(Hall of Famer Bob Feller throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in Cleveland back in April. Photo by Reuters Pictures via Daylife.)
The hype machine for Stephen Strasburg's second start on Sunday in Cleveland is running on overdrive, what with TBS dumping the Red Sox-Phillies game in favor of Nationals-Indians, tickets to get a glimpse of Baseball Jesus selling fast and furious, and Nats Insider's Mark Zuckerman reporting that merchandise stands inside Progressive Field are fully stocked with Strasburg gear.
And yesterday, 91-year-old former Indian and Hall of Famer Bob Feller pretty much challenged the 21-year-old phenom Strasburg to a bare knuckles throwdown. Actually, Feller did nothing of the sort, but MLB.com did have some fantastic quotes from Feller on Thursday in a piece discussing Baseball Jesus with the HOFer:
"I was 17, he's 21. By the time I was his age, I had won 85-90 games or so. It will take him some time to learn some fundamentals he might not have learned in college. [Bleep him.*]"
(Bob Feller, via MLB.com, 6/10/2010)
Oh, and there's more. Is Feller excited to see Strasburg?
"[Bleep that.*] Is he excited to see me? [Bleep*] No, [But] I'll be there."
(Bob Feller, via MLB.com, 6/10/2010)
Next question: Will Feller buy a Strasburg jersey at the Indians team store?
Meanwhile, although Strasburg, VA did not end up being renamed "Stephen Strasburg, VA", our anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation report at this hour that the town of Strasburg, OH, located about 75 miles south of Cleveland, is considering appending "Stephen" to its name.
*Let the record show that Bob Feller most certainly did not say "Bleep" this, that, him, etc. in reference to Stephen Strasburg. We made that up. And the bit about Strasburg, OH, too.
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There is also a Strasburg, Colorado, but they Nats already been out that way this season. I think there is a Strasburg, Pennsylvania too.
Posted by: WFY | June 11, 2010 at 04:26 PM