The Stephen Strasburg watch is over for now but as for Joe Nathan -- well, we can't exactly call it a watch if it's something we can't see, but decision time apparently is imminent.  The Washington Nationals sent Strasburg to their minor league camp this morning, after he struck out eight in four innings last night in his third spring start. Joining Strasburg in cleaning out his locker in the major league camp was highly regarded reliver Drew Storen, taken nine picks after No. 1 overall selection Strasburg in last summer's draft.  The St. Louis Cardinals became the first team to score against Strasburg with two first-inning runs last night on solo homers by Tyler Greene and Allen Craig. Strasburg pitched four innings, giving up two more singles.  Nathan won't be on display like Strasburg when he plays catch in the Minnesota Twins camp -- either today or tomorrow. The Twins aren't saying when or where and they're doing their best to keep anyone else from seeing the session that probably will determine if their closer has season-ending surgery on the torn ligament in his pitching elbow or tries to pitch through the pain.  "We're talking about playing catch, that's all," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters. "It's not throwing. It's just playing catch. We'll let you know. It will be this weekend and then we'll tell you how he felt."  As for Strasburg, he was reassigned to the Nationals' Class AA Harrisburg (Pa.) affiliate. So far they've stuck to the plan many expected, and if that continues, we have a good idea of when he'll re-join the major league club.  The Washington Post's Dave Sheinin took a detailed look at the reasons why a Strasburg debut after Memorial Day makes sense -- and dollars -- to the Nationals. Over the long haul -- under the big assumption that Strasburg is as advertised from a performance standpoint -- such a move could save the Nationals $18 million, and of course delay Strasburg's free agency by a year.  To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor  . For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to  . Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
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