The Bryce Harper Compendium (2014)

[madj55]

You can't blame the media for this you just can't, Harper poured fuel all over the situation with his comments and then lit a match to it, that's not the flippin' media's fault.  And a player basically calling out his manager and dissing a teammate is really not an optimal formula for winning

I never blamed the media? I said they'll spin whatever he says anyways so he might as well say what he feels. And maybe a little tension is just what this team needs, maybe they'll start consistently winning games now. The optimal formula for winning is winning.

And I've got no problem with Harper calling Williams out. Williams seems to have been fine with watching Werth/LaRoche/Desmond/Ramos and others practically walk to first base but Harper does it once and he gets benched. freak that.

[monkeyhit]

Told you     (that Harper's return would bring complications).   

Matt really needs to take charge of the Bounty.

[blue911]

I blame the media for not getting a comment from Span. Terrible journalism

[skippy1999]

Well to me saying the media is going to spin it however they want is blaming them, if Bryce doesn't give them any ammunition there'll be nothing to spin.
And I was just thinking about the benching, at the time I really felt Williams was wrong and said as much many times, but now I'm wondering if Byrce doesn't act the diva way more than we all know about in the clubhouse and Williams thought it was time to take him down a notch? Because I do agree he could and should have benched others for the same offense, maybe it says something that he chose to single out Bryce. 

[mitlen]

Well to me saying the media is going to spin it however they want is blaming them, if Bryce doesn't give them any ammunition there'll be nothing to spin.
And I was just thinking about the benching, at the time I really felt Williams was wrong and said as much many times, but now I'm wondering if Byrce doesn't act the diva way more than we all know about in the clubhouse and Williams thought it was time to take him down a notch? Because I do agree he could and should have benched others for the same offense, maybe it says something that he chose to single out Bryce. 

This ain't Williams' first rodeo.    He's seen this movie before and I think he'll handle it just fine.

[PC]

Yes, because we really need Buster Olney chirping from the peanut gallery...or worse, Boswell.

[Mattionals]

How about MW learns to NOT BUNT HIS PITCHER WITH A MAN ON THIRD?  Harper voiced his opinion and this is getting way blown out of proportion.  He isn't an idiot and knows that the best defensive alignment is having Zim in LF, Rendon at 3B and Espinosa at 2B.  Span is a good player and an elite defender, but his bat is below league average.  Sure, Espinosa's is worse, but his statement, at least to me, says more about what the team NEEDS over what it already has.

[skippy1999]

This ain't Williams' first rodeo.    He's seen this movie before and I think he'll handle it just fine.

Man I hope so, I'm really trying hard to like him!

[mitlen]

Harper has 43 home runs and 127 RBIs up 'til now.    Tony Perez had those numbers in 1970 alone.    George Foster had much more than that in 1977.     And the list goes on  ....   Harper needs to take care of things on the field before he starts managing.     Be quiet and play ball.

[houston-nat]

How about MW learns to NOT BUNT HIS PITCHER WITH A MAN ON THIRD?  Harper voiced his opinion and this is getting way blown out of proportion.  He isn't an idiot and knows that the best defensive alignment is having Zim in LF, Rendon at 3B and Espinosa at 2B.  Span is a good player and an elite defender, but his bat is below league average.  Sure, Espinosa's is worse, but his statement, at least to me, says more about what the team NEEDS over what it already has.

Whoa now.

The best PURE DEFENSIVE alignment is Span in CF AND Espinosa at 2B.

The best PURE OFFENSIVE alignment is Espinosa on the bench.

[mitlen]

Man I hope so, I'm really trying hard to like him!

Me too  ...   it's been a rough road the last couple of weeks.    I hope he's takin' notes and learning from all this craziness.    And for goodness sake, practice the post game interview.   

[blue911]

Span should have manned up and challenged Harper to a duel

[vernon337]

How about MW learns to NOT BUNT HIS PITCHER WITH A MAN ON THIRD?  Harper voiced his opinion and this is getting way blown out of proportion.

This isn't about questioning his manager's strategy -- which is rare enough, though I've seen it done a time or two by a player (though usually it's a thirtysomething veteran).  This is about a player suggesting which of his fellow teammates should be benched -- publicly choosing sides among teammates.  What makes it even worse is that there's a racial component here.  From what I've seen of Harper over the last few years, I don't think he's stupid, I just think he's got that Ted Williams thing where he's going to say what he thinks even when it creates real problems.  I think that kind of attitude has the potential to create serious problems over the course of a MLB season.

Also, one of the reports of his comments before the game mentioned that he didn't crack a smile, and that it was unlike him.  I was struck by how grim faced he was in the post-game on-the-field interview last night.  It was jarring to me because the guy being interviewed after a big win is usually laughing and smiling.  This was his first day back after that long layoff, the team won big, and he was a major contributor.  It just felt weird.  Maybe I'm reading too much into something I know nothing about -- after all, they did show a shot in the dugout of him joking with Zimmerman.  But it does raise questions about what the heck is going on with him and the organization.

[madj55]

Well to me saying the media is going to spin it however they want is blaming them, if Bryce doesn't give them any ammunition there'll be nothing to spin.

I don't see it that way at all, gonna have to agree to disagree.

What makes it even worse is that there's a racial component here.

Christ.

[varoadking]

  Awkward hi-5 between Span & Harper...

He should apolgize to Span and the manager.  And the fans.  And then STFU.  This may be good as he will get a small taste of what happens should he end up in New York.

I saw this, and it was indeed awkward. 

I agree...he needs to apologize and the shut up going forward...

[HalfSmokes]

Yup. Pretty sure media training is part of the spring camp.

Why should he care, he's not exactly a regular employee- are the nats going to fire him (I'm sure the Yankees would love that)? Hate it or not, he's in a position where he can say whatever he wants and there are no real levers that anyone has to control him unless he wants to be controlled

[madj55]

He doesn't need to apologize to anyone. If Werth or anyone else said this nobody would be asking him to apologize.

[DPMOmaha]

He doesn't need to apologize to anyone. If Werth or anyone else said this nobody would be asking him to apologize.

The point is, Werth or Zim or even Span or Espinosa wouldn't have said this.

Soriano might have, though.

[Baseball is Life]

Why should he care

He wants to be respected by his peers, I gather. If not, than he's a rare human being indeed.

[HalfSmokes]

He wants to be respected by his peers, I gather. If not, than he's a rare human being indeed.

how does anyone here know what is going on in the locker room? Maybe Espinosa is his friend and he care more about sticking up for him, maybe Williams has less respect than we think, and maybe his friends and peers are people he knows outside of the team and he just doesn't care... there really is no way to know

[Mattionals]

What makes it even worse is that there's a racial component here.

It's not racial.  You are making something out of nothing.  Harper wants to play CF over Span mostly because he wants to play CF.  If Zim were capable of playing 3B year round and not making everyone tense up and hold their breath everytime he threw to 1B, and Harper's statement was to put Span in LF and play himself in CF, would that make you feel any better?

Harper shouldn't have said what he said, but honestly the thought has to be in the fore front of many people's minds.  Span is a good player.  There isn't anyone who comes close defensively to him, but there is a log jam of REGULAR outfielders on this team, much like the Dodgers had.  Span's defense in CF isn't enough to play him over the bats of Zim, Harper and Werth (slump non-withstanding) as the replacement in CF isn't a slouch in CF either.

Espinosa can't hit but can defend.  His bat is worse than Span's, but he also is playing a position where there is little to no depth on the team.  Granted, you have to role with the best offense and right now Span is in there, but this "issue" should be brought up this month as the deadline gets closer.  Zobrist would be a very good fit for this team atop the lineup and playing 2B.  It's a shame to say that Span would be benched or flipped as personally I'm a big fan of his, but ultimately with the outfield the Nats have, Span would have to sit.

[Mattionals]

Whoa now.

The best PURE DEFENSIVE alignment is Span in CF AND Espinosa at 2B.

The best PURE OFFENSIVE alignment is Espinosa on the bench.

I will agree with both.  I do have to say that Harper plays a better CF than either corner and Zim in LF isn't as big of a liability as I originally thought.  I think the outfield defensive alignment of Zim, Harper and Werth isn't that bad, and isn't a huge step down from Harper, Span and Werth.

[vernon337]

how does anyone here know what is going on in the locker room? Maybe Espinosa is his friend and he care more about sticking up for him, maybe Williams has less respect than we think, and maybe his friends and peers are people he knows outside of the team and he just doesn't care... there really is no way to know

All that is certainly true.  But the stuff you mentioned as possibly going on inside the locker room isn't that rare.  On the other hand, both Boswell and Olney, whatever you may think about them, have been covering MLB for a long, long time, and both basically said that what Harper did was extraordinary.

[houston-nat]

FanGraphs just came down hard against Harper. Their argument is, it would have to be a really huge, unlikely defensive improvement to compensate for the fact that Span is an average hitter and Espinosa is a crappy hitter.

[madj55]

The point is, Werth or Zim or even Span or Espinosa wouldn't have said this.

Soriano might have, though.

Werth says stuff like, "I don't want to hit second" publicly and that's trying to control the manager's lineup as well, IMO. Should he have apologized for saying something like that?