That didn’t take long. Stephen Strasburg had a bad outing Friday night, and after the game Nationals manager Davey Johnson made some cryptic remarks that hinted the short outing might get Strasburg another start beyond his scheduled final one of the year September 12 against the Mets.

Johnson apparently changed his mind after sleeping on it:

Davey just announced Strasburg shutdown effective immediately

— Byron Kerr (@masnKerr) September 8, 2012

As of this writing, Strasburg was still listed on the Nationals website probable pitcher page as being the starter September 12 against the Mets’ R.A. Dickey. (Which would be an awesome matchup to watch, incidentally.)

But after this announcement, that matchup won’t happen. There's apparently nothing physically wrong with Strasburg:

BREAKING: @stras37's season is over. @nationals manager Davey Johnson says the reason for the move was more mental than physical.

— MLB (@MLB) September 8, 2012

Strasburg thus completes his season with a 15-6 record, a 3.16 ERA and 1.155 WHIP in 28 starts covering 159⅓ innings -- thus, just short of qualifying for the ERA title.

For more on the Nats, please visit Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC.