Mike Rizzo: Stephen Strasburg Innings Cap Is Something the 'Media Put out There'

The 160-innings cap placed on Stephen Strasburg seems to be something of a media-developed myth.

Mike Rizzo told Brad Doolittle of Baseball Prospectus that (via Yahoo Sports):

"

Look, the media put that out there, not me. It probably comes from what Jordan Zimmermann pitched last year.

I don't have a specific pitch count in my mind, a specific innings count in my mind. I am going to refer to my experience as a farm director, as a player development guy, and knowing his body. In conjunction with Davey Johnson and (pitching coach) Steve McCatty, when we feel he's had enough, we're going to shut him down.

"

Well, that certainly changes things.

With Strasburg not actually limited to 160 innings, Nationals fans can rejoice in knowing that they will have their ace pitcher for a larger chunk of the season than they expected.

Strasburg gives the Nationals a dynamic front-end starter that can consistently win games for a club that is still getting used to tallying victories on an everyday basis.

I must clarify something, though.

Even though the 160-innings limit is off, Rizzo has continually said that there will come a time when they shut down Strasburg.

His surgically-repaired right arm likely won't be able to sustain a full season, and it's best for the team's future to make sure that he's healthy in the long run.

I will not begin to make predictions as to what his innings limit will be, though, since people's predictions are what got us into this mess in the first place.