Strasburg Benching Has DC In 88-Year Drought

Only A Spectator

It's still true today: no Washington baseball franchise has won a post-season series since 1924. Although not completely to blame, the benching of a perfectly healthy Stephen Strasburg had a lot to do with that. As WEEI.com's Alex Speier points out, the Red Sox faced a similar choice in 2007 when they benched young phenom Clay Buchholz—even after he hurled a no-hitter during the regular season. Of course, the Red Sox went on to win their second World Series in four years without the young right-hander, but it was still a tough call. Care to guess who was responsible for this quote?:

“Even in the postseason, you would never ask a young pitcher to do something that you knew would be risky for his health.”

The Nat's GM Mike Rizzo? Wrong, Fenway Frank breath! It was the dearly departed Theo Epstein back in 2007.