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pony league

Stephen Strasburg’s Fragile Future

Stephen Strasburg’s immense talents — and those of other star-crossed fireballers in major league history — have been described as a gift and a curse by many in baseball. That curse, it would seem, extends beyond Strasburg, his prized right arm, his teammates and his employers

…He lived up to the hype when many of us — again, myself included — figured he couldn’t possibly. And he did so comprehensively, with a dazzling array of fastballs, changeups and knee-buckling curves.

It was dominance at its most raw, its most pure, its most easy to appreciate, and it was wonderful.

“When you see power in baseball, when you see power pitchers or power hitters, fans in any realm of any depth significantly note the difference,” said Strasburg’s agent Scott Boras hours before his client’s debut.

“When you have somebody knocking the ball in the seats with greater regularity than someone else, when you have someone throwing 100 miles per hour, fans immediately are registered to it. They identify with it. They don’t see it very often. They know it’s extraordinary. … It’s very easy to know it’s real and special from the start.”

But, as if acknowledging the inescapable, gnawing worry that comes with such special pitching talent, Boras also expressed a deep element of caution.

“It was very…

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Stephen Strasburg’s Fragile Future

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Roger Clemens: Another fallen giant

Every few weeks, it seems, baseball is embarrassed yet again by news that a superstar cheated the game and lied about cheating the game.

…Every few weeks, it seems, baseball is embarrassed yet again by news that a superstar cheated the game and lied about cheating the game. The news emerges in different ways: Alex Rodriguez, who recently became the seventh player in major-league history to hit 600 home runs, was outed in a book in the winter of 2009, then went on television to explain. Mark McGwire, the first player to hit 70 home runs in a season, tearfully admitted his drug use this past winter because he wanted to work again in Major League Baseball (as the St. Louis Cardinals hitting instructor). Pitcher Andy Pettitte, winner of 240 games in the major leagues, fessed up before spring training in 2008 after being named in the Mitchell Report on steroid use.

And so the list goes on.

Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, was also named in the Mitchell Report. Released in December 2007, the report followed an exhaustive — though belated — investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball. Even then, after the…

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Roger Clemens: Another fallen giant

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