Nats have to avoid temptation with Strasburg

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg finds himself under baseball's microscope. Here's hoping the Washington Nationals have patience in the development for the phenom out of San Diego State, the No. 1 pick in the June draft. The public, certainly, is expecting instant miracles. It is not that easy, however, to master big-league hitters. Just how big a curiosity has Strasburg become? Well, the national media basically ignores the Arizona Fall League, designed as a chance for top prospects out of each organization to get additional playing time each fall. And then there's the Strasburg Watch. In the midst of a Saturday afternoon of college football on television, the scroll across the bottom provided viewers with the information that Strasburg had made his final start of the Arizona Fall League regular season on Saturday, earning his AFL-leading fourth victory. It has been a good indoctrination for Strasburg, but the numbers tell the story. Facing basically Double-A and Triple-A hitters, Strasburg does have the four victories and most likely will start Saturday's title game for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. The ERA, however, is 4.26. He has struck out 23 in 19 innings. Too often when teams shell out a big bonus, they are in a big hurry to get a player to the big leagues to justify the decision. Rushing a pitcher, however, rarely pays off. There's no better example than Mark Prior, who in 2001 was every bit the rage Strasburg is in 2009. Prior was proclaimed to have near perfect mechanics, plus velocity and great command. The feeling was the right-hander out of USC was big-league ready. Terry Ryan, Minnesota's general manager at the time, was ridiculed for using the No. 1 pick overall on high school catcher Joe Mauer, allowing Prior to slip to the Cubs. Nobody in Minnesota is complaining now. Prior was in the big leagues after only nine minor-league appearances, but the career was checkered, at best. He did go 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 2003. But he is 24-23 with a 4.03 ERA in his five other big-league seasons combined, and despite the "perfect mechanics," arm problems have kept him from pitching in the big leagues since he made nine starts for the Cubs in 2006. As Strasburg acknowledged he discovered in the AFL, there's a difference trying to work every fifth day — he even had to take 10 days off between his final two starts because of a neck stiffness — and once a week, which was the case in college. And there are no easy opponents in pro ball, where the depth of quality hitters increases at each level until reaching the big leagues. The Nationals did get good publicity in August when they were able to sign Strasburg to a $15 million big-league deal. And there will be a natural reaction given the struggles the Nationals have endured to try to find a quick fix, which would include pushing Strasburg to the big leagues. It is not, however, advisable. The Nationals' long-term interest — and Strasburg's, too — will be better served by allowing him to dominate in the minors before facing the challenge of a big-league lineup on a daily basis.

Junior is back

Ken Griffey Jr. returns for a final season in Seattle, giving fans a chance to say goodbye. Griffey has had a stellar career in which he has reached all but one level of excellence. He has never appeared in a World Series. Rafael Palmeiro is the all-time leader in games played without a World Series appearance at 2,831. Griffey, however, is the leader among active players at 2,638. Trailing Griffey on the active list are Carlos Delgado (2,035) and Jason Kendall (1,967). Alex Rodriguez had appeared in 2,166 regular-season games before getting into the World Series for the first time in his career this season. They all, however, have at least been to the postseason. Randy Winn is tops among active players with 1,601 regular-season games, but not a single postseason appearance. Ernie Banks is the all-time leader in that category with 2,528 big-league games.

Atkins attraction

Philadelphia execs are getting a strong push from second baseman Chase Utley to pursue Garrett Atkins. The two were teammates at UCLA and remain close friends. Colorado would like to move Atkins, but teams are waiting for him to be released because they don't want to assume hs $7.05 million contract. The Rockies are committed to playing Ian Stewart at third base, and given that Atkins is arbitration-eligible — which means if he is offered a contract, he has to be given at least $5.64 million — teams are waiting for the Rockies to release Atkins so they can negotiate a new deal with him. There is a good chance Atkins will hit the market this week. Teams have to finalize 40-man rosters by Friday, and given the Rockies have found no trade market for Atkins, they could let him go this week to open a roster spot for a prospect they don't want to risk losing at the winter meetings.

Honors time

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce its award winners this week. Handicapping the races (remember ballots had to be postmarked before first postseason game was played): MVP
NL: 1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis. The rest of the NL is tied for second.
AL: C Joe Mauer, Minnesota. Legitimate middle-of-the-order bat and premium position. He has led AL in hitting three of four years. Only two other catchers ever won a batting title, both in the National League — Ernie Lombardi with the Reds in 1938 and 1942 and Bubbles Hargrave with the Cubs in 1926. Cy Young
NL: Chris Carpenter, St. Louis. He won the NL ERA title and didn't have the pitcher-friendly support of AT&T Park that Tim Lincecum enjoyed.
AL: Zack Greinke, Kansas City. He led AL in ERA, and, yes, he won "only" 16 games, but he had nine games in which he allowed two or fewer runs and didn't get a win — six no-decisions and three losses. Manager
NL: Jim Tracy, Colorado. How about a 74-42 turnaround after he took over?
AL: Mike Scioscia, Angels. He was a master juggling his injury-riddled rotation.