Swengali: Favoritism Gone Too Far for TV Crew

Stephen Strasburg is untouchable. Just ask the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Indians. Or, better yet, talk to MASN announcers Bob Carpenter and Rob Dibble.

Surely depressed from having watched the Nats of old, the announcers are now gaga over the pitcher. For the most part, their praise is justified. Strasburg is 2-0 with 22 strikes outs in two starts. But the kid isn’t perfect.

Strasburg’s second start was cut short by some difficulty with the mound that he couldn’t get out of his head. He left the game with the bases loaded and was bailed out by fellow rookie Drew Storen, who had no trouble with the same hill.

Dibble — who along with pre-game analyst Ray Knight annoyingly refers to the Nats as “we” even though neither ever played for Washington — immediately blamed the mound, not Strasburg, for the pitcher’s faulty control.

We expect Strasburg to be treated with kid gloves by manager Jim Riggleman, but not by the announcers. Even Strasburg conceded he should have handled the mound issue better.

Of course, what should we expect from a broadcast crew who cheers for the Nats as if their job depends on it?

They even excused the Indians’ home run bonanza because the series was played at an American League park, whatever that excuse means.

Strasburg’s talent speaks for itself. Embellishing his feats only makes audiences sick.

Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post