The sensational phenom and savior of the Nationals (Stephen Strasburg) felt tightness in his shoulder as was pulled from his start on Tuesday to a chorus of boos.
Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post expressed that she hoped it was only due to disappointment.
Of course, the boos were due to disappointment. If it's fair to say that in the four games Strasburg doesn't start (along with discounting games played vs. Philly & NY team fans) the Nationals draw slightly under 20,000 fans while attendance spikes up to an estimated 40,000 fans for home games when he pitches, then it illustrates just how powerful a draw Strasburg has become. Fans chart out Strasburg's day in the pitching rotation. He even draws higher attendance for the teams when the Nationals travel for road games.
Fans have every right to vent their disappointment and frustration for one of the few games they honestly wanted to invest their hard earned time and dollars into seeing Strasburg only to have the rug pulled out from under them for a fill in starter. It's not like Riggleman came out on the jumbotron to announce that as a precautionary measure to ensure that the franchise and fans can enjoy many more Strasburg games that he would be pulled due to concern over a shoulder injury.
It's probably fair to assume that if most fans had the knowledge about Strasburg's arm they wouldn't have sent boos to Batista and the home team.
The point Hamilton appears to be missing is the 40,000 in attendance actually cared enough to plot out Strasburg games to witness something special. The fans wanted to see a true home team legend in the making type player for a city that hasn't had too much to cheer about come playoff time in any sport other then college basketball.
The boos should ring in the Lerner's ears as a message to become buyers and not sellers in the trade deadline market or at least stand pat with the top tier players such as Dunn, Willingham, and Capps. This is a time to excite the crowd even more by showing a willingness to spend and encourage fans to show up in droves to more than just one game out of every five.
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I think the fans who actually had tickets for the game should have booed only because of dissappointment as Hamilton suggests.
Starters are only projected. Even if fans plotted his potential starts, there is no guarantee due to weather or other things that could affect the rotation. What about now that he's on the 15-day DL? We know he can come back approx 8/10, but will he? What if he gets a rehab assignment in AAA? What about the fans who plotted for his next start, if he had pitched Tuesday?
Fact is, unless someone proves otherwise, it was a last minute decision. The only things you can say the team screwed up is not offering the fans who did come to the game some sort of gift. Some suggested a concession coupon or T-shirts. Maybe a discount to a future Strasburg start.
Then I think you're missing the point too, Tony. 40,000 fans cared enough to show up and disappointment is good as they were there as Nationals fans to see Strasburg.
Plotting out starts as best they can is a start towards bringing back the fans that were lost when the team first arrived with excitement and played at RFK.
T-shirt give aways don't need to be given. These are the breaks. If the Nations and Hamilton don't won't to hear boos then inform fans that want information. Otherwise everything that occured boos and all is par for the course and should be expected.