Stephen Strasburg needs to step up when thrown a curveball We know Stephen Strasburg can be a stubborn, hard-nosed competitor. We saw it last season when the Washington Nationals insisted on shutting him down early and Strasburg tried every trick in the book to avoid it. He was mentally tough when he was fighting to save his spot in the rotation and play in the postseason. So where was that guy Saturday after Ryan Zimmerman's throwing error in an eventual loss to the Cubs? Because the guy we saw couldn't shake it off, showed his general disgust to everyone in the ballpark, then walked a guy hitting below the Mendoza line, gave up a two-run double to Edwin Jackson, walked David DeJesus, allowed a single to Starlin Castro and a two-run single to Anthony Rizzo. Last season, the bull-headed Strasburg simply gets the next batter out, and the inning is over. This season, he gives up four runs (albeit unearned). Zimmerman is not himself this season, no question. But his throwing error put a runner on first base. The rest of that hot mess could have been stopped by Strasburg, by not walking the immortal Darwin Barney, but not allowing the opposing pitcher to drive in two runs. And so on. Instead, he came unglued. This can't be tied to his Tommy John surgery. He came back from that last season strong, mentally and physically. He has been a salty, sometimes sullen competitor since he arrived in D.C. Where is that guy? Because the Nationals need him. They've managed to stay in the NL East race despite just one win from their putative ace, although we all know the ace is now Jordan Zimmermann. If the Nats made the playoffs and they began tomorrow, Zimmermann would be your Game 1 starter. There is no question Strasburg has had some bad luck this season. A cursory count of errors turns up seven committed while Strasburg was pitching, including two by Zimmerman in that Cubs game. There is no question that the Nats" fielding has been bordering on dreadful this season: They've committed 31 errors and are among the worst in the league in nearly all fielding categories. But let's look at those errors in Strasburg's starts. The first was in his second start (6-3 loss to the Reds), committed by Chad Tracy (filling in for Adam LaRoche at first) in the third inning. It led to no runs. The Nats, in that game, gave Strasburg three runs - not a bushel, but enough for a No. 1 starter. However, that No. 1 starter had given up three runs in the bottom of the first, all earned. I don't recall his teammates pacing around the field, shaking their heads and muttering over his inability to get an out. In his third start (3-1 loss to the Braves), Zimmerman committed an error that led to two unearned runs, and that was enough. Tim Hudson put the clamps on the Nats, allowing four hits. No doubt that was frustrating for Strasburg. In his fourth start, he faced Mets phenom Matt Harvey, who held the Nats to one run. Ian Desmond committed an error in the first inning and two runs eventually scored, but one of those came home on a wild pitch by Strasburg. Physician, heal thyself.