Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy commented today on the Washington Nationals' apparent decision to shut down ace starter Stephen Strasburg before the playoffs, according to a report from Comcast Sports Net. While speaking on SiriusXM Radio's Inside Pitch today, Peavy said shutting down a team's best starter on the eve of a playoff appearance would be "awfully, awfully hard":
"You got some veteran guys on that team who may not be there next year, this might be their only chance to win. And to take the best player, pitcher off that team going in the playoffs -- as a player, you understand where the organization comes from -- there's no chance that I can imagine players in that clubhouse are happy that they're going to go to the playoffs and Stephen Strasburg isn't going to start game one."
Peavy went on to compare it to the current situation in Chicago, with the White Sox also on the cusp of the playoffs and dependent on a young ace:
"It'd be awfully hard for me if Kenny [Williams] came out tomorrow in the media and said, you know what if we make the playoffs Chris Sale's not going to pitch in them," Peavy said. "That'd take the wind out of a lot of our sails."
The White Sox entered tonight's game in Baltimore with a two-game lead in the AL Central. The Nationals are up four games on Atlanta in the NL East.
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