Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times</a>:</p>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23Strasburg" title="#Strasburg" rel="nofollow">Strasburg</a>: "I felt very strong out there. I'm right where I want to be physically."</p>
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<p>That's obviously very good news for Nationals fans hoping he can return to where he was last season. He even threw a few curveballs, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/nathanfenno/status/100335948222574592">admitted</a> he was surprised with how well he threw them, though most of his 31 pitches were fastballs. <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/nathanfenno/status/100336177999134720">He added</a> that he has yet to experience a setback at any point during the process.</p>
<p>Strasburg would likely pitch again on Friday, seeing as it's five days from Sunday. It's not immediately clear whether he'll pitch at a different level of the minors.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/8/7/2350377/stephen-strasburg-rehab-washington-nationals-hagerstownMike Prada2011-08-07T18:30:44-04:002011-08-07T18:30:44-04:00Stephen Strasburg's Rehab Start Includes Four Strikeouts In 1 2/3 Innings
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<p><span>Stephen Strasburg</span>'s first rehab start in Single-A Hagerstown since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September of 2010 was certainly not perfect. He allowed three hits and a home run during that time and had to be pulled before the second inning ended because he was approaching the 35-pitch limit the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> specified.</p>
<p>However, Nationals fans can console themselves with this: at least Strasburg was throwing strikes. Of the 31 pitches he hurled, 25 were for strikes. All four of the outs he had were strikeouts, including the first two hitters in the first inning. His velocity was also outstanding, as he consistently touched the upper 90s and got all the way up to 98 at some point.</p>
<p>Eventually, Strasburg will need to figure out how to not pitch in such a way where he's vulnerable to the long ball. However, for now, he was certainly under control, which isn't something you can always say of pitchers.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/8/7/2350337/stephen-strasburg-rehab-start-hagerstown-strikesMike Prada2011-08-07T16:44:05-04:002011-08-07T16:44:05-04:00Stephen Strasburg's Rehab Start Ends After 1 2/3 Innings, Home Run Surrendered
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<p>To <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> fans it felt like 30 years since they last saw <span>Stephen Strasburg</span> on a mound to throwing to live batters. On Sunday Strasburg threw his first rehab start with the Hagerstown Suns and it was done in 30 pitches exactly. While Strasburg's first start was not perfect, it went as well as one could expect for a guy who hasn't pitched in almost over a year and coming back from Tommy John surgery.</p>
<p>The future Nationals ace went 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits, one run, no walks and struck out four. He threw 30 pitches exactly and 24 of those were strikes. The radar gun was picking up Strasburg throwing between 96-98 mph. The only ding to his performance was giving up a solo home run to Jacob Realmuto of the Greensboro Grasshoppers (<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/florida-marlins">Marlins</a> affliliate).</p>
<p>Next up for No. 37? Only GM Mike Rizzo and the Nationals think tank knows, but he is expected to continue to rehab in the minors with a possible call up to Single-A Potomac or Double-A Harrisburg in the near future.</p>
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https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/8/7/2350181/stephen-strasburg-rehab-start-hagerstown-nationals-home-runAndrew Kinback2011-08-07T16:26:40-04:002011-08-07T16:26:40-04:00Stephen Strasburg's Rehab Start Begins With Two Strikeouts In First Inning
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<p>The wait is finally over.</p>
<p><span>Stephen Strasburg</span> is back on a mound pitching to live batters in Hagerstown, MD against the Greensboro Grasshoppers and his first inning of rehab work went beautifully. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> hurler struck out two, gave up one single that snuck up the middle and got a ground out. Strasburg was recorded throwing around 97 mph with him touching the 98 mph mark once.</p>
<p>It is a big day in Hagerstown as Municipal Stadium is packed and various credentialed media is in attendance (including ESPN) to see the Nationals phenom begin his path back to the Majors. Strasburg is expected to pitch at least one more inning or pitch somewhere between 20-30 pitches. It is unknown how long Strasburg will be in Hagerstown and in rehab in total, but it is projected he will be pitching sometime in September if all goes well.</p>
<p><i>For more on Stephen Strasburg's first rehab start and the Washington Nationals, visit </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.federalbaseball.com/">Federal Baseball</a><i>.</i></p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/8/7/2350158/stephen-strasburg-rehab-start-hagerstown-washington-nationalsAndrew Kinback2011-08-07T15:48:39-04:002011-08-07T15:48:39-04:00PHOTO: Stephen Strasburg's Hagerstown Rehab Start Predictably Draws Media Throng
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<p><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/NatsNewsNetwork">Via Dave Nichols of @NatsNewsNetwork</a> comes <a href="http://lockerz.com/s/127545082">this photo</a> from Hagerstown. It appears the young man named <span>Stephen Strasburg</span> is just as popular the second time around. In fact, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/nathanfenno/status/100270108781461504">Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times tweeted earlier</a> that "Hagerstown issued 63 media credentials for today's #strasburg start vs 48 for his minor league debut w harrisburg last year."</p>↵<p><a target="_blank" href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/679342/stras_media.JPG"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/679342/stras_media_medium.JPG" class="photo" alt="Stras_media_medium" height="386" width="290"></a> <br id="1312746102156"></p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/washington-nationals/2011/8/7/2350097/photo-stephen-strasburg-rehab-hagerstown-washington-nationalsT.J. Doyle2011-08-07T15:37:48-04:002011-08-07T15:37:48-04:00Pudge Rodriguez Will Not Catch For Stephen Strasburg On Sunday
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<p>It is a little over half an hour away from <span>Stephen Strasburg</span>'s first rehab start with the Hagerstown Suns and the news coming down the wire is that Strasburg will be throwing his one to two innings without the benefit of having another rehabbing National catching for him.</p>
<p>Catcher <span>Ivan Rodriguez</span> was supposed to be rehabbing with Hagerstown at the same time and was scheduled to possibly catch for Strasburg, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a> decided against it <a target="_blank" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/ivan-rodriguez-leaves-hagerstown-still-rehabbing-oblique-strain/2011/08/07/gIQArTxn0I_blog.html?wprss=nationals-journal">citing that Rodriguez has been rushing</a> his recovery from a strained right oblique muscle. His desire and passion to rehab and return to the field "have been more of a hindrance than a boon to his recovery."</p>
<p>Rodriguez has not played in a game since July 6th. The 39-year old catcher and potential future Hall of Famer has left Hagerstown to rehab his oblique elsewhere and at a slower pace. He is 158 hits away from becoming the first catcher to reach 3,000.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/8/7/2350081/washington-nationals-hagerstown-suns-stephen-strasburg-pudge-rodriguez-not-catchingAndrew Kinback