Stephen Strasburg

The Stephen Strasburg count continues. Nobody really knows what number we're counting to, but we're all counting just the same. Right now that number is 143 1/3 -- that's how many innings the Washington Nationals star pitcher has thrown this season. The Nationals have said all year that they're sticking to a strict limit for their young ace, who is pitching his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. The team has not revealed what the ceiling will be for Strasburg, but it's expected to be somewhere between 160 and 180 innings.

Borussia Dortmund needed every bit of its first-leg advantage to stave off a comeback attempt by Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final for the first time since 1997. Karim Benzema scored in the 83rd minute and Sergio Ramos in the 88th, putting Real Madrid in position to advance with one more goal. But Dortmund held on for a 4-3 aggregate win with a 2-0 loss Tuesday night at Madrid. Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich has a four-goal advantage on Barcelona ahead of Wednesday's game.

Tony Gwynn, Hall of Famer, maestro hitter, astute observer of balls and strikes and the potential existing within those who throw them, didn't skip a beat when the question came. "Does this kid live up to the hype?" I asked Gwynn, sitting in his office at San Diego State, where he has been the baseball coach for seven years. His eyes lit up. He smiled a giddy, confident smile. "You've just got to see him pitch," he said. "You've got to."

- Clayton Kershaw was presented Sunday with the Roberto Clemente Award, the top humanitarian honor bestowed by Major League Baseball. Kershaw, 24, the Dodgers' ace and the defending National League Cy Young Award winner, has worked with community organizations in Los Angeles and in his hometown of Dallas. However, he and his wife, Ellen , have focused on building an orphanage in Zambia. Kershaw is the youngest winner of an award that has been presented since 1971, with recipients including Willie Mays , Cal Ripken Jr. , Dave Winfield and 11 other Hall of Fame members.

The doctor who performed elbow surgery on Stephen Strasburg said Thursday he has worked with the Washington Nationals on the rehabilitation strategy that led the team to shut down the pitcher last week. Dr. Lewis Yocum had told the Los Angeles Times that he "wasn't asked" by the Nationals about whether to shut down Strasburg and had not discussed the subject with General Manager Mike Rizzo since last year. On Thursday, Yocum clarified his comments by saying he and the Nationals -- as well as Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras -- had agreed last year that the team would limit Strasburg's innings this season.

TOLEDO, Ohio - There are many questions plaguing the powerful in Washington these days. Will either party see a convention bump? Will the president recapture grass-roots enthusiasm of 2008? Will Bill Clinton stick to the script in Charlotte? And should the Washington Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg ? The star pitcher is approaching his innings limit - a cap the team imposed early in the season in an effort to try to preserve his famous, but still healing, arm. But now the team is first in the National League East, on the strength of its pitching.

The doctor who performed elbow surgery on Stephen Strasburg said he did not tell the Washington Nationals to shut down their ace pitcher. “I wasn't asked,” Dr. Lewis Yocum told the Los Angeles Times. Yocum said he had not talked with Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo since last year and had not talked with Strasburg since spring training. The Nationals pulled the plug on Strasburg's season last week, ruling out the 24-year-old star from pitching in what almost certainly will be the first postseason appearance by a Washington baseball team since 1933.

The debates can continue, but the Washington Nationals have finally and officially shut down ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the season. That's what Manager Davey Johnson, citing the mental toll on the former No. 1 overall draft pick, told reporters on Saturday morning after Strasburg, who missed most of last season after an elbow injury and reconstructive surgery, had a poor outing against the Miami Marlins on Friday night. Strasburg, who finishes the season with a 15-6 record and a 3.16 earned-run average, lasted a season-low three innings against the Marlins, giving up five runs on six hits, including two home runs, while walking three and striking out two. Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo maintained all season that Strasburg would pitch between 150 to 180 innings after having surgery in September 2010.

Rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his scheduled start for the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night because he had problems warming up before the game against the Atlanta Braves. The right-hander was being examined by a team doctor and "appropriate tests will be taken after that," including possibly an MRI exam or X-ray, General Manager Mike Rizzo said. Tulowitzki returns All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was activated by the Colorado Rockies after sitting out nearly six weeks because of a broken left wrist.

Reporting from Washington -- For the first time this season, the Dodgers will be at the center of the baseball universe for something other than their ownership troubles or the savage beating in their stadium parking lot on opening day. Granted, they aren't the reason why Nationals Park will be packed Tuesday night. Stephen Strasburg is. Strasburg's scheduled start for the Washington Nationals will be the first in more than a year for a right-hander who was not long ago called the greatest pitching prospect in the history of the sport.

WASHINGTON — The way Matt Kemp played last year in his MVP-caliber season revealed the depths of his talent. The way Kemp has played this month, with his left shoulder presumably hurting and his timing at the plate noticeably off, has displayed the depths of his character. Belting a ninth-inning solo home run, Kemp broke a tie with the Washington Nationals and lifted the Dodgers to a 7-6 victory Wednesday in a game they appeared destined to lose. The Dodgers had already dropped the first game of their doubleheader at Nationals Park, 3-1. They had a six-run lead in the second game and blew it in a ghastly six-run eighth inning against the National League East leaders.

The doctor who performed elbow surgery on Stephen Strasburg said Thursday he has worked with the Washington Nationals on the rehabilitation strategy that led the team to shut down the pitcher last week. Dr. Lewis Yocum had told the Los Angeles Times that he "wasn't asked" by the Nationals about whether to shut down Strasburg and had not discussed the subject with General Manager Mike Rizzo since last year. On Thursday, Yocum clarified his comments by saying he and the Nationals -- as well as Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras -- had agreed last year that the team would limit Strasburg's innings this season.

The doctor who performed elbow surgery on Stephen Strasburg said he did not tell the Washington Nationals to shut down their ace pitcher. “I wasn't asked,” Dr. Lewis Yocum told the Los Angeles Times. Yocum said he had not talked with Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo since last year and had not talked with Strasburg since spring training. The Nationals pulled the plug on Strasburg's season last week, ruling out the 24-year-old star from pitching in what almost certainly will be the first postseason appearance by a Washington baseball team since 1933.

Could be a pain in the asterisk Baseball's best race this September: Andrew McCutchen vs. the Invisible Man. Melky Cabrera and his excessive testosterone called it a season with a .346 batting average and 501 plate appearances. That would leave the San Francisco Giants' outfielder one appearance short of the National League batting title, if not for this rule: Give a player an out for every appearance short of the required 502. If his average is still the highest, he wins.

Those calling for Mike Scioscia's job as Angels manager in this season of underachieving might make note of Friday's night's 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. With the speedy Peter Bourjos in scoring position at second base and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, power-hitting Mark Trumbo was next to bat. Trumbo, one of the more productive Angels all season but currently in a slump, would normally be exactly who you want at the plate in that situation. But the combination of his slump and a right-handed pitcher on the mound against the right-handed-hitting Trumbo prompted Scioscia to make one of those moves only a seasoned, confident manager would make.

The debates can continue, but the Washington Nationals have finally and officially shut down ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the season. That's what Manager Davey Johnson, citing the mental toll on the former No. 1 overall draft pick, told reporters on Saturday morning after Strasburg, who missed most of last season after an elbow injury and reconstructive surgery, had a poor outing against the Miami Marlins on Friday night. Strasburg, who finishes the season with a 15-6 record and a 3.16 earned-run average, lasted a season-low three innings against the Marlins, giving up five runs on six hits, including two home runs, while walking three and striking out two. Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo maintained all season that Strasburg would pitch between 150 to 180 innings after having surgery in September 2010.

The only certainty about today's baseball draft is that the Washington Nationals, picking first, will choose right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State. Then come the games -- the guessing game, the waiting game and the negotiating game. Commissioner Bud Selig has suggested to owners that bonuses to players selected in the first five rounds be cut by 10% from last year, when the recommendations ranged from $150,000 to $4 million.

It's not a Most Valuable Player game. It's not a Best Statistical Player game. This hootenanny in Anaheim next week, it's an All-Star game, which means the only requirement is that participants are stars . Whose appearance will make you stop, drop and stare? Who will make you shout to a neighbor or phone a friend? Of all the hundreds of baseball players who have paraded across the landscape this season, who will drawn the most stares under the brightest of lights? Forget the studs, who are the stars?

TOLEDO, Ohio - There are many questions plaguing the powerful in Washington these days. Will either party see a convention bump? Will the president recapture grass-roots enthusiasm of 2008? Will Bill Clinton stick to the script in Charlotte? And should the Washington Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg ? The star pitcher is approaching his innings limit - a cap the team imposed early in the season in an effort to try to preserve his famous, but still healing, arm. But now the team is first in the National League East, on the strength of its pitching.

The Stephen Strasburg count continues. Nobody really knows what number we're counting to, but we're all counting just the same. Right now that number is 143 1/3 -- that's how many innings the Washington Nationals star pitcher has thrown this season. The Nationals have said all year that they're sticking to a strict limit for their young ace, who is pitching his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. The team has not revealed what the ceiling will be for Strasburg, but it's expected to be somewhere between 160 and 180 innings.