Strasburg's evening news debut

Don't quote me on this, but the last time I remember the Nats being on the evening network news, it had something to do with the "Natinals" mess. That was 11 months ago, during the franchise's immature phase; now, we're on to the "delirious hope for the future" phase, leading to a better evening news experience.

"You don't have to know much about baseball to know that anyone who can throw the ball 103 miles an hour and on target is something special," CBS News's Kelly Cobiella said on Saturday evening, "and Stephen Strasburg can do both."

(103? Pshaw. Dude throws like 110. And on-target? Har. Anyone can throw on-target; Strasburg can do so while blindfolded, with both arms tied behind his back, while packed into a locker holding nothing but a white bunny and a stick of bubble gum.)

In a bizarre upset, none of Stan Kasten, Jim Riggleman or Mike Rizzo appeared on screen, but Tom Boswell did, talking about how Strasburg's curve "looks like it hit a bird." That sounds like something out of the 2009 season, actually.

"Strasburg hates all the hype, hates being compared to baseball greats like Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan," Cobiella said.

"Honestly I think it's all pretty funny," Strasburg said, "because there's no way you can determine how a person's career is gonna turn out."

Hmm. I wonder if that's what Scott Boras argued when he was landing Strasburg that contract. Anyhow, Cobiella said that "some are calling him the best pitching prospect ever," but she really should have said "evahhhhhhhh."

(And seriously, this is a good thing. The Nats on the evening news for something good? Strasburg on the cover of the USA Today Sports Weekly? He might already have provided more positive national publicity than any player in franchise history.)

(Image below via @FederalBaseball.)