There is a great story on Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg on CBSSports.com today: Nationals camp report: Stephen Strasburg, unleashed
His first line of defense is to talk in terms of “team this” and “we that,” deflecting anything even remotely personal. Sending his answers straight through the rinse cycle.
But if you’re patient enough to work around his schedule, wait for the right moment and then have the chance to peel back a few layers … what you find is a thinking man’s pitcher nimble enough not only to construct, but, maybe just as importantly in his development, to deconstruct.
The second paragraph above is exactly what I enjoy so much about Strasburg. He combines intelligence, breathtaking athletic gifts, perspective, competitiveness and occasional restrained cockiness in a total package of a model professional athlete. I love watching him compete.
I’ll quibble with the first paragraph I excerpted above though is incorrect about his first line of defense, which he uses frequently — “you know.”
12 days until Opening Day
