Lives up to hype

Despite of all the hype and predictions surrounded around the young 21-year old, Stephen Strasburg, the most important question was if he could live up to the hype? Is 14 strikeouts and a win enough? I think so as Strasburg had the Pittsburgh Pirates swinging all over the plate in his MLB debut. Strasburg’s 14 K’s were the third-most all time by any pitcher in the history in a big league debut. Strasburg pitched for seven innings as the Nationals defeated the Pirates 5-2 yesterday. Some analysts are already mentioning that he could be the best all time, but I wouldn’t go that far. Stephen’s 1st game was phenomenal from start to finish, but lets remember that it was only one game.
If National fans thought that Strasburg could be the savior to their organization, this game definitely ended all doubts. The Nationals, who are tied for last in their division, seem to have hope again. With many games left in the season, this is could be what their team needed. I’m not saying that the Nationals are going to automatically win the division because of one player, but this could help re-energize the team to play better.
Stephen got all his butterflies out and certainly showed he’s ready for the majors, but it’s only going to get harder from here. I can’t say where the bar is set for him, but I know it’s pretty high as he has been named the “Lebron James of baseball.” Strasburg has so much expected of him, but fans and critics must understand he’s young and will have to mature. Don’t start making predictions of which next pitcher he’s going to be; let him finish a season first or even two games at that. Hold your horses! This isn’t the Triple A and Double A which he dominated; it’s the BIG LEAGUES. He won’t face the Pirates every night and give up no walks. He might just give up some shocking home-runs here and there as he gave up one 2-run bomber yesterday (his only mistake). We’ll see how dominant the young pitcher is as time progresses.