Stephen Strasburg signed a seven year, $175 million dollar contract extension with the Nationals. Joe and Greg try to figure out if the Nationals are getting a deal and Strasburg is costing himself a lot of money, or if Strasburg made the right move here. They also compare the deal to other lucrative pitching contracts throughout baseball.
Bryce Harper is also in the news again, for negative reasons. His outburst at an umpire over balls and strikes will cost him a game, does this change Joe’s opinion of his favorite player? Max Scherzer had a dominant start this week where he became only the fourth pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a game. How historical was the game? It might not be memorable in the ways a normal fan would expect?
Also, Bartolo Colon hit a home run. So that was pretty sweet.
Crowding the Plate Episode 7: Stephen Strasburg Contract Extension Gets Him Paid
Music in this episode:
Intro/Outro: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung by Edward Meeker and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” by The Isotopes Punk Rock Baseball Club
Break 1: “Freaks, Nerds, and Romantics” by The Bouncing Souls with SNY’s call of Bartolo Colon’s first career home run. Obtained through MLB.com.
Break 2: “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges with quote from “Bull Durham”
Hosted by Joe Hojnacki and Greg Hessen, Crowding the Plate is a weekly baseball podcast here on Last Word on Sports. It aims to cover the fun, yet analytical, side of baseball once a week.
Joe Hojnacki writes about soccer for Last Word on Sports and is also co-host of the Crowding the Plate Podcast. An avid Red Sox fan, Joe idolizes Bryce Harper and feels that his fun showmanship is the way to save baseball from becoming overrun by old folks, and from dying out.
Greg Hessen is the resident Tigers fan on Crowding the Plate. As somewhat more of a traditionalist, Greg longs for the days of pitchers hitting in the American League and a landscape that doesn’t include things like bat flips and PEDs tarnishing the greatest of all games.
