MASN's Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer ripped Nats decision to shut down Strasburg during last night's O's broadcast

Interestingly (or not, if you don't give two bleeps about the Strasburg Shutdown debate) MASN's Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer went out of their way to trash the Nationals decision to shut down Strasburg during the sixth inning of last night's Orioles/Mariners game. Given the game situation (2 on, 2 out, 1-1 game), it was an odd tangent.

If you're in the "MASN hates the Nats" conspiracy camp, a little more fuel for the fire: is Peter Angelos writing their copy or something? Is there a directive from MASN management to slam the Nats, given the nasty, ongoing stalemate over cable rights fees? Or is it just a couple of guys who were bored with a tie ballgame with playoff implications? Admittedly, we loved the part where Palmer said he texted Davey Johnson in August and told him to trip Stras, give him a leg injury. Here's how we heard it:

Thorne: I think it's an abomination that they have removed him. If there's something really wrong, that's one thing. But if they've just taken him out because they've locked themselves into the innings limit, there's no guarantee he'll ever get to the postseason again. There's no guarantee Washington will ever get to the postseason again. And to take him out, the best pitcher, and have that be the number one concern rather than winning and the fans, I just think it's a terrible thing for baseball.

Palmer: And I guess the other side of the coin is, their rationale on the innings - and that's all it is is rationale is 'Well, we want to protect him. We did it with Zimmermann.' But at the end of the day, there were ways they could have minimized the innings.

Thorne: Even in September.

Palmer: Well, I texted Davey Johnson back in August. I said 'Trip him. Give him a leg injury.' ...the bottom line is they're a much better ballclub and they could have minimized the innings some way, he didn't have to pitch five times in April...

And on and on...until Thorne ended the conversation with "It's a sin." And then seemed to wake up and realize that Mark Reynolds was at the plate with 2 on and 2 out in a 1-1 game in the sixth inning of a game with playoff implications.

(Thanks to reader Andrew for the tip. Screencap via MASN/MLB.com)

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Comments

[Jesse]

Baseball as a whole thinks that Strasburg shutdown wasn't handled well. That these two agree isn't surprising

[Tim]

It sure is nice to see a MASN game broadcasted by two individuals who actually have an opinion and not the two cheerleaders that do the Nats game.

[finestsounds]

What a couple of idiots. And for all those who say the Nats should have used Stras in April - who knows if the Nats would have had the same record we have now if Stras doesn't pitch in April? You have to get to the dance first - then figure things out - The Nats did it right and Thorne and Palmer really need to put a cork in it when it comes to dissin' the Nats - last time I checked the Nats were shown on MASN, (unfortunately, they really deserve their own network). I wonder if Thorne / Palmer would make such assasnine comments if it was one of those Nats / Orioles split broadcasts with FP and Bob in the booth with them - doubt it.

[Jon]

They should be reprimanded by MASN the same way Dibble was.

[Kevin Booker]

Games in April count the same as games in September. What a dumb statement by Palmer who should know better.

[Jeremy]

I'm amazed these 2 dopes had a conversation that didn't turn into another lame, incoherent rambling story by Palmer about himself. Look at what happens when the Orioles have a little success for the first time in 15 years. They start judging how other organizations are run.

[Steve M.]

I'm blown away by this as it happened on a network the Nationals own 13% of (insert sarcasm).

I'm wondering what the motivation is behind Thorne to bring up this subject in the middle of the game and seemingly out of nowhere as this is old news now.

THANKS FOR EXPOSING THESE FRAUDS!

[Tucker]

Angelos to Lerner: Accept my lowball offer for your MASN reset and I will have my boys stop with the unflattering comments.

[Tucker]

Jesse @ 1:03, you're a dope. Baseball as a whole? You mean the media who made a big deal about it for ratings.

[Steve M.]

You can take a topic as an announcing team and segue into another but this took an odd turn and out of nowhere goes to bashing the Nats. Odd.

Thorne's words seemed like they were rehearsed to me.

Strong words like "its a sin", "it's an abomination", "rather than winning and the fans" and "There's no guarantee Washington will ever get to the postseason again".

Seems like this was aimed at anyone listening to the Orioles broadcast that are on the fence with the Nats.

[Tucker]

Steve M., almost feels like those negative political ads to sway voters.

Orioles are always worried about losing fans to the Nats and Nats will be the first team to clinch a playoff berth. The Whorioles are far from in.

[Matthew Maury]

I suggest a "wrassling match" between FP and Palmer, we need to take the Pretty Boy down a peg!

[mikeyT]

Thorne is the same clown who claimed Schilling's bloody sock was faked during the World Series. To quote Bugs Bunny: "What a maroon."

[JTinSC]

Who cares what the Orioles sadcasters say, I surely don't give a quack what comes out of there mouths. NATITUDE

[Andrew]

Mike Wise on 106.7 will be covering this issue tomorrow between 12-2pm.

[James]

First off, this whole "MASN conspiracy" thing: actually thinking that Angelos is somehow "writing their script" is ludicrous! Yes, I'm an O's fan and like all O's fans- haven't liked how Angelos has done things for years! But finally, since first hiring MacPhail, then Buck and now Duquette, he has completely turned things over to real baseball people! If anyone doubts this, the proof is in the new winning culture. And regarding Palmer and Thorne, I'm not the biggest Thorne fan but Palmer is one of the most insightful baseball guys alive today.

[James]

And BTW, in case no one has noticed pretty much the whole baseball world outside DC is saying the same things.