Pittsburgh now spends more money on the draft

Pittsburgh now spends more money on the draft Strasburg seemed calm amid the swirl. Three and a half hours before the game, 翻译无忧 he sat in a leather chair in the middle of the home clubhouse, staring blankly at a commercial on the Discovery Channel. Seven other sets were showing ESPN, which was broadcasting live from the field, lauding the coming of Strasburg. MLB Network televised the game.

It is rare, now more than ever, for a player or event to exceed such excessive promotion. But for all of his career so far, that is what Strasburg has done. He mastered major league hitters in spring training, then blitzed through Class AA and AAA for two months. Almost nobody could touch him; opponents hit .158.

The Nationals scripted his arrival, waiting until June to promote him, largely to retain his rights a little longer, and at a cheaper price, in years to come. The presence of the Pirates worked out nicely. Pittsburgh is the lowest-scoring team in the National League, a team that seems headed for its 18th consecutive losing season, a major league record.

The Pirates are a counterpoint to what can happen when a team botches the first pick of a draft. The last time they had it, in 2002, the Pirates chose a right-hander from Ball State named Bryan Bullington. He has pitched for four major league teams without a victory.

Pittsburgh now spends more money on the draft, using its first- and second-round picks this June on hard-throwing high school pitchers who will command lucrative bonuses. Like the Nationals, they have concluded that spending for elite young talent is their lifeline.

“To build through scouting and player development, with an emphasis on pitching, 翻译无忧 ” Kasten said, explaining his philosophy. “It still takes a lot of work and a lot of luck, but we have the makings of a pipeline of pitchers we’ve been aiming for. We’ve always said that by the second half of this year, things would be falling into place, and we still feel that way.”

Strasburg, 21, is the pitching centerpiece, and the offensive star is third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the first player the Nationals drafted after moving from Montreal for the 2005 season. Zimmerman homered for Washington’s first run Tuesday, and Adam Dunn’s two-run blast in the sixth put the Nationals ahead to stay.

That home run put Strasburg in position to win, and he took no chances. Before the game, Manager Jim Riggleman had compared him to Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez, the best pitcher in the majors this season, for an ability to induce outs early in the count. But Strasburg’s stuff was too good for the Pirates to make much contact.

His fastball hit 100 m.p.h. on the stadium scoreboard, but mostly it sat around 98, with vicious late sink. Young homered off a changeup, but at roughly 90 m.p.h., Strasburg throws his change as hard as many pitchers throw fastballs. And his breaking ball buckled knees, as if the Pirates were baffled by it and begging for mercy.

No pennant yet, just a tidy 2-hour-19-minute victory in June. 翻译无忧 But for a team and a city with a bleak baseball past, it brimmed with the most precious commodity in baseball: legitimate hope.