Wow. That Stephen Strasburg sure is great.

In case you have been living in a Tibetan monastery for the last two months, you probably have heard of that Strasburg dude.

You know, the Washington Nationals rookie pitcher who throws 200 mph fastballs, curveballs that break 45 feet and could probably stop the oil seeping into the gulf and eliminate the $1 trillion U.S. debt between innings if he felt like it.

For now, he'll just stick to pitching, and his debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates was no doubt spectacular: seven innings, four hits, 14 strikeouts — including the final seven batters he faced — and zero walks.

But there is one big caveat: His performance did come against the Punch-and-Judy Pirates. What does that really prove?

It was no accident the Nationals timed it so his debut would come against the Bucs, the worst hitting team in the majors, who have about as much bite as a sock puppet.

That should have honked off the Pirates. Instead, they went down with little fight against Strasburg, who threw 65 of his 94 pitches for strikes.

National baseball pundits piled on the Bucs.

In the last 17 losing years, the Pirates rarely have gotten national attention. When they have, like Tuesday, it's been negative.

The Pirates can't even win for all their losing.

The Nationals have been the worst team in the major leagues the last two seasons. That has gotten them Strasburg and Bryce Harper, another can't-miss phenom who probably will debut against the Pirates in 2011.

The Pirates have been the second-worst team in the majors. While the organization has done a good job drafting the last two years, Strasburg sure would look nice in black and gold.

He certainly would put more people in the PNC Park seats.

Would the Pirates be better off in the long run with Strasburg? Probably not.

They might not have a sensation like Strasburg, but the potential to outperform the Nats in the years to come is there. It's just that no one seems to notice these days because the Pirates have become the homecoming opponent for teams and their phenoms.

The front office has been shrewd. They were lambasted for trades of Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Nyjer Morgan Freddy Sanchez last season, but none of those players have played well this season.

McLouth is batting .170. Wilson has been benched. Morgan lost his leadoff spot to 200-year-old Cristian Guzman and Sanchez has had more trips to the DL than trips around the bases.

Meanwhile, the influx of young talent drafted or acquired in the past two years is on the doorstep.

Who will be better in five years, the Nats or Pirates?

My money is on the Pirates. Washington might have everyone's favorite phenom right now, but Pittsburgh might have the brighter future.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle