Surgeon Who Operated on Stephen Strasburg: “I Wasn’t Asked” About Shutdown

When asked about Stephen Strasburg's shutdown throughout the season, which was and has been a lot, Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo has said on numerous occasions that he has conferred with Dr. Lewis Yocum, the surgeon that performed Strasburg's Tommy John surgery in 2010.

“He’s [Yocum] the one who set up the rehabilitation schedule, which we followed to the 'T' and he’s the one that kind of guides us through how to get these guys back on the mound effectively,” Rizzo told 106.7 The Fan's Holden and Danny. “Who better to listen to than the world-renowned surgeon whose deal is to do these and rehab these kind of players?”

Well...

According to The Los Angeles Times, Yocum has not spoken to Rizzo "since last year." In fact, he "wasn't asked" about shutting Strasburg down at all.

The Nationals had indicated all year that Strasburg would be limited to about 160 innings; they shut him down after 159 1/3 innings.
Yocum said that, had he been asked, he would not have been able to provide conclusive information about whether Strasburg’s long-term health would be best served by shutting him down.
“There’s no statistic as far as studies,” Yocum said.

This is awkward.

(H/T Dan Steinberg)