Stephen Strasburg: 160 Becomes 180 Becomes ???

Back in April, with Stephen Strasburg coming off Tommy John surgery, it was assumed that the Nats ace would be on a strict innings count of 160 innings.  During the previous year another Nats pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, had the same issue and was limited to that 160 number.

As the season went on and the team improved, Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo started to act like the concept of a defined innings limit came out of nowhere, and said that he would use an "eye-test" to decide when to shut down Strasburg.

But was Rizzo telling the truth?  Did he change his mind?  Is he trying to throw off the fans?

Now, a report out of Nats Town from Bill Ladson have produced a new number, 180.  Ladson tweeted the following:

According to a source, it is not set in stone that #Strasburg would pitch 160 innings this year. It could go up to 180 innings
— William Ladson (@washingnats) July 24, 2012

Management for the Nationals has to balance the following factors:

• Stephen Strasburg's health/future (if he gets hurt he could miss seasons)
• Stephen Strasburg's feelings (he isn't gonna want to sit)
• Fans (they want a World Series)

So what number will it be next month?  200?


It is going to be very interesting going forward with the MLB putting the Nats playoff chances around 90%.  No matter what the number is now, or what they are claiming it will be, one thing is for sure.  If Stephen Strasburg gets injured in inning 161, Mike Rizzo is going to be in trouble...