I never thought of my fellow Penn Stater Tom Verducci as writer of horror, but his column in the upcoming Sports Illustrated, Mechanical flaw will be red flag for Strasburg even after return is a tale of macabre that Washington Nationals fans are loathe to hear. Verducci goes into detail about why the “inverted W” mechanics likely contributed to Strasburg’s elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and why more injuries could be occur after he returns. Compounding this are several terrible possibilities:

– Strasburg continues throwing this way and injures himself again

– The Nats organization, including Mike Rizzo, is ignoring the problem

– If Strasburg changes his mechanics to something safer, he might not be great anymore

We just have to keep telling ourselves, that so many pitchers come back from Tommy John surgery (this gallery may be reassuring) and that many if not most of the All-Star pitchers this past season had gone through it. The tough part is, the days of just being able to watch Strasburg and appreciate the greatness are gone — we’ll be wondering if it is ever coming back and if it does, can he stay healthy enough?

UPDATED: Roy Neyer is skeptical that Strasburg was destined to get hurt

The Nats Blog is very pessimistic as well.

UPDATED AGAIN: Questions about Stephen Strasburg’s delivery have no sure answers – The Post
Tim Kremchek, the Cincinnati Reds team doctor, thinks Strasburg may have been “pitching to the radar gun.” Dr. Kremchek, who performs 100 Tommy John surgeries a year thinks the Nats handled Strasburg properly as well.

FURTHER READING:

Once a desperate move, Tommy John surgery is now routine tool

Reds are well-acquainted with life after Tommy John surgery

One thing though — didn’t Strasburg think his injury developed over time? If my memory is correct, that puts him at odds with the Nats diagnosis.