Strasburg's last start Sept. 12

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by Jollyroger2

He's their marquee name pitcher but the other four starters have ERAs of 2.99, 2.98, 3.63 and 3.15, all four with 140-175 innings pitched so far. This isn't a situation like the Sox where they have Peavy and then Sale/Quintana who are tiring and then fill in the blank.

The conception that the Nationals are SS and a bunch of stiffs still seems to be what most in the media think. As if he's the only one responsible for them being now 33 games over .500.

Of course that's not the case. But I don't know of many (or any) playoff teams in baseball history that willingly and voluntarily benched their otherwise healthy ace both down the stretch and in the playoffs.

I don't see how this helps the team with the current best record in baseball win a World Series title.