So earlier this week, after Stephen Strasburg left the game early Saturday night with what ultimately turned out to be a significant elbow injury, Nationals broadcaster and all-around neanderthal Rob Dibble had some “advice” for Strasburg, namely that he was a baby who needed to learn to pitch through pain. Specifically, Dibble said Strasburg couldn’t “call in the cavalry” (the trainer every time he had a sore elbow. So yeah, that didn’t work out very well. Fear not though, even though what Dibble was originally calling soreness turns out to be a significant injury that requires major surgery and a 12-18 month recovery time, Dibble bases his analysis on facts, unlike us silly bloggers. Those facts may only exist in his head, but, hey, Rob Dibble played the game. For a little while. Until he got hurt and washed out because he wouldn’t let the injury heal.

Today, Dibble had more to say about Strasburg, and it fits his pattern of backing down from his knuckle-dragging statements quite when challenged quite well:

So some guy in Washington tore up his elbow a little bit and is going to need Tommy John surgery. Even though Washington is going nowhere, this is apparently the biggest baseball news since ever. Silly East coast bias.

Seriously though, it really sucks that Stephen Strasburg in probably going to miss all of next season with this injury. Say whatever you want about him, he was fun to watch, and even more fun to imagine what he might accomplish in his career. And he still is. Tommy John surgery isn’t a death sentence, especially for young pitchers with the ability to heal up and recover over a longer period of time. In fact, most young pitchers go through arm issues, you just don’t see them because they happen in the minor leagues. Looking at the Yankees, Phil Hughes had arm trouble, and he’s still developing into a very good pitcher at the minor league level. Andrew Brackman had Tommy John, and Dellin Betances had reconstructive surgery on his elbow now. Both of those guys are now pitching in AA, and KLaw says both will crack his Top 100 Prospects next year. Strasburg has gotten more attention because he’s already in the majors, and because he’s gotten a lot of hype from the national media since he was drafted. It’s not “no big deal,” per se, but it’s not the end of the world for Strasburg or the Nationals either.