Strasburg’s sideshow takes over for a night at UNLV

By Ryan Greene

Friday, April 10, 2009 | 2:25 a.m.

At this point, Stephen Strasburg has morphed into as much of a freakish sideshow as the bearded lady or the world's strongest man.

People show up just to watch the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior pump pure gasoline with his right arm. Plain and simple. They just go.

Of course, 'gas' is the baseball term used for incredible velocity. Heat. Cheese. Whatever you want to call it.

Whatever you do call it, just know that at the moment, no one throws it quite like Strasburg, who improved to 7-0 on the season in SDSU's 15-4 victory over UNLV on Thursday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.

His line was pretty typical of a Strasburg outing: 6 innings, 7 hits, 1 measly earned run and 13 strikeouts.

For the season, he carries a 1.49 ERA and has 107 strikeouts to just 11 walks in 54.1 innings thrown.

And, as evidenced by Thursday night's crowd of just over 1,000 fans, each stop along the way during the No. 18 Aztecs' 2009 season turns into a circus of sorts.

Very little Rebels scarlet was detected in the stands, as most showed up to see Strasburg, ooh-ing and aah-ing at his über-powerful heater, his vicious slider and his curveball that nearly hits 90 mph on the radar gun.

Oh, and radar guns, plenty of those, too. Scouts from countless major league organizations were there, charting every pitch, seeing triple digits pop up on the gun several times as that fastball was unleashed. It's reached as high as 102.

There were also a good number of autograph hounds, lined up along the wall behind the SDSU dugout, waiting to get baseballs and other items signed in blue pen and Sharpie. Soon, they could be worth plenty and eBay-bound, as Strasburg is the baseball world's latest can't miss, projected as the potential No. 1 overall pick in this June's MLB amateur draft.

Still, the sideshow has a ripple effect throughout the game. Strasburg is that powerful. By taking the mound alone, he changes the way this night will be remembered for just about everyone in the yard. It's not just another night at the ballpark.

In the stands ...

Judging by the gasps and running commentary in the stands, it was like a prize fight that you'd expect to watch down the street at the MGM Grand.

Each inning, Strasburg delivers something you've never seen before, it seems.

How do you know when a guy's curveball is special? When you don't need to be sitting directly behind home plate to watch it curve, as was the case for those down the right field line, who saw him deliver a devastating breaking ball to Rebels outfielder Ryan Thornton in the first inning. He later struck out looking.

In the third, he blew a triple-digit missle by UNLV senior J.J. Sferra, which forced a plume of red dust to come out of catcher Erik Castro's mitt. He'd strike out two batters that inning.

In the fifth inning, he struck out the side, sending the game into the sixth inning with the Aztecs now comfortably ahead, 11-1.

At this point, you saw who the true fans were, as more than two-thirds of the intrigued who earlier waited in a line out to the parking lot for tickets headed for the gates. Those left yelled mercilessly at home plate umpire Jason Rogers.

As if a tighter strike zone will change the way things are going on this night.

Most figured that would be it for the night for Strasburg, but SDSU coach Tony Gwynn trotted him out for one more inning. His swan song included striking out the side yet again, finishing the job by firing a dart past UNLV designated hitter Joe DiMaggio -- out of the stretch.

He finished as strong as he started.

Behind the dish ...

To answer the question surely on your mind: No, it doesn't hurt.

Castro has heard it a hundred times during the two seasons he's caught for Strasburg, and no, each time he touches 100-plus on the gun each game, it doesn't break the junior catcher's hand.

Instead of cringing every time one of those pitches comes in, he wears the opportunity with pride.

"Catching him, it's a real privilege," Castro said. "Obviously, he's a person who has potential to be in the big leagues and be pretty good. It's just an honor. We all know what he's capable of doing."

At this point, the rest of the Aztecs are used to it. They know the stands will be nearly full, and the media cluster after the game will immediately surround big No. 37.

What they're also used to is that Strasburg won't be fazed by it. His performances will remain consistent.

"We try to come out every game the same, but we know when he's on the mound, he's gonna give us a good game," Castro said. "We're gonna have a chance in the game no matter what. I don't know about getting up a little bit extra for it, but we definitely know we're gonna be in the game."

They hype began building late last season, and has overflowed so far in 2009. Some scouts have called Strasburg the greatest pitching prospect they've ever seen. He was the subject of a spread in Sports Illustrated just a couple of weeks back.

But still, while Strasburg could essentially sit back and count his future earnings in the dugout for the rest of the weekend, it's the fact that he's as team-oriented as they come which makes him so endearing to his teammates.

He was there to congratulate Castro, who drove in 5 runs on the night, including a massive 3-run bomb in the fifth inning over the wall to essentially put the game out of reach.

"He's very into the game all the time," said Castro. "He'll be into (the game Friday), he'll be slapping guys on the butt in the dugout."

Also on the mound ...

Imagine being the guy who has to take the mound first?

Before Strasburg emerged to begin wowing spectators with his warm-up pitches alone, it was Jeff Urlaub's turn.

Don't know Urlaub? Well, he's the 6-foot-3, 170-pound senior lefty who knows on this night that he has to keep his team in the game early and often, because run support will come at a premium.

He did so the first time around, when he surrendered 4 runs over 5 innings in a 4-3 loss to the Aztecs in San Diego on March 13. UNLV got an unheard of 2 -- yes, 2 -- earned runs off of Strasburg that day.

On Thursday, Urlaub gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings, but only 3 of them were earned.

Against Strasburg, teams can't make defensive mistakes, but UNLV did early and paid dearly for them.

Still, Urlaub knew the routine going in.

"He's not gonna hit, so you've still got to go out there thinking you're facing these guys, and it doesn't matter what he does on the mound," he said. "You've got to do your job. This time, I took it as just a normal game.

"The first time, with all the hype, you think to yourself 'I've gotta do well, because this guy's probably not gonna give up any runs.'"

Urlaub even found himself still breaking his normal routine in one aspect, though. During the bottom of the first inning, he was on the dugout's top step with everyone else, taking in the show instead of resting.

After all, no matter who you are, how many times do you get to see this guy throw?

"You read ll the stuff on the Internet, you hear the word of mouth," Urlaub said. "Now, you know he's good, you know he's gonna put up great numbers and keep his team in the game long enough. As the opposing pitcher, you can't match him pound for pound. It's just not possible. But I think at the same time, if you do what you need to do and keep your team in the game, anything can happen."

At the dish ...

Rance Roundy was proof on Thursday night that anything can happen.

The junior outfielder and Silverado High grad stood at the plate 5 times against Strasburg and struck out 3 of them.

But the other two? Well, he could someday be bragging to his grandkids about those.

Each time Roundy came up, he didn't care that Strasburg's name is already linked up with super-agent Scott Boras.

He didn't care that the signing bonus he gets -- should whoever drafts him be able to sign him -- could be in the range of $10 million.

All he wanted was his pitch. In his at-bat to lead off the second inning, the pitch of choice was that vaunted fastball.

"And when he did jsut tried to put a good swing on it," Roundy said. "You just try not to do too much with it, just get the barrel on it, because he throws it hard enough that if you make contact with the barrel, you're gonna hit it good."

The result was something Roundy -- and probably few in attendance -- had seen before.

The ball went straight down into the dirt just in front of the plate off the bat. It bounced so high and hard, that the next time it touched the earth wasn't until it was clear in center field.

"It was pretty shocking," Roundy said. "I didn't know whether to turn and round first base or run through the bag."

As odd as that hit may have been, it gave him all the confidence in the world. The next time he came up, he wanted to prove that he could hit that plus-slider of Strasburg's. The one that hits 94 mph.

After swinging and missing at two pitches, he took one of those sliders sharply into right for a hit.

See? It's not impossible.

It only seems that way because -- in large part -- of the hype that's been built over Strasburg.

Some opponents probably show up to the ballpark knowing or at least thinking they won't hit him.

If you can ignore the hype, the dollar signs on the mound and the overall sideshow, it can certainly be done.

A little confidence -- and maybe a kinda quick bat -- is all it takes.

"I guess it's pretty cool, but he's just another guy," Roundy said. "If you don't take confidence to the plate, it's gonna be like anything else you don't take confidence into -- You're just not going to be successful."