Stephen Strasburg

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."

Pennant fever,shutdown mode The District of Columbia last played host to a postseason game in 1933, so fans in Washington are understandably giddy over their first-place Nationals. The Philadelphia Phillies are creaky. The Miami Marlins are combustible. In the National League East, maybe this is the Nationals' year. Yet the Nationals say they will shut down Stephen Strasburg before the end of the season, even if the team might need its ace to get to the playoffs.

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.

Teenage phenom Bryce Harper will make his major league debut at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, and Dodgers utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. has some advice for fans attending the game: Get there in time to watch the Washington Nationals take batting practice. "He puts on a very good show," said Hairston, who was in the Nationals' spring training camp with Harper last year. Harper, a 19-year-old outfielder, has been called up by the Nationals from triple-A Syracuse to replace third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the roster.

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.

Most major league games on the clubhouse television serve as background noise, with players taking a peek at the action every now and then as they go about their pregame preparations. Not Tuesday afternoon. At least a dozen Angels were glued to the TV in their Oakland Coliseum clubhouse watching the highly anticipated big league debut of Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg . The right-hander's radar-gun readings — the former San Diego State star who was the top pick of the 2009 draft hit 100 mph with his fastball — were eye-catching enough.

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?

In L.A., we're all Lakers, all the time. The Stephen Strasburg phenomenon hits Washington on Tuesday, and Nationals President Stan Kasten is kind enough to translate the impact into basketball terms. "All that attention on one player? We don't have a sport like that," Kasten said. "We don't have people coming to games to see Kobe and LeBron. That's not how our sport works." Not until here, not until now. The Nationals season has been nothing so much as a countdown toward Strasburg's arrival, his every breath in the minor leagues charted and analyzed in the Washington Post and on ESPN.

San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg was chosen first overall and four Southland players were selected in the top 21 picks in the annual Major League Baseball first-year player draft. As expected, the Washington Nationals selected Strasburg, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior who throws a fastball that has been measured at more than 100 mph.

Even though Stephen Strasburg hadn't pitched in more than a year, Andre Ethier compared facing him Tuesday night to facing Felix Hernandez or an in-form Ubaldo Jimenez. Rod Barajas marveled at how Strasburg had a changeup and curveball to complement a fastball that reached 99 mph. But there was at least one player in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park who said he wasn't impressed by the supposed once-in-a-lifetime pitching prospect. "I think he's someone that the Nationals should probably trade to us," Ted Lilly said.

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.

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings will miss four to six weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot. General Manager John Hammond said Monday that the 21-year-old Jennings was examined after Saturday's 95-86 loss to Utah. Jennings broke the long bone on the outside of his left foot that connects to the little toe, one of the most common bones to break in the foot. He earlier said he first felt pain in a loss to San Antonio but kept playing and also played 30 minutes against the Jazz.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado will be out the rest of the season because of a hip pointer and torn oblique muscle, the team announced Tuesday. It's a tough loss for the Braves, who are fighting for the NL wild-card spot. Prado injured his hip in Monday night's game against the Florida Marlins when he dived to rob Dan Uggla of a hit. Prado collapsed in pain during a fifth-inning at-bat and had to be helped off the field. Prado was hitting .307 with 15 home runs, 40 doubles and 66 runs batted in. Rays give away tickets After Tampa Bay players criticized fans for not showing up to Monday's game that could have clinched the second playoff spot in franchise history, the Rays will give away 20,000 tickets to Wednesday's home finale against Baltimore.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake has spent more time on the major league disabled list than he has on a minor league roster. By the end of the season, the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg will be able to say almost the same thing. For those who believe such young arms are both as precious and as fragile as a Ming vase, the two cases offer more than enough evidence to prove that big league general managers have lost their minds. There is a contrary view, however, one to which Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher subscribes.

Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella bumped up his retirement plans by six weeks and stepped down after a 16-5 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves. Piniella previously announced that he would retire from managing after the 2010 season, but he accelerated his departure so he could spend more time with his ill mother in Tampa, Fla. Piniella recently took a leave from the Cubs to tend to his 90-year-old mother, and he said her health has had some "complications. " Mike Quade , the Cubs' third base coach, will become the interim manager.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake has spent more time on the major league disabled list than he has on a minor league roster. By the end of the season, the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg will be able to say almost the same thing. For those who believe such young arms are both as precious and as fragile as a Ming vase, the two cases offer more than enough evidence to prove that big league general managers have lost their minds. There is a contrary view, however, one to which Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher subscribes.

Based on his first appearance since returning from the minor leagues, Dodgers reliever Ramon Troncoso said Saturday he's confident of again playing a key role in the team's bullpen — and Manager Joe Torre agreed. "He was much better," Torre said after Troncoso gave up no runs and two hits while striking out two batters in 1 2/3 innings Friday night against the Washington Nationals. "I thought the ball came out of his hand [well] and was pretty consistent. " Troncoso, known for his sinker, made 73 appearances last year in his first full season in the major leagues, tying him for the team lead with closer Jonathan Broxton . Troncoso was used heavily again early this season, appearing in 14 of the Dodgers' first 20 games.