The Bryce Harper Compendium (2014)

[HalfSmokes]

law already calling for Williams to be fired?

[imref]

i normally like Law, but criticizing the Nats for shifting Harper to LF is beyond idiotic. 

[NationalHeat]

Rizzo is definitely not firing him now.

[madj55]

Wow, shots fired at Williams from Law.

[Pachoo5]

i normally like Law, but criticizing the Nats for shifting Harper to LF is beyond idiotic.

Why? I see tons of merit in that line of thinking. Harper WOULD be much more valuable as a catcher than outfielder due to the level of average offense at that position. And it is very possible that Harper WOULD have had a lesser injury history staying at the position he played his entire life instead of changing position pretty much one year before making his MLB debut.

I think it really might have been a mistake. Harper would be truly godly as a catcher IMO. How many catcher's put up the type of offense that he possibly can?

[HalfSmokes]

Harper as a catcher may still be in aa learning how to call a game for professional pitchers

[PC]

Harper as a catcher would be broken in half by now.

[Vega]

Harper as a catcher still could have broken his hand by sliding incorrectly. I'm' not advocating for a position change, but I do think it is pertinent to remember that this injury was not caused on defense.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Blame the ventriloquist, not the doll...

[skippy1999]

law already calling for Williams to be fired?

yea I've not been a fan of Williams so far but that seems a bit much

[Copecwby20]

With the change of rules about blocking the plate, would it be worth giving Harper a look as catcher?

[Dave301]

yea I've not been a fan of Williams so far but that seems a bit much

Keith Law has been talking bad about MW since the beginning like he has some agenda.

[Vega]

With the change of rules about blocking the plate, would it be worth giving Harper a look as catcher?

Not without at least an entire offseason of learning how to do it well enough to be at least passable at a major league level.

[Copecwby20]

Not without at least an entire offseason of learning how to do it well enough to be at least passable at a major league level.

Of course, but is it even a feasible enough of an idea to be plated for discussion?

[HalfSmokes]

Not without at least an entire offseason of learning how to do it well enough to be at least passable at a major league level.

There is no way he can go from calling/catching community college pitchers to major leaguers in just one off-season.

[Vega]

Of course, but is it even a feasible enough of an idea to be plated for discussion?

Doubtful. I cannot think of a single player who changed position to catcher on the fly in the majors.

[Vega]

While it may be academic at this point, I do think that Harper would have been durable enough to be a catcher. It is far too early to declare him injury-prone, especially since both of his injuries have been induced by playing stupidly rather than through normal baseball activities that should not typically cause injury, a la Nick Johnson.

[mmzznnxx]

Doubtful. I cannot think of a single player who changed position to catcher on the fly in the majors.

I believer Harper played catcher in high school, maybe the minors.

Why? I see tons of merit in that line of thinking. Harper WOULD be much more valuable as a catcher than outfielder due to the level of average offense at that position. And it is very possible that Harper WOULD have had a lesser injury history staying at the position he played his entire life instead of changing position pretty much one year before making his MLB debut.

I think it really might have been a mistake. Harper would be truly godly as a catcher IMO. How many catcher's put up the type of offense that he possibly can?

Definitely Harper would be more valuable in the short term as a catcher, especially with the new (in my opinion wussy) rules for catchers, but why wouldn't he be at that position? Why would the Twins move Mauer to first if that's the case? Also Napoli. It's easier to find find good defense and offense at 1B than catcher.

I'm not sure about the general consensus about Harper at catcher, but either they don't think his defense is very good at that position, or they think OF will prolong his career due to the brutal nature of the catcher position. Which is ironic, considering Harper's disagreement with fences in the first few years of his careers.

Harper's an OFer, for better or for worse at this point. His right-throwing gives more options, but it doesn't seem like Rizzo or likely he'll change positions now at this point. I think we have to live with it, he's a guy who plays hard, is prone to slumps, has a potentially great bat, and needs to learn the OF better.

[Slateman]

Harper should have stayed in CF. We should have kept Morse in LF.

[imref]

Harper as a catcher may still be in aa learning how to call a game for professional pitchers

And he'd be taking a beating on his legs and knees 140 games a year without getting the break that normal catchers get because we'd want him in the OF to keep his bat in the lineup.

[spidernat]

I can't believe anyone would think Harper at catcher would still produce offensively at the same rate he has up to this point.

[imref]

There is no way he can go from calling/catching community college pitchers to major leaguers in just one off-season.

Comparing him to Posey, Posey had 3 years of college ball (Florida State) and didn't graduate high school early, so he was already 21 when drafted.  he played a year and a half in the minors though he was  September call-up in his first professional year (2009).  He played a couple of months in the minors in 2010 before being promoted again. 

[imref]

even braves fans are trashing the Law article in the comments.

[blue911]

even braves fans are trashing the Law article in the comments.

After the Boswell column somebody needed to offer a different viewpoint. As much as I disagree with Law, Boswell's column was a cheap shot that wasn't deserved or earned.

[spidernat]

After the Boswell column somebody needed to offer a different viewpoint. As much as I disagree with Law, Boswell's column was a cheap shot that wasn't deserved or earned.

Are you referring to the "reality check" column, blue?