This Isn't A Broadway Show

Earlier this week, Nationals' phenom Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to pitch at home against the Braves. However, he had some discomfort in his shoulder while trying to get loose before the game, so the Nationals decided to be cautious and pitch someone else at the last minute. Without telling the fans why Strasburg was being shut down, they sent out pitcher Miguel Batista, who is decidedly not a phenom and who was promptly booed by a big chunk of the 40,000 in attendance once they noticed him warming up. However, Bautista actually pitched very well, going five innings and allowing no runs against a pretty good Atlanta offense. Also to his credit Bautista took the booing in stride and said he understood it because, "It was like expecting to see Miss Universe and getting Miss Iowa." [Sidebar: He then sent flowers to Miss Iowa just in case he offended her, explained he had simply randomly picked the first location that popped into his head and invited her to throw out the first pitch at a Nationals' game. In other words, the Nationals handled that a hell of a lot better than Strasburg's injury.] Despite Bautista's performance and the team winning, there were still people who demanded a refund. I got news for those fans - you aren't getting one. This isn't like Broadway where they will offer a refund if it's an understudy night. All they owe you is a game and you got one.

What I take a bigger issue with are those supposed Nationals "fans" who booed Bautista. I'm against booing a guy who plays for the hometown team as long as he gives the fans his best effort, which Bautista clearly did. I get that the fans were disappointed - trust me I've been there. I was at a Celtics game earlier this season when KG was already hurt and then Rasheed Wallace was a late scratch. If you ever want to take the air out of an arena, say the words "...and starting at one forward, Brian Scalabrine" when no one knows it's coming. Still, we didn't leave or boo Scal. I think the problem here is that the Nationals haven't been around long enough to have fans of the team - they have people who are fans of just the one great player, which is a problem for a baseball team and even worse if it's a pitcher who only goes every five day. Still, Washington D.C. has some smart people among its residents, so you would expect them to understand that the Nationals have a ton of money invested in the long-term health of Strasburg and they aren't going anywhere this year. Being cautious with his arm is the smart way to go. I think the only thing that is going to help the Nationals avoid this kind of issue in the future will be getting the rest of the team better because they need to reach a point where they are bigger than just one man. Also, putting something on the back of the ticket about their 'no-refund' policy isn't a bad idea either.

-Last weekend, IRL driver and former Dancing With the Stars contestant Helio Castroneves was in a race at Edmonton when he was called for blocking the car behind him. He was summoned into the pits to serve a penalty, but refused to go. He finished out the race in second place, but instead of being awarded that position he was credited with a tenth place finish. Castroneves went off (as much as a race car driver can go off) and grabbed the IRL's head of security, who is a former Marine, who towers over Castroneves (meaning he's probably like 5'10") and who essentially laughed in Castroneves's face at his attempt to be tough. Now, I'm not going to use this time to crap on miniature race car drivers who think they are bad-asses. Instead I want to comment on how odd I find it that there is a rule in IRL that prevents blocking. Isn't that the point of racing? How can you consider something a sport when you can't play any defense? I understand that with Indy cars what you are in is essentially four wheels, a giant engine and a seat, so it's not like NASCAR where you can bump and push, but not allowing a guy to even block to protect his lead seems extreme. Next thing you know they won't allow passing and they only way you can win a race will be to qualify well and hope the other guys run out of gas first.