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MILWAUKEE - A couple more Nationals notes from Miller Park, about things that didn't happen at Miller Park:
* Stephen Strasburg threw off a mound for the first time today since Tommy John surgery last September, throwing a bullpen session as part of his rehab in Viera, Fla. "First bullpen in the books. Felt great!" Strasburg tweeted this afternoon. "Hopefully time will speed up now!" He's obviously not throwing anywhere near maximum effort yet, but it's another step in his return from surgery.
As a point of comparison, Jordan Zimmermann (who had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 12, 2009), threw off a mound for the first time last March 22 and was back in the majors by Aug. 26. That's just over five months, and there are just over four left in the 2011 season. So if Strasburg is on a comparable timetable, he wouldn't pitch in the majors this year. But as the Nationals have pointed out several times, we're talking about two different rehab assignments for two different pitchers.
* Brian Broderick, who made the Nationals' roster out of spring training as a Rule 5 pick and pitched 11 games before being designated for assignment on May 14, is headed back to the St. Louis Cardinals, his former team. The Cardinals accepted Broderick back today, and the Nationals get back half of the $50,000 cost for drafting Broderick.
That, quite likely, is the last time you'll see those two pitchers grouped together.
