Strasburg should pitch in All-Star Game

June, 19, 2012

6/19/12

11:45

AM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been superb in the first half and is sure to be selected to the National League All-Star team by the players or by manager Tony La Russa.

However, the Nationals have said they have installed an innings limit on Strasburg for the 2012 regular season, and although general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson haven’t said specifically what that number is, they’ve hinted publicly that it’s between 160 to 185 innings. And whenever Strasburg reaches the upper limit of that range, they plan to shut him down. This innings limit ostensibly includes any time logged during the All-Star Game, and there is already some talk about whether Strasburg will pitch in the All-Star Game because of this limit.

But if Strasburg makes the All-Star team, he will pitch. And he should pitch.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.