Since the first time I heard of San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg, I have always heard the "a" in his last name pronounced "ahh"...like the dentist "Open-up and say ahhh".
Now, two different TV talking heads have taken it upon themselves to go with a different flow. Ryan Burr, who was the ESPN anchor on Monday's "Road To Omaha Selection Show", and Greg Amsinger from MLB Network have decided that the "a" in Strasburg is more like an "ouch".
Burr mispronounced Strasburg's name throughout Monday's selection show, and what made it even more comedic is the fact that Kyle Peterson and Will Kimmey were saying Strasburg with the correct "ahh" pronunciation.
Apparently, nobody at ESPN saw a need to correct Burr, because during Thursday WCWS coverage he was going with the same pronunciation while promoting Friday's San Diego State vs. Virginia Regional match-up on the ESPN family of stations.
I hope I spelled "Burr's" name correctly. ESPN never put his name up on the screen during the selection show like they did for Peterson and Kimmey.
My biggest point is just that these guys get paid good money to 1. Deliver the facts correctly and 2. Say the players' names correctly. Is it so much to ask that they do that?
However you say his name, Strasburg had a great game Friday: 15 K and no BB in 7 IP, but his SDSU team lost 5-1 to Virginia in their NCAA Regional opener in Irvine.
It's no secret that Strasburg will be the number one pick in the soon-arriving MLB draft, so let's hope Bud Selig says it right.
NCAA Coverage at www.collegebaseball360.com
Real Baseball Intelligence (RBI), a leading resource in the evaluation of amateur baseball talent and draft coverage, offers its 2009 Baseball Draft Guide. The Guide includes RBI's Top 400 draft prospects (including Stephen Strasburg), scouting reports of the top ten players at each position, a mock draft and more. It is available at withthefirstpick.net/guide
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