Harper Called out by Teammate; Dugout brawl!

Yasiel Puig does what Harper did and no one blinks (Puig is essentially a more talented Escobar). Back at the trade deadline, half this board was slowly massaging their parts in anticipation of acquiring Puig. But, everybody hates Harper?

What Papelbon did was bush, no other way to spin it and if I am GM and/or owner of the Nats, he is already DFA and released. Papelbon is a dime-a-dozen closer who has a dirt bag rep and sulls up if he's asked to a)pitch in a game where it's not a save b) pitch more than one inning. Harper is one of the best 1-2 players in the game, a future HoF potentially. Does he have entitlement issues? Does he act like a spoiled teenager sometimes? Of course he does. All that means is that he's got growing to do and must work to gain the respect of veterans around the league.

Does it mean that he should be physically or even verbally attacked in a very public way by a self important puffed up closer? No way, no how.

I actually think that Harper has handled this very well and mostly taken the high road. If it would have been me, I would have made an example out of Pap by putting his head through the concrete dugout wall and then telling management to get rid of the POS by the end of the day or to trade me.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
Yasiel Puig does what Harper did and no one blinks (Puig is essentially a more talented Escobar). Back at the trade deadline, half this board was slowly massaging their parts in anticipation of acquiring Puig. But, everybody hates Harper?
Click to expand...

i think mostly everyone here is defending Harper on this one.
 
What you have here are two guys who are essentially the same guy at different points in their careers. I don't see it as a right or wrong, I see it as two powder kegs with the fuse lit. Harper said some magic words whatever they might have been. There are some guys you just don't cuss. I have known guys that would take your head off over cussing them. There is no doubt in my mind Harper has some maturing to do. He is awful young to be living the life he is fortunate to be living right now.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
Yasiel Puig does what Harper did and no one blinks (Puig is essentially a more talented Escobar). Back at the trade deadline, half this board was slowly massaging their parts in anticipation of acquiring Puig. But, everybody hates Harper?

What Papelbon did was bush, no other way to spin it and if I am GM and/or owner of the Nats, he is already DFA and released. Papelbon is a dime-a-dozen closer who has a dirt bag rep and sulls up if he's asked to a)pitch in a game where it's not a save b) pitch more than one inning. Harper is one of the best 1-2 players in the game, a future HoF potentially. Does he have entitlement issues? Does he act like a spoiled teenager sometimes? Of course he does. All that means is that he's got growing to do and must work to gain the respect of veterans around the league.

Does it mean that he should be physically or even verbally attacked in a very public way by a self important puffed up closer? No way, no how.

I actually think that Harper has handled this very well and mostly taken the high road. If it would have been me, I would have made an example out of Pap by putting his head through the concrete dugout wall and then telling management to get rid of the POS by the end of the day or to trade me.
Click to expand...

Pap would beat the crap out of Harper in a fight, hands down, so I don't think that would happen. They are both D-bags and most teammates on that team side with Pap on this incident, DP, JR and DG shows said as much. I guess Prima donna fits Harper moniker perfectly.
 
AerchAngel said:
Pap would beat the crap out of Harper in a fight, hands down, so I don't think that would happen. They are both D-bags and most teammates on that team side with Pap on this incident, DP, JR and DG shows said as much. I guess Prima donna fits Harper moniker perfectly.
Click to expand...

That's not true and entirely speculative by those guys and you. There is absolutely zero evidence the team sides with Pap... in fact most evidence I've seen is that most of the team sides with Harper. I don't like either one of them, but that's a ridiculous statement.
 
#TeamUnwrittenRules
#TeamPapelbon

Millennials are screwing everything up. They lack class and character. They're entitled assholes. Have some respect for the men who've gone before you and paved the way for you to make butt-tons of money playing a game.
 
I think we should obtain Papelbon after he's DFA'd (we'd only be paying the minimum) and create a new ticket category for just the 9th inning. If Pierzynski is back (and I think he will be), I can just imagine some potential confrontations on the mound. Could even result in an on-field throw-down.

kingphatcow, I don't know if it's a lack of respect, but there is an element of more "me" in today's player that's probably due to the marketing of the game as opposed to anything else. Harper's been told he's God's gift to the game since his early-teens and that can't help but get into a guy's head at some point. I have subscribed to Perfect Game in the past (and still pick up a couple of months service during draft season) and you see all these articles about high school (sometimes junior high school) players and I can't believe that hasn't had an effect on how players view themselves.
 
kingphatcow said:
#TeamUnwrittenRules
#TeamPapelbon

Millennials are screwing everything up. They lack class and character. They're entitled assholes. Have some respect for the men who've gone before you and paved the way for you to make butt-tons of money playing a game.
Click to expand...

Like Jonathan Papelbon?
 
50PoundHead said:
I think we should obtain Papelbon after he's DFA'd (we'd only be paying the minimum) and create a new ticket category for just the 9th inning. If Pierzynski is back (and I think he will be), I can just imagine some potential confrontations on the mound. Could even result in an on-field throw-down.

kingphatcow, I don't know if it's a lack of respect, but there is an element of more "me" in today's player that's probably due to the marketing of the game as opposed to anything else. Harper's been told he's God's gift to the game since his early-teens and that can't help but get into a guy's head at some point. I have subscribed to Perfect Game in the past (and still pick up a couple of months service during draft season) and you see all these articles about high school (sometimes junior high school) players and I can't believe that hasn't had an effect on how players view themselves.
Click to expand...

Agreed about the vets vs. rookies. But, this happens every cycle; vets are jealous of the success of young players and cry about how things "use to be." This is unique to the recent young players, it's happened throughout the history of baseball. In 15 years, Harper will probably be talking about how "todays youth needs to learn how to play the game right!"
 
gilesfan said:
Agreed about the vets vs. rookies. But, this happens every cycle; vets are jealous of the success of young players and cry about how things "use to be." This is unique to the recent young players, it's happened throughout the history of baseball. In 15 years, Harper will probably be talking about how "todays youth needs to learn how to play the game right!"
Click to expand...

I obviously don't know this to be accurate, but I wonder if Harper gets on other guys. It's a delicate situation when your best player is so young and is (at least seemingly) assuming the leadership role in the clubhouse. That may grate on some. I can see Papelbon's reaction as one of "You're always telling us we're not playing as hard as you are and now you're jaking it." That's no defense of Papelbon and it's all conjecture on my part, but Harper is a really intense guy and I wonder if there needs to be a steadying influence in that clubhouse.
 
50PoundHead said:
I obviously don't know this to be accurate, but I wonder if Harper gets on other guys. It's a delicate situation when your best player is so young and is (at least seemingly) assuming the leadership role in the clubhouse. That may grate on some. I can see Papelbon's reaction as one of "You're always telling us we're not playing as hard as you are and now you're jaking it." That's no defense of Papelbon and it's all conjecture on my part, but Harper is a really intense guy and I wonder if there needs to be a steadying influence in that clubhouse.
Click to expand...

The leaders on that team are Werth, Zimmerman, and Desmond. I think it was more of a case of Papelbon being upset that no one agreed with him on his decision to hit Machado.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...mmates-rest-mlb-see-bryce-harper-monster-year
 
gilesfan said:
The leaders on that team are Werth, Zimmerman, and Desmond. I think it was more of a case of Papelbon being upset that no one agreed with him on his decision to hit Machado.
Click to expand...

Do any of those guys sit down with Harper and say "Bryce, chill a bit."
 
Agreed, Papelbon was being passive aggressive towards Harper because of the comments Harper made about the Manny beaming.. Papelbon waited for his opportunity and took it..and made sure everyone could see. I don't think he intended to fight Harper, but Harper said a magic word that triggered paps response..
I also don't think Harper is a leader really.. I don't think intense always equates to leader. But this is really my opinion for a far as I haven't watch a ton of nationals games..
 
50PoundHead said:
Do any of those guys sit down with Harper and say "Bryce, chill a bit."
Click to expand...

in terms of what? In playing hard, they've told him to calm down and play 150 games a season. In terms of his attitude toward the game, I don't think so. They just acknowledge that he is a ball of fire. I know Werth really takes a liking to him, but they are complete opposites in that sense.
 
I think this has to make you really look back and respect someone like Mike Trout. Someone that has a TON of expectations on him with his unbelieveable start to his career. However, he plays the game the right way. Think of the play the other day where he went way over the wall to catch the would be home run. Is that a play that Harper would have made? Doubtful.
 
gilesfan said:
in terms of what? In playing hard, they've told him to calm down and play 150 games a season. In terms of his attitude toward the game, I don't think so. They just acknowledge that he is a ball of fire. I know Werth really takes a liking to him, but they are complete opposites in that sense.
Click to expand...

I think there gets to be a time when intensity can be disrupting, especially when a season takes a turn for the worse. Harper's always going to play hard and I'm not suggesting someone tell him to hold anything back between the white lines. I just think there's probably times when a teammate or two (or six) when seeing him on the dugout rail going crazy would just as soon see him back it down a bit.

He's a singular talent. There's no question about that and his hustle contributes to that. But a team is like a family and if one kid is always banging on the dinner table, it tends to get on his/her siblings' nerves.
 
kingphatcow said:
#TeamUnwrittenRules
#TeamPapelbon

Millennials are screwing everything up. They lack class and character. They're entitled assholes. Have some respect for the men who've gone before you and paved the way for you to make butt-tons of money playing a game.
Click to expand...

Well obviously. I mean we certainly wouldn't want to side with a player who is a prima donna, who is superbly talented, who most of the veterans in the league hate, who many of the fans hate and who might possibly be a future HoF like Barry Bonds.

Or, we wouldn't want to side with a hot head know it all who the majority of the league hates and who ends players careers with bush moves then hides behind the "playing hard" card to avoid criticism like Pete Rose.

Or, we wouldn't want to side with a half insane pitcher who uses a big fastball and intimidation with both the threat and action of beaning to insure success like Roger Clemens. Or Nolan Ryan. Or Randy Johnson. Or Don Drysdale.etc.

Or, we wouldn't want to side with a racist batsman who EVERYBODY hates like Ty Cobb.

The thing is, we shouldn't confuse personality and preferences with what is right and wrong. What Pap did was wrong from a baseball standpoint. What he did was wrong from a future standpoint (you don't damage the future). What he did was wrong from a team building standpoint.

Papelbon was P*ssed because he beaned a guy out of a fit of petty anger and no one stood behind him on it. Then Harper had the poor tact of commenting on it to the press saying that he expected to get drilled because of it (which he probably will, if not this year then next).

It had nothing to do with Harper "not playing he game right."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top