Mr. Precedent! Strasburg fans 14 in debut (electrifying first start)

WASHINGTON -- Making his Major League debut after 11 sensational Minor League starts, Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg pitched seven innings of two-run ball against the Pirates on Tuesday, earning the win and striking out 14 in the Nats' 5-2 victory. Delwyn Young's two-run home run with two outs in the fourth was the only damage against Strasburg.

Strasburg allowed just four hits and with his 14 strikeouts surpassed the Nationals' season high. The righty threw 94 pitches, 65 for strikes, and didn't walk a batter. The righty retired his final 10 batters, striking out his last seven.

"More than anything, my four-seamer became more consistent," Strasburg said. "I was able to locate it. It's a big advantage when you can go out there and throw strike one."

"It was just a great night for Stephen -- a great night for the Nationals," manager Jim Riggleman said during an eighth-inning television interview on MLB Network's broadcast. "When you see guys like this come along, it's really special. He's humble -- just really a guy that the Nationals are really proud of. Hopefully, we can keep him healthy and keep it going."

"I definitely know I've got it in me," Strasburg said. "I just have to focus on what I can control. Obviously, we scored some runs and it was a great win for the entire team.

SAJ, I think you're wrong about baseballmom. Your comment does remind me that we're far down the wrong road because way too many folks have failed on the eternal-vigilance-in-defense-of-liberty responsibility. But I've been reminded of that by so many things every day for many years, and based on baseballmom's posts here on many subjects, I think your criticism is misplaced.

Our national troubles are deeply rooted. As bad as Obama is, there's plenty of evidence that a McCain administration would have been no improvement. McCain and GW Bush were proponents of the bail-out. McCain was at the lead in many other very corrosive, liberty-wise, federal abuses. This travesty of a health care bill is similar in many ways to the Romneycare law in Massachusetts. So when baseballmom challenges the "back to reality" notion expressed earlier, her comment reminds me that the Republicans and Democrats often look like they're fighting against each other, but it's more a choreographed dance together than a real fight.

I was one of the plaintiffs in an eligibility lawsuit filed before the November 2008 election. I don't pretend to know where Obama was born. I do point to the sworn statements of folks who asked Obama's grandmother about it and heard her say she was present at Obama's birth in Mombasa. These statements surely stand as evidence that there is no prima facie case that Obama is eligible to serve as President, but such evidence isn't enough to conclude that the grandmother's claim is true (just like the presence of birth notice info in Hawaii papers isn't enough to conclude that the Certificate of Live Birth is correct in identifying birthplace as Honolulu). So your own apparent characterization of Obama as 'the Kenyan' is proof enough of baseballmom's comparison.

I frequented FreeRepublic when it first began during Clinton Adminstration. In those days, you could read every article and every comment and still have time to earn a living. Nowadays, I find AIPNews.com to be a similar experience as the early FreeRepublic. The daily "Obama Watch" compilation post by AIP's North Carolina chair is something I recommend to all who aspire to that eternal vigilance standard.

I've pretty much completely lost interest in college and pro sports in recent years, but I did make time to watch most of last night's Nationals game, and I'm glad I did.

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