Nationals officially shut down Strasburg

Finally, the day has come. The Nationals have officially shut down their prized pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the remainder of the season, according to Manager Davey Johnson. The club will have pitcher John Lannan take Strasburg's spot in the rotation. 

Johnson believed, according to reporters, that Strasburg had become distracted by the media coverage of the innings limit that Washington's front office put on him coming into the season. Originally, Strasburg was going to make his final start against the Mets on September 12, but after a poor outing last night against the Marlins, the Nationals decided to shut him down now. 

Strasburg has had a very successful season, posting a 3.16 ERA while striking out 197 batters on the season. 

Analysis: Well we all knew that this day would come. I'm surprised that they are shutting him down now, rather than wait until September 12 when he was supposed to make his final start. Yet again, I can't really blame Johnson for taking these actions because there has been so much media coverage with Strasburg this season, and I also believe that he has become mentally exhausted down the stretch. Hopefully he comes back next season and has a successful full season as the Nationals' ace. I have a bad feeling that he may get injured again, because he has definitely had quite a workload this year.