ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The Detroit Tigers deserve credit for having the guts to buck the baseball pitchfork mob that crucified the Washington Nationals for the Stephen Strasburg shutdown by putting $110 million of support behind that decision.
It’s not a popular position — showing support for Washington’s decision to protect Strasburg in 2012. Strasburg was recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the team limited his innings while it was on its way to winning the National League East division title.
The baseball mob had its pitchforks out for general manager Mike Rizzo’s decision to protect his player, and it hasn’t put them down yet, tying the team’s failure to get beyond the NL Division Series in two of the last four years and and its failure to make the postseason in the other two years to the Strasburg shutdown.