Kuzul

One of the hottest debates in baseball this summer has been: Should the Washington Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg in order to save his arm for the long term?  Though the decision to sit Strasburg seems to be already decided, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo will not be able to satisfy everyone no matter what he decides.

People will hate on Rizzo either way. In the present time, he will not be able to win. We will all have to wait and see how the future turns out.

Rizzo recently told Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post that “Strasburg will be shut down at some point in September.”

If the Nationals were in last place, this would be a non-issue. One can assume that Strasburg would be shut down until next season. There would be no point in continuing the current season.

The problem for Washington this year is that they are one of the top teams in the National League and could be a serious contender come playoff time. Things change from year to year in Major League Baseball, there is no guarantee that they will ever be in this position again.

Like every great debate, both sides think they are correct. Rizzo has plenty of people who feel he is not making the right decision on Strasburg.

Former pitcher, and former Nats analyst, Rob Dibble clearly thinks the choice to sit Strasburg is the wrong one. This Washington Post article from Dan Steinberg outlines some of his feelings. He questions Rizzo’s ability to make the decision and blasts Stasburg for not speaking up for himself.

Tommy John (the pitcher for whom the surgery is named) criticized the plan to shut down Strasburg in the USA Today. John said, in the article by Scott Boeck, that if he were a Nats fan “he wouldn’t buy tickets” in 2013 if Strasburg is benched.

Despite all of the negativity and backlash, Rizzo has stood his ground.  

Rizzo is really stuck between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.”

If he shuts down Strasburg as expected, and the Nats start to lose or exit the playoffs early, it will be his fault. Shutting down Strasburg will be blamed for the collapse of the Nats.

If Rizzo lets Strasburg go, and he blows out his arm in the 200th inning, then he could be blamed for ruining the franchise pitcher.

Who really knows what the right call is? It’s nothing but pure speculation. No one has the crystal ball that can predict Washington’s success without Strasburg. To that point, no one really knows what the long-term effects of pushing him will be.

The only thing I know for sure is that it’s a fun debate, and I sure am glad I’m not Mike Rizzo. Years from now, he will either be a hero or a goat for his decision. Time will only tell.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Stephen Strasburg is 24 years old.  He can vote for our political leaders, he can order a Jack and Coke, and he is less than a year away from being able to rent an automobile all on his own.

On another note, the Washington Nationals are sticking to their plan of shutting down their ace sometime after he reaches the 160-inning mark on the season, which would include this year’s playoffs.

All of this is happening in spite of the fact that the youthful Nats have the best record in baseball and a very legitimate shot at the World Series this year.

The only place you really see inning restrictions like this during times of high competition comes for kids half Strasburg’s age at this month’s Little League World Series.

However, eighth-grade algebra is not in Strasburg’s immediate future.  He is a man.  And that man should without a doubt be pitching for Washington in October.

The idea behind limiting Strasburg is not a bad one by any means.  He’s not too far removed from Tommy John surgery and the keystone—along with Bryce Harper—to Washington’s growing franchise.  The Nationals are a very young, talented team and surely don’t want to jeopardize a promising future by possibly risking injury to one of the best young arms in baseball.

So they put a predetermined cap on what Strasburg’s workload would be this year.  They probably decided, “You know, this guy is going to have a dynamite career, but first we need to be very careful about how we handle him in his first full Major League season not just since surgery, but ever.  Besides, we’re probably a year or two off from being seriously competitive anyway.”

It’s difficult to believe the Nationals thought they would be contending at this level so soon.  After all, the Nats have been hanging out in and around the cellar of the NL East for several years now.  

But things have changed.  Washington has made it abundantly clear they are ready to make a serious run at the pennant and maybe more and, quite frankly, they need their best pitcher to do so.

On top of that, Strasburg’s recovery has come without any hiccups or reasons for concern.

The importance placed on his future is certainly warranted, but if he seems to be totally fine and you have a real shot at winning a World Series, why not take it?

Sitting him out and waiting for next year or the year after that just seems like the kind of logic that goes into playing a franchise mode in a video game.  There, it’s okay to say, “Well, I’ll just simulate out the season, and I’ll win it all in the next.”

That sort of thinking does not fair so well in real life.  Championship opportunities are fleeting, and the windows to achieve such glory often shut abruptly and before franchises believe they will.  For the Nationals to think they will be in this position again and consistently for the foreseeable future is not a far-fetched idea given their young talent, but there is still no guarantee on any of that.

What is certain, however, is that they have the best record in The Show right now.  Shutting down a player strictly out of an outdated plan (one that Strasburg has outgrown because of his success and impressive overall bill of health since surgery) to contend later when you can contend now does not do you many favors.  

After all, you play to win the game, not the game tomorrow.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Bryce Harper started the season strong for the Washington Nationals, providing the spark that they needed when the injury bug hit the team. However, since the All-Star break it seems as though the phenom sensation has hit a bit of a wall and will find himself on the bench again on Saturday night.

According to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post, Harper will get Saturday night off in favor of Tyler Moore. This will be Harper’s second game off in the last three. Moore has had a nice season to this point, with a .296 average entering Saturday night’s game.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson revealed the decision after Washington’s seventh consecutive win on Friday night, telling Amanda Comak of The Washington Times,

I might as well tell you now, I’m going to get Tyler Moore in the lineup because once Werth got here I haven’t had that opportunity. There’s nothing wrong with Bryce. He played a good game and he’ll play the day game against the left-hander. I’m just telling you up front now so I don’t have to hear all this crap tomorrow.

Harper has struggled mightily after the All-Star break, batting a painful .173 (18-for-104) while only getting four extra-base hits. He has also struck out 27 times in the 26 games that he has started. The trend has to change for Harper if he wants to stay in the everyday lineup, especially with Werth’s return and Moore’s productivity.

Despite Harper’s struggles, the Nationals have become the first team in the majors to win 70 games in 2012, roaring to a 70-43 record and a 4.5-game lead in the NL East. Even with their current success, it is imperative that Harper’s bat heats up down the stretch if they want to maintain their lead and become a powerful force in the playoffs.

Harper was a huge contributor in keeping this team successful earlier in the season; now the rest of the team is picking him up while he struggles. Should Harper get hot again, and Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and the rest of the Nationals keep it up going forward, they will be a hard team to beat in October.

Follow @NargOnSports

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I know the topic has been beaten to death. But I have some sort of interest in the Nationals (even if I don’t fully understand why), so I might as well weigh in on the Stephen Strasburg inning-limit story. 

I can understand the desire to keep Strasburg healthy. I trust the Nationals have looked into the topic. But I think there are plenty of problems with the “keep pitching him until he hits 180 innings, then shut him down for the year” plan.

First, there’s the apparent plan to just pitch him like normal until he hits 180 innings. A win in April does count the same as a win in September. However, that isn’t true for October. Three losses ends your season totally. Playoff starts are disproportionately weighted, so why not save Strasburg for those? Why not skip starts here and there to save him for the games that spell an automatic game-over for the season?

Second is the 180 limit itself. Why 180 innings specifically? I mean, to an extent, it makes sense. More innings are bad. But why set a hard limit that apparently means a total end for Strasburg’s season? Why not be flexible? 

I liked the prior “We’ll shut him down when we think it’s time” approach. That seemed to account for so many things, including how the team is doing and how Strasburg is feeling. I would imagine the latter is much more important to determining if a player re-injures their elbow. Look at players like Joel Zumaya, who have managed to injure their arms repeatedly despite rarely pitching anything close to excessive innings. 

Yes, players like Mark Prior and Kerry Wood injured themselves after heavy workloads. However, the early 2000s were a different time, before pitch counts were as big as they are now. Prior threw 120 or more pitches in a start nine times during 2003, while Wood crossed that margin 13 times in 2003 alone (as well as eight times during his rookie season).

Strasburg has yet to reach that mark once in his career. Maybe innings are the determining factor, but number of pitches seems to be just as likely a culprit, and the Nationals have been much smarter about managing Stephen in that regard.

But then there’s the more team-focused argument. Yes, the Nationals have a deep rotation, and Strasburg might not be the ace just yet (although I would probably put him as their No. 2 right now, even ahead of Jordan Zimmermann).

But I don’t think that there’s any argument that, come October, a Gio Gonzalez-Strasburg-Zimmermann-Jackson/Detwiler rotation is stronger than a Gonzalez-Zimmermann-Jackson-Detwiler one. Playoff series are short, and you need to take every advantage you can.

I know there’s the argument that the Nationals’ window to win should stay open for several more years. But windows to win don’t always stay open as long as they should. The Phillies and Brewers were both supposed to be good at least for this year, maybe next. The mid-2000s Mets and Indians were supposed to remain competitive for years. 

And will that window ever be as good as it is now? The rotation hasn’t faced any major injury set-backs (yet, not to jinx it). The line-up (with the exception of catchers) looks to be healthy for the stretch run, if not the playoffs themselves. Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond are having career years. You should take advantage of every playoff appearance you can.

Even if you do continue winning, you never know if you’ll wind up like the Indians or Braves or Mariners teams of the 1990s; good, but with not enough to show for it, World Series-wise.

Not only that, it’ll be hard to catch them. The Braves have been good, but have had much worse injury luck. The big-market Phillies look to be temporarily out of the picture. And on top of that, the Nationals have built up a 70-43 record, good for a .619 winning percentage, to go with a 4.5 game lead on the division. That makes them strong favorites for the division, a huge factor with Bud Selig’s new playoff scheme in place.

Yes, they may be better next year, or the year after. But they’re on pace for 100 wins and have the best record in baseball. This will be hard to top. If I’m betting on next season’s win total, barring a late collapse, I’d probably take the under on the Nationals.

Not that I expect them to be bad next year. It’s just very difficult to predict a team to repeat or improve on “best record in baseball”, especially a year or two down the road. 

I mean, I can’t fault a team too much for being careful. But this seems to be a very good year to try for it all. You need any advantage you can get in a short series, and Stephen Strasburg is definitely an advantage.

Would there be any harm in skipping one or two of his starts the rest of the way to prepare for October? I mean, why not aim for a 170-inning goal and save him for the postseason? 

The playoffs are already pretty random; there’s no guarantee he’d be going too far over the 180 mark even if he does pitch. He might get anywhere from one to maybe five starts (I would guess one in the DS, two in the CS and two in the World Series at most). If you go over those two extra starts you save by skipping late-season, he hits maybe 190 innings or so.

Is the difference between 180 innings and 190 innings really that big injury-wise that it’s worth totally shutting down one of the best pitchers in the league during a chance at a title?

This article is also featured at Hot Corner Harbor.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Washington Nationals want Stephen Strasburg to be there for them in the postseason, but potential innings limits are hurting those chances.

Strasburg is 13-5 with a 2.90 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 133.1 innings this season. If the reports that his limit is between 160-180, that leaves him with less than 50 innings of work for the rest of the season.   

That leaves him with about eight starts if he averages six innings each time out. Realistically, the Nationals will not let him start eight more regular-season games. If they can reach Game 7 of the World Series, they hope that will be Strasburg‘s last start of the season.

In order to do that, they will need to shut him down at some point to keep his arm ready for the postseason and the future.

How should the Nationals approach this dilemma?

Everyone seems to have an opinion, and GM Mike Rizzo denies every credible report about Strasburg‘s limit.

The Nationals are 70-43, 4.5 games ahead of the Braves with the best record in baseball. The second-place Braves have the third-best record in the NL, after the Reds. So the odds of reaching the postseason are very high considering the state of the league. 

That’s why the Nationals should shut down Strasburg now. Shut him down for a month. Have him throw a few side sessions and stay loose, but otherwise, rest the crown jewel. 

Then, come early September when teams start clinching playoff spots, give him another start and then rest him again till the postseason. He will not only be well rested, but he won’t be at a risk of exceeding his innings limit. 

It is a safe move that could prevent embarrassing long-term injuries. 

Let’s take a look at how the Cubs handled Mark Prior in 2003, when they were in a very similar position to the Washington Nationals today. Good, young pitching, combined with a scrappy but effective team with low expectations. 

Prior pitched 211.1 innings in the regular season of 2003, plus an additional 23 innings in the postseason. The next year he did not exceed 120 innings and was hit by injuries, some freakish, for the rest of his career.

Shutting Strasburg down for a month may be considered crazy, but it’s crazy to think that they can keep Strasburg under 180 innings and still reach the World Series with him, assuming they still plan to shut him down.  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Washington Nationals have struggled behind the plate this season after Wilson Ramos was lost to injury in May. On Friday the Nationals acquired Kurt Suzuki from the Oakland A’s and he will make his first start for the Nats on Saturday night against the Miami Marlins in D.C., according to Amanda Comak of The Washington Times.

Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reported on Saturday that backup catcher Sandy Leon was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Suzuki.

Suzuki will likely replace Jesus Flores as the everyday catcher for the Nationals. Flores was hitting only .221 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 67 games this season. Suzuki provides the potential to produce better numbers than Flores.

Although Suzuki has had a disappointing year thus far, he has a productive track record with great seasons in 2009 and 2010. Getting away from Oakland’s pitcher-friendly park should help Suzuki as well.

The big advantage to Suzuki behind the plate is his defensive ability. Nats GM Mike Rizzo told The Washington Times:

He’s one of the best catch-and-throw defensive catchers in the game. I think he’s going to take the lion’s share of the catching duties, and with his track record, his ability to handle a staff and his defensive prowess, he’s going to add a lot to the lineup.

Rizzo certainly has the bar set high for Suzuki and it is in Suzuki’s hands to live up to the hype from his new general manager. Hopefully for the Nationals and Suzuki, he can regain some of his form from a couple of seasons ago and produce in Washington’s lineup.

Follow @NargOnSports

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When the Washington Nationals needed a win most, John Lannan delivered.

Washington had been outscored by nine runs in a three-game losing streak which featured a game where the Nats blew a nine-run lead. Lannan allowed two runs in the first inning, and it looked like the Nats would lose their fourth straight game.

Then, Lannan recovered. The longtime National didn’t allow another run, and pitched seven innings, recording his first win of the season. Thanks to some late run support and some good pitching by Lannan, Washington triumphed 5-2 and took a 2.5 game lead in the NL East.

In the first inning, Lannan made some mistakes. He left a few pitches too far over the plate, and that’s how the Braves took the lead. Lannan made a few more mistakes, and he allowed five hits on the night. However, Lannan no-hit the Braves through the last 4.1 innings, and he started to strike hitters out.

Lannan got ahead of the count and was able to get hitters out by placing his fastball on the corners and jamming hitters. He struck out two hitters in the seventh inning, even though he only retired three batters on strikes during the game.

In his career, Lannan averages 4.71 strikeouts per nine innings. He has a 1.42 career WHIP, which is also a problem. Lannan allows a lot of hits, and he also walks a lot of batters. Opponents have a career .340 OBP against him, which has been a major factor in his career 4.00 ERA.

However, manager Davey Johnson and GM Mike Rizzo were probably impressed by Lannan’s performance. The former ace went 6-8 with a 4.60 ERA in Triple-A Syracuse this year, which isn’t very encouraging. However, thanks to Lannan’s performance today, the Nats will be confident that they don’t need to trade for a starting pitcher.

And that’s not the case at all.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Nationals are one of the frontrunners in the Ryan Dempster sweepstakes. If the Nationals traded for Ryan Dempster and shut down Stephen Strasburg (which it looks like they will do), they would have Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detwiler, Dempster and Edwin Jackson in their rotation.

If they didn’t trade for Dempster, they would have the inconsistent Lannan instead of the league-leading, and very consistent, Dempster.

Washington is in the middle of a heated playoff race, and they seem to be good enough to make a deep playoff run. However, if the team shuts down Strasburg, they would have three inconsistent starters in their rotation, and two would have to pitch in the playoffs.

Lannan had a great start, and he came through with lots of pressure on him to bring the Nationals a key win. However, he is nothing more than a middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter, and Washington can’t have someone who allows opponents to hit .272 pitching in a playoff race.

Unless Lannan can show the ability to pitch well at the start of a game, keep the ball away from the middle of the plate and miss bats consistently, he won’t be a guy Nationals fans will want in their playoff rotation. If the Nationals’ front office were convinced by this start, they may avoid unloading the farm to trade for a pitcher, and they would keep Lannan in the rotation.

With Lannan in the rotation bad things may happen for the Nationals. Including losing early in the playoffs, or missing them altogether. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Ryan Dempster is a wanted man, and it’s no wonder considering his sparkling 2.14 ERA and the Chicago Cubs overall futility. But the Washington Nationals should be aggressive in their attempts to obtain Dempster, if they are serious about winning this year.

The Cubs are sellers, and when it comes to Dempster there seems to be a healthy amount of buyers.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Nationals are one of them. He writes: “The Ryan Dempster Derby currently is a battle between the Braves, Nationals and Cardinals, people familiar with the talks suggest.”

Dempster obviously has the stuff to help any pitching rotation, but his experience could be a real asset to the Nats in a pennant race.

Washington has only two pitchers (Mike Gonzalez 34 and Tom Gorzelanny 30) who are 30 years old or older. Dempster is a 35-year-old, 14-year veteran, who has pitched in two postseasons. That experience would be valuable to a relatively young staff.

Per Heyman, the Cubs are seeking young arms in compensation for trading Dempster. That could be an issue for the Nats.

Will they be willing to part with a prospect like Ivan Pineyro to nab Dempster?

Pineyro is a 20-year-old standout hurler in rookie ball in the Nats’ system. He could be a future star, and a the type of pitcher the Cubs want in return for Dempster. This potential scenario begs the question: how do the Nationals view themselves?

Are they a team of the future that just happened to contend, or a team of now looking to maximize on every opportunity to win?

Many people didn’t picture the Nats contending so soon, this season may even be a surprise to them.

If they still see themselves as a team of the future, they may not want to part with a valuable young prospect for a short-term solution like Dempster.

How the Nats pursue Dempster will tell us who they think they are.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Bryce Harper, the NL East leading Washington Nationals‘ young outfielder, with still single-digit home runs and a batting average lower than .300, is clearly not the best player in baseball, at least not yet.  He is, however, by far the most interesting.  The kid is hyped and scrutinized more than any other player because he is a contradiction; he is simultaneously a throwback to old-school ballplayers while also being the face of baseball’s future…well that and his ability to piss off Ozzie Guillen.

Not since Ken Griffey Jr. has a kid put such a youthful stamp on the game.  Harper walks around with a certain swagger that many traditionalists find abhorrent and younger fans find exhilarating.   So many of the things he does from strutting around in a perfectly coiffed mohawk to blowing kisses to a pitcher after hitting a home run show that he is truly a 21st century player.  He even came up in an nontraditional manner, maneuvering around MLB rules to get drafted earlier and allowing his detractors to claim he does not care about the game, only the cash.  He cemented his legacy as the leader of the new-age ballplayers by incorporating the word “bro” into his catchphrase, showing perfect command of frat house slang.        

Anyone who has watched him since being called up, however, knows that he is as much Lou Gehrig as he is Ken Griffey Jr.  Harper runs to first hard every time, regardless of if he grounded straight to third or hit the gap in left.  He wears number 34, because three and four make seven, the number of Mickey Mantle, his favorite player.  He publicly stated his preference for Chipper Jones’ inclusion in the MLB All-Star Game even though it would mean his exclusion.  Since being called up, he has done nothing but show respect to the game’s legends and hustle out every play.

The fact that Harper can be both old-school and new-school is what makes his every action so fascinating.  You may like him or you may hate him, but we all agree he is riveting, bro.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

One of the more curious rumors to develop as we approach baseball’s July 31 trade deadline is the Washington Nationals showing interest in making a deal for Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster.

The Nats aren’t a team that needs Dempster to bolster its starting rotation like the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees or Tigers. You could argue that adding a bat to their lineup is a far greater need. But hitters look to be in short supply right now. Pitching is the available commodity. 

Dempster to the Nats? Don’t they already have enough pitching with a rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler? Their staff ERA is second in the majors. Opponents are hitting .234 against Nationals pitchers, the best mark in baseball. 

Someone who agrees with that argument is Nationals manager Davey Johnson. Before Friday’s game vs. the Braves, Johnson told reporters covering the team that he didn’t think the Nats should make a big deal at the trade deadline. 

“I have gone into that area with general managers, saying, ‘I need so-and-so,’ or this, that and the other,” Johnson said, according to MASN.com’s Dan Kolko. “But I like what we have here. I don’t see any emergency move needed.”

Johnson went on to explain, as the Washington Post‘s Adam Kilgore wrote, that trading for a top pitcher runs contrary to the way the Nats have been doing business in recent years. They’ve developed minor leaguers until they were ready for the majors and those players now fill key roles on a team that holds first place in the NL East. 

That philosophy applies when you’re building a team from the ground up and trying to establish a winning team and playoff contender. But the Nationals have already reached that point. They’ve actually jumped ahead in whatever plan Johnson and general manager Mike Rizzo laid out.

The Nats are now a team that will very likely make the playoffs, whether it’s as a division champion or wild card. And in a year when there’s no clear favorite in the National League, the Nationals have a chance to get to the World Series. 

With that being the case, Johnson is wrong about the need to make a big trade.

The Nationals are in position to play for a championship, even if it seems like it might be a year or two early for them. So the time is right to make a big trade that can strengthen their chances of winning. Because these opportunities don’t come around that often.

Yes, the Nationals already have impressive pitching depth. Besides the starters on hand, John Lannan is waiting to be called up from Triple-A Syracuse and gives the Nats another solid arm to add to the back of the rotation. 

However, Rizzo has already made it clear that he intends to shut Strasburg down in September when he’s reached the innings limit the team established for him. The Nats are going to need another starting pitcher and if they can bring in one better than Lannan, why not do so?

Johnson may be right in that the Nationals don’t have to make a trade. But they can make a trade and can add crucial depth to a playoff contender in the process. If that costs the organization a couple of pitching prospects, that’s a price worth paying.

(Maybe Rizzo draws the line at prized prospect Alex Meyer. If that’s who Theo Epstein wants in return for Dempster, is that a deal breaker?)

Dempster may not be a true No. 1 starter, but the Nationals already have those types of pitchers in Strasburg and Gonzalez. He’s shown he can dominate against NL competition as his league-leading 2.11 ERA demonstrates.

Adding him as a No. 3 starter (or No. 2, if and when Strasburg is shut down) gives the Nats a truly formidable starting rotation. 

By the way, Dempster can be a replacement for Strasburg in more ways than one. He could take over Strasburg’s spot in the rotation after the infamous innings limit is reached.

But Dempster could also be used to extend Strasburg’s season and allow him to be available in September or October. Strasburg could skip a few turns with Dempster filling in.

The Nats could also go to a six-man rotation. Or they could use Dempster to give other pitchers besides Strasburg a rest. Maybe Gonzalez or Zimmermann could miss a start or two to keep their arms fresh. 

Would that be disruptive to Dempster’s routine? He’s shown plenty of versatility throughout his major league career, moving between the starting rotation and bullpen. He’s a veteran who can adapt.

Not pitching him every five days probably won’t be as disruptive to Dempster as it might be to a younger pitcher like Strasburg or Zimmermann. 

The possibilities are numerous, which is what makes this potential deal so exciting. And it’s why the Nationals should pursue it.

Under normal circumstances, Johnson is right. An up-and-coming team like the Nationals shouldn’t compromise its investment in the future for a grab at present glory that may not work out.

But this is a different situation. The future has become the present. An opportunity has presented itself and that glory is attainable. 

The Nationals’ chances at winning a championship become that much better with adding Dempster to their pitching staff. Giving up prospects for a three-month rental won’t be a setback to the team’s future. That’s why Rizzo has to make this trade. 

Sorry, Davey—you’re wrong this time. 

Follow @iancass on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com