rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
If one word described the Nationals last year, it was "underachievers." That's not an original thought for me, but boy, does it nail it.
I see the same thing in this year's version. The latest is, one day after Harper comes out of the game when he stumbled chasing a fly ball, he fails to run out a ground ball. Matt Williams did the honors and did not mince words afterward.
"It was the inability to run 90 feet -- lack of hustle," said Williams about why Harper was lifted. "He had to come out of the game. We made an agreement, his teammates made an agreement: When we play the game ... we hustle at all times. We play the game with intensity, with willingness to win.
"Regardless of the situation, regardless of what's happening to you personally, we have to play the game a certain way to give us the best chance to win. ... For the sake of the organization, he needs to play with aggression in the way he plays."
It was pointed out tonight on MLB Network that the younger Harper was criticized by veterans for "false hustle" when he broke in. I get a gut feeling that Harper could wind up being part of a blockbuster trade in the future -- how long is probably up to him.
Williams said Harper would be back in the starting lineup Sunday for the series finale. Harper went 0 for 3 before being pulled and is batting .295.
"People come pay money to watch him play the way he can play," Williams said. "And it's pretty exciting. It's pretty dynamic. But there's another side to it. And the other side is that regardless of how the ball comes off the bat or regardless of how he's feeling about an at-bat, he must maintain that intensity and that aggressiveness. And that means running all the way to first base and touching the base."
Harper was scratched from a game Wednesday with a sore quadriceps, but Williams didn't view that as a reason to stop short of running 90 feet to first base.
"Regardless of situation, regardless of what's happening to you personally, we have to play the game a certain way to give ourselves the best chance to win," the manager said. "And it's too bad that it came down to that situation in the ninth inning when he could've been at the plate. For the sake of his teammates and the sake of the organization, he needs to play with aggression and the way he plays."
One last note: best prank of the year (besides the one played on Francoeur in El Paso) is whoever hacked the Nationals' Wiki page to change the team's owner to the Atlanta Braves!
I see the same thing in this year's version. The latest is, one day after Harper comes out of the game when he stumbled chasing a fly ball, he fails to run out a ground ball. Matt Williams did the honors and did not mince words afterward.
"It was the inability to run 90 feet -- lack of hustle," said Williams about why Harper was lifted. "He had to come out of the game. We made an agreement, his teammates made an agreement: When we play the game ... we hustle at all times. We play the game with intensity, with willingness to win.
"Regardless of the situation, regardless of what's happening to you personally, we have to play the game a certain way to give us the best chance to win. ... For the sake of the organization, he needs to play with aggression in the way he plays."
It was pointed out tonight on MLB Network that the younger Harper was criticized by veterans for "false hustle" when he broke in. I get a gut feeling that Harper could wind up being part of a blockbuster trade in the future -- how long is probably up to him.
Williams said Harper would be back in the starting lineup Sunday for the series finale. Harper went 0 for 3 before being pulled and is batting .295.
"People come pay money to watch him play the way he can play," Williams said. "And it's pretty exciting. It's pretty dynamic. But there's another side to it. And the other side is that regardless of how the ball comes off the bat or regardless of how he's feeling about an at-bat, he must maintain that intensity and that aggressiveness. And that means running all the way to first base and touching the base."
Harper was scratched from a game Wednesday with a sore quadriceps, but Williams didn't view that as a reason to stop short of running 90 feet to first base.
"Regardless of situation, regardless of what's happening to you personally, we have to play the game a certain way to give ourselves the best chance to win," the manager said. "And it's too bad that it came down to that situation in the ninth inning when he could've been at the plate. For the sake of his teammates and the sake of the organization, he needs to play with aggression and the way he plays."
One last note: best prank of the year (besides the one played on Francoeur in El Paso) is whoever hacked the Nationals' Wiki page to change the team's owner to the Atlanta Braves!
