Stephen Strasburg goes on ‘spy camera’ rant after disastrous Nationals outing

Stephen Strasburg isn’t laughing at this “joke.”

The Nationals pitcher was angry Wednesday night after a television camera captured footage of him rubbing the area between his neck and shoulder as he sat inside the tunnel from the dugout to the clubhouse in the third inning of the Cardinals’ 14-3 rout. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings.

“I think it’s a joke, to be honest, that they shoot in the tunnel,” Strasburg told reporters.

He wasn’t the only one not laughing.

“Quite honestly, that shot shouldn’t have been shown, so I’m a little perturbed about that,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of the broadcast. “It shouldn’t be there. Honestly, that camera, there are rules and regulations about that. It’s not supposed to go down in the tunnel. It’s in black and white.”

After he was a brilliant 5-0 during the playoffs as the Nationals won the 2019 World Series, Strasburg re-signed on a seven-year, $245 million contract. It was a bit of a risk given Strasburg’s long injury history – and he missed most of last season with a nerve issue in his pitching hand.

“There’s got to be some sort of safe place in the stadium,” Strasburg said. “There have been plenty of other starts where something is not feeling right, and whether you treat yourself or you have a trainer come treat you, it’s just part of the business.

“I went out there and I gave it everything I had. It wasn’t good enough tonight. There should be some sort of privacy. People don’t watch the games on TV to watch some sort of spy camera watching what the player is doing in the tunnel.”

Stephen Strasburg on April 13, 2021
Stephen Strasburg on April 13, 2021
AP

Actually, that’s exactly why players disappear into that area so often during games. So fans — and opponents — can’t see their reactions or preparations. 

The alarming part is Strasburg’s fastball velocity of 90.6 on Wednesday was at a career-low over his 243 career regular-season starts, according to MLB.com.

“We watched him, his mechanics were a little off, but we talked to him [and] he didn’t complain about anything,” Martinez said of the injury possibility. “For us it’s part of the process. He hasn’t pitched in a year. We”ve got to get him out there, we got to stretch him out, we’ve got to build him up.

source: nypost.com