It's been seven years, but we're still talking about it.

The Washington Nationals chose to shut down Stephen Strasburg before the 2012 postseason to limit his innings as the then-24-year-old was in his first full season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in 2010.

The club's decision drew wide criticism from executives around the league, and even the eventual president of the United States.

That team imploded in the ninth inning and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the the National League Division Series and now, ready to face the Cardinals in the NLCS starting Friday, the topic has come back up for Washington.

“What we did in 2012 is why he is the type of pitcher he is now," Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said Thursday on a conference call with reporters.

Other than Strasburg and catcher Kurt Suzuki, Zimmerman is the only player still on the team from 2012, the first time the team made the postseason since moving to Washington in 2005.

Strasburg has been the clubs ace this postseason. He's 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in two starts and an appearance out of the bullpen.

“Obviously I don’t make those decisions and in 2012 it was a highly-debated issue, but at that point, as tough a decision as it was to not pitch him, I think they obviously were looking out for the best interest of the player," Zimmerman said.

"You’ve seen some guys that have tried to push that limit coming back from (Tommy John) surgery and things haven’t turned out too well.

"I think, in the moment, it was a tough decision and maybe not a very popular decision, but you can also say that Stephen wouldn’t be the pitcher that he is now – or be doing what he is now – if they didn’t make that decision."