Author Topic: Bryce: All things considered, I'd Rather be in Philadelphia  (Read 43387 times)

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Offline Senatorswin

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I was watching something, I don't remember what, and early in the 2019 season the Phillie fans were chanting " we've got Harper". It would be funny if a lot of Nats fans were at the Phillie stadium chanting " you've got Harper".

Online Slateman

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Y'all obsess over Bryce.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Y'all obsess over Bryce. Soto-lite
Or maybe Soto-not-quite

Offline Kevrock

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Bryce is probably going to hit 50 next year. He’s probably squatting 700 pounds right now trying to get baby shark out of his head

Offline rileyn

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I just want to know what hair style, headband, arm sleeve, hand shake and customized cleats he is going to wear.  I MUST KNOW!   I will bet he doesn't do a bat flip at our dugout or douche bow in his first game at Nats Park.

Online Natsinpwc

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I just want to know what hair style, headband, arm sleeve, hand shake and customized cleats he is going to wear.  I MUST KNOW!   I will bet he doesn't do a bat flip at our dugout or douche bow in his first game at Nats Park.
He's mostly sad the Yankees didn't win it all. 



Offline MtPleasantNatsFan

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Re: Adam Eaton, is it really over?
« Reply #933: September 27, 2020, 10:50:17 PM »
I received no enjoyment from Harper leaving! He is way, way, way more exciting to watch than anyone on this team of mostly cast-offs and wannabees. Harper's AB's are still must see TV and absolutely no one in this entire organization can come close to Harper's great head of hair. Seems letting superstars go is status quo for the Nationals so enjoy Turner & Soto while you can.

More and more I’m hearing he was a clubhouse nightmare. 

I think a few weeks ago someone said- “maybe Papelbon knew something we didn’t?”  And while I hated Papelbon from day 1, there is some evidence (Hunter Strickland fight) that some of the teenage brashness (Clown Question Bro) might have aged poorly.  I mean, we all had that friend who kept doing Saturday night live characters ten years after the rest of us...

I spoke to someone a few weeks ago who told me that Werth calmed way down this year.  As much as I loved Werth and Harper, I’ve been hearing stories that Dozier was a really sweet guy who practiced his religion with good works and that Doolittle seemed to have a sixth sense of other teammate’s challenges bEing good role models and talked to them...  and of course, that Soto is a very sweet kid who respects everybody

Someone is eventually going to write a book and we’re all going to hear some story where Harp insulted Gio or Michael A or one of these really innocent guys and I’m convinced we’re going to rethink the clubhouse during those years

Kind of like, I thought Ray Knight was hilarious, but then i started to hear that he was mean when he drank

Except that we’re never going to hear that Tyler Clippard was a real ladies man

Online varoadking

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Re: Re: Adam Eaton, is it really over?
« Reply #934: September 27, 2020, 11:02:42 PM »
Yes...Harper's routine aged poorly...his cringworthy performance at the 2018 Home Run Derby was the last straw for me...though I was already sick of him. 

I was so happy for him to finally hit the trail.

Offline MtPleasantNatsFan

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Re: Re: Adam Eaton, is it really over?
« Reply #935: September 27, 2020, 11:18:47 PM »
Yes...Harper's routine aged poorly...his cringworthy performance at the 2018 Home Run Derby was the last straw for me...though I was already sick of him. 

I was so happy for him to finally hit the trail.

Yes. 

MLB has some aspects of professional wrestling-

Howard Kendrick, and I’ve spoken to him, his name is Howard must go by the character “Howie Kendrick” per MLB

Dave Martinez must go by “Davey Martinez” also a character

(Davey Johnson did go by Davey)

But allowing Harper and his father to cheat during the HRD because it made for a Good Show?  - I remember waking up that night and just saying to myself- he really cheated- his Dad was throwing balls before he hit the last one. 

And of course the headband look which was just strange

I feel more sad about Harper than anything.  He had all the tools to be respected like Mike Trout, but he couldn’t get out of his own way


Offline rileyn

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I'm not too proud to say all I've cared about over the last couple weeks is that the Phillies don't make the playoffs.  Go ahead, tell me Bryce is living rent-free in my head.  I will own it.

Offline UMDNats

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I'm not too proud to say all I've cared about over the last couple weeks is that the Phillies don't make the playoffs.  Go ahead, tell me Bryce is living rent-free in my head.  I will own it.

The whole "let Bryce walk" move has immediately been both successful and satisfying from the DC side of things. We won a title immediately, and he's tried so hard to be MR PHILLY but it's clear the entire organization there is a dumpster fire. So, not only has he gone from baseball superstar to middling good player on a bad team, but he's unhappy, he's missing the playoffs annually, and he's watching us be successful. Even with a crap season this year from us, we still are like, "whatever, it was 60 games, and we get a top-15 pick" while he goes home to Vegas and gets to pretend he's the next Werth. Philly may pretend to love him but you know it's all a show.

I would feel bad for him but this was his ultimate destiny. He's never been captain material and the kind of guy who can make the team better around him. He had a good season this year but you can just tell the team is rotten on the inside. There's a reason so many teams he's been on have floundered despite so much talent. Sure, not his fault his GM couldn't get a bullpen, but even Joe Girardi can't make it work, and he's made it work with far less talent.

Offline imref

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FWIW, Harper had a pretty good season this year.  BA wasn't all that good, but he posted a .420 OBP and a .542 slugging average with 13 home runs in 244 ABs (so that would be around 35 or so in a normal season).  He'd end up with around a 4.0 oWAR again over a full season. K ratio was down, BB ration was up for the year as well.

His defense is still mediocre, but you aren't paying him for defense.

Online Natsinpwc

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The whole "let Bryce walk" move has immediately been both successful and satisfying from the DC side of things. We won a title immediately, and he's tried so hard to be MR PHILLY but it's clear the entire organization there is a dumpster fire. So, not only has he gone from baseball superstar to middling good player on a bad team, but he's unhappy, he's missing the playoffs annually, and he's watching us be successful. Even with a crap season this year from us, we still are like, "whatever, it was 60 games, and we get a top-15 pick" while he goes home to Vegas and gets to pretend he's the next Werth. Philly may pretend to love him but you know it's all a show.

I would feel bad for him but this was his ultimate destiny. He's never been captain material and the kind of guy who can make the team better around him. He had a good season this year but you can just tell the team is rotten on the inside. There's a reason so many teams he's been on have floundered despite so much talent. Sure, not his fault his GM couldn't get a bullpen, but even Joe Girardi can't make it work, and he's made it work with far less talent.
Harper had a good year.  Not a great player but not his fault the bullpen was historically bad or that Hoskins and Realmuto got hurt down the stretch.  I believe the team was projected at 80-85 wins for the year so not sure what you mean by so much talent?

Offline nfotiu

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When you are paying someone 25m a year for 13 years, I think you want a lot better than good for those first 4-5 years.   He's only got 2-3 more prime years left to prove is anywhere near worth that contract.

Online Natsinpwc

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When you are paying someone 25m a year for 13 years, I think you want a lot better than good for those first 4-5 years.   He's only got 2-3 more prime years left to prove is anywhere near worth that contract.
They also signed him to sell tickets and jerseys and such.  Their per game attendance went from 27000 to 34000 after signing him.

I think the bigger issue is that he now seems to have back issues which is not surprising given the way he swings.  That could be a nagging injury for years.

Phillies were near the top of the league in scoring and starting pitcher ERA was decent. One of the worst bullpens in history did them in.

Curious as to whether or not they terminate MacFAIL and Klentak or given them a break for a short season. Lots of decisions for them to make.  The guys in charge have been making bad ones for years.

Online Slateman

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When you are paying someone 25m a year for 13 years, I think you want a lot better than good for those first 4-5 years.   He's only got 2-3 more prime years left to prove is anywhere near worth that contract.
Hes only 27. Hes got years left of productivity

Offline Elvir Ovcina

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The whole "let Bryce walk" move has immediately been both successful and satisfying from the DC side of things. We won a title immediately, and he's tried so hard to be MR PHILLY but it's clear the entire organization there is a dumpster fire. So, not only has he gone from baseball superstar to middling good player on a bad team, but he's unhappy, he's missing the playoffs annually, and he's watching us be successful.

He's 2 years into a 13-year contract, and he's only turning 28 next month.  There's a lot of time left to see how his contract plays out.

That said, Arrieta's contract is gone now, McCutchen is gone after next year.  They're still paying Odubel Herrera $10M next year (yikes).  They obviously still have the money to pay Realmuto, but the greater question is why he would want to stay.  If he leaves, that's a pretty patchy team next year without substantial upgrades that don't seem to be out there this winter.   Not much money on the books, but not a ton of difference-making talent either outside the two starters, and looks more like a rebuild hoping to go into '22 with Harper/Wheeler/Nola/Segura all around.  Everything there looks like a .500-ish team, with even a return of Realmuto moving them a few games above rather than under, unless and until they figure something else out.

Online Natsinpwc

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He's 2 years into a 13-year contract, and he's only turning 28 next month.  There's a lot of time left to see how his contract plays out.

That said, Arrieta's contract is gone now, McCutchen is gone after next year.  They're still paying Odubel Herrera $10M next year (yikes).  They obviously still have the money to pay Realmuto, but the greater question is why he would want to stay.  If he leaves, that's a pretty patchy team next year without substantial upgrades that don't seem to be out there this winter.   Not much money on the books, but not a ton of difference-making talent either outside the two starters, and looks more like a rebuild hoping to go into '22 with Harper/Wheeler/Nola/Segura all around.  Everything there looks like a .500-ish team, with even a return of Realmuto moving them a few games above rather than under, unless and until they figure something else out.
Even with some black holes in the lineup they finished tied for fifth in MLB in runs scored per game.  Problem was the pitching and specifically the pen. Eflin actually pitched better down the stretch than Wheeler or Nola.  They should never have traded for JTR if they did not intend to sign him. Now as a free agent he will go to the highest bidder.  I would personally back away. Has had some injury issues with his legs the last two seasons. They also need to decide what to do about Didi. Hit well but his defense has regressed. I would give him the QO. You forgot about Bohm. He looks like a keeper.

Offline Elvir Ovcina

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Even with some black holes in the lineup they finished tied for fifth in MLB in runs scored per game.  Problem was the pitching and specifically the pen. Eflin actually pitched better down the stretch than Wheeler or Nola.  They should never have traded for JTR if they did not intend to sign him. Now as a free agent he will go to the highest bidder.  I would personally back away. Has had some injury issues with his legs the last two seasons. They also need to decide what to do about Didi. Hit well but his defense has regressed. I would give him the QO. You forgot about Bohm. He looks like a keeper.

Bohm has less than 200 at bats.  Plenty of time for pitchers to figure him out if there's something there, but early returns indeed look good - which they needed after their two previously first rounders don't look fabulous (although Haseley is obviously useful at least as a min salary MLB guy, just maybe not what you expect from a pick that high).  The question is now whether Bohm can stick at 3B.  If he can, he's a big asset.  Personally, I'm not sold.  If not, he looks like an above-average 1B but not a star unless he makes further significant jumps on offense.  Sometimes guys do, but ask the Braves how they feel about Riley right now. 

Eflin's a league average pitcher.  You need that, but he's also arb-eligible now so he won't be that cheap. 

I tend to agree with you on Realmuto if you're expecting him to catch full time until he's 35.  But if you get 3 years behind the plate and then need to stick him at 1B/DH for two, his bat plays there.  Part of the challenge with valuing him is that he's an excellent defensive catcher, but it's not rational to expect that for too much longer.

Online Natsinpwc

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Bohm has less than 200 at bats.  Plenty of time for pitchers to figure him out if there's something there, but early returns indeed look good - which they needed after their two previously first rounders don't look fabulous (although Haseley is obviously useful at least as a min salary MLB guy, just maybe not what you expect from a pick that high).  The question is now whether Bohm can stick at 3B.  If he can, he's a big asset.  Personally, I'm not sold.  If not, he looks like an above-average 1B but not a star unless he makes further significant jumps on offense.  Sometimes guys do, but ask the Braves how they feel about Riley right now. 

Eflin's a league average pitcher.  You need that, but he's also arb-eligible now so he won't be that cheap. 

I tend to agree with you on Realmuto if you're expecting him to catch full time until he's 35.  But if you get 3 years behind the plate and then need to stick him at 1B/DH for two, his bat plays there.
Part of the reason I think Bohm is a keeper is that he does not try and pull everything and seems to have a good idea of the strike zone. When Hoskins and Realmuto left the lineup he moved up and comported himself well.  Not sure about his defense.  Made some great plays but also missed some routine ones. Probably he would be better now at IB and shift Hoskins to DH if we still have the rule.  Eflin has a FIP of 3.39 this year. He may just have figured it out.  Spencer Howard has arm issues. They seem high on him but his velocity was down which is a bad sign.

Not sure what to think of Joe G. He did not seem to handle the pen well although he did not have much to work with. Also played Kingery and Quinn over Haseley the last few weeks although neither can hit.

Offline Five Banners

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Hes only 27. Hes got years left of productivity

This; the contract was based on getting somebody with elite potential at an early age without having to give a ton of prospects in return. That’s what happened. Nothing is guaranteed, but they had the space and the opportunity.


Offline imref

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This; the contract was based on getting somebody with elite potential at an early age without having to give a ton of prospects in return. That’s what happened. Nothing is guaranteed, but they had the space and the opportunity.

His value goes up quite a bit if the NL keeps the DH too.

Offline hohoho

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The Phils were 5th best in runs scored, 4th worst in era. Maybe their fans should be chanting “We should have got pitching” rather than “We got Harper”.