Courtesy the Washington Post

(September 2, 2010) In the wake of controversial comments Rob Dibble made about Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals announced today Dibble will no longer broadcast their games. The separation will be permanent, and the Nationals -- not MASN -- made the decision. The Nationals offered no further comment on the matter.

There is no word on a permanent replacement for MASN, but Ray Knight will serve as the analyst at least through the end of the Nationals' current road trip. He may finish the season out, but the Nationals may also try out new analysts in the season's final month.

Dibble, who became MASN's analyst at the beginning of last season, has not broadcast a Nationals since Aug. 25. At the time, Nationals President Stan Kasten told the Post that Dibble volunteered to take a leave.

"Rob asked for some time off," Kasten said at the time. "Perhaps he's not feeling well. But I'm not a doctor, nor have I seen his records. So I shouldn't say anything more about it."

Kasten's comment referenced the comments Dibble made about Strasburg on his Sirius XM radio show when, in the days between Strasburg's elbow injury and the revelation he would need Tommy John surgery, Dibble questioned Strasburg leaving the game.

On his radio show, Dibble claimed his words were distorted, but he clearly criticized Strasburg for leaving the game because of injury. A sampling:

"I also look at this from the player's standpoint, that this is your job. This is what you do. You're never going to be 100 percent healthy, feel perfect. So you have to take accountability that you're gonna throw sometimes, your arm's gonna hurt. You're gonna be out there on the mound sometimes, the mound is gonna be terrible and the dirt is gonna be a little loose and it might not be so great. You can't constantly be complaining over every little thing.

"So for me, a little bit has to be put back on Strasbug here. Ok, you throw a pitch, it bothers your arm, and you immediately call out the manager and the trainer? Suck it up, kid. This is your profession. You chose to be a baseball player. You can't have the cavalry come in and save your butt every time you feel a little stiff shoulder, sore elbow.

"I mean, excuse me. There's guys I played with that had screws holding their elbows together. Chris Sabo played two weeks on a broken ankle. I put a steel plate in my wrist so I could be back in five weeks instead of three months. So, this is your choice. You can either suck it up and be a man at 22 making $2 million a year [with] a $15 million contract, or every time you get an ache and pain you can go out of the game and say I'm gonna let down the other 24 guys right here and possibly end up forfeiting the game."

The take greatly angered both the Nationals' front office and their clubhouse. Eventually, they led to his split from MASN and the organization.

Dibble became a polarizing figure in the broadcast booth. Some fans believed he made games entertaining with enthusiasm for the Nationals -- he had a penchant for called the team "we" -- and his willingness to criticize a team that has lost 179 games since he began. Others believed his grunting, cheering, back-when-I-played style made games intolerable without a mute button.

The Nationals will have a new analyst for their games. The one guarantee is he will not stir as much passion and opinion as Dibble.

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