Strasburg Signs!

Before I get into this, I’d like to apologize for the recent inactivity.  I’m an active duty United States Marine and the past week or so has been fairly hectic with training but I’ll ignore much needed sleep and rest to let you all know how happy I am about Strasburg signing.  I went to bed around 9 PM on Monday night, nervous about the deadline because frankly, I didn’t think a deal would be met.  Thankfully, when I woke up in the morning, I immediately turned on Sportscenter and managed to wake up my wife with an excited yell as I heard that Strasburg signed.  Unfortunately, my schedule did not allow for me to get many more details about the situation before I had to leave for a long(16 hours) day on the rifle range.  When I got back I was shocked to find out that the Nationals were able to get Strasburg and Scott Boras to agree to a deal that was a good 40 million dollars less than the original asking price.  While it’s still a record contract for a draft pick, I can’t help but feel that this is the bargain of the century.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, even if he doesn’t work out as hoped, the team will easily make back the money spent and then much more.

After the initial shock over the signing subsided, I started getting anxious to see how the Nationals planned on using Strasburg this year.  It’s probably too late to get him on to a minor league team, although I’d kill to get the opportunity to see him pitch for Class A Advanced Potomac.  The team has stated though that he’ll likely report to a team facility in Florida to work with a minor league pitching instructor to prep him for the Arizona Fall League.  I’m sure we’ll find out more on Friday when the team is expected to introduce him to the fanbase with a press conference.  Hopefully I can get off the range early enought to make the trip up to DC to try to catch it.  If I can, I’ll make sure to tell you all about it.