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.