Speak softly in his presence, treat him with respect, and do not offend HIM....

Stephen Strasburg.....He has arrived!!! Strasburg makes his maiden voyage in a Washington Nationals' uniform tomorrow versus the Tigers. MLB Network will broadcast that game at 12 CST. There hasn't been a more hotly anticipated debut in years.

I really enjoyed tracking Strasburg's epic college career with the San Diego State Aztecs thru last season. He first came on my radar with a 23 strike out performance againt the mighty Utah Utes during his sophomore season and he went on to become the only amateur player on the US Olympic team that went to Beijing. Then it was a matter of marveling at the outing to outing dominance he exhibited throughout his final college season last year. Video game strike out totals were what he was posting time and again. It was a fait accompli' that he'd be the first overall pick in the Rule 4 Draft last June....the suspense came with the negotiations to sign him. Would he break the bank on a mega-signing or exercise his final piece of leverage and go back to college for his senior season. In the end he signed for less money than many had speculated throughout the process and now he starts his journey up the MLB ladder.

Will Strasburg be the next Roger Clemens....or is he the next Mark Prior/David Clyde? Or is he merely the next Ron Darling? Either way its going to be a very fun to see if Strasburg's God-like (yes I'm playing the "deity" card...hey, I'm a big believer in the guy!) performances in college and the endless awestruck accolades translate into a legendary big league career. His plus stuff extends to all his offerings and he can push 100+ w/his fastball according to most. Will he single-handedly (to the extent you can do things single-handedly in baseball) turn the fortunes of the woeful Washington Nationals? Will they hold him back on his MLB debut in the regular season until June to limit his service time and delay his free agency a year?

As for the Tigers they should have a fun time seeing the kid up close and personal. I have to think they'll enjoy taking their hacks at the kid w/the big rep. By coincidence the Tigers witnessed Jason Heyward of the Braves hit a mammoth blast against them today.....so they'll be seeing the Top 2 prospects the game has to offer on consecutive days.