Bryce Harper, catcher and Scott Boras advisee

i figured he'd have to cool down at some point this year though, god-like talent or not. he's going to be great someday, though, and soon.

^novel analysis

Has a 19-year-old ever scored 100 runs? Harper scored one tonight, so he'd need six more in the Nationals' six remaining games. (Ott, Mantle, and Griffey didn't.)

Buddy Lewis had 100 runs for the Senators in 1936, turning 20 in August of that year. Harper may or may not get to 100 runs but he's on pace for 114 runs if he'd played the full season instead of starting in late April.

I vaguely recognize the name...Best thing in the world for Harper this year has been Trout. When Harper was slumping during the summer, all the media focus had shifted to Trout. Between Washington's surprise season and the messy Strasburg situation, I'm sure a spotlight would have normally been squarely on Harper in the middle of all that; as is, his own troubles got barely any attention that I noticed. (Maybe a different story locally.) So he played through that, and now he's having his best month yet.

Thought there'd be mention of Fred Lynn somewhere in this, but no:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130521/bryce-harper/?sct=hp_t13_a6&eref=sihp

supposedly bryce harper bunted twice yesterday. TWICE.

Soriano has talked to BH since, but...

"It may not have been a catch-able ball, but if we're positioned the right way, there might have been a different outcome. With two outs, I could tell my four-year-old son, 'You know where you need to play,' and he would go to the right spot to make the play. It's not an excuse, and I'm not speaking badly about anybody, but I think that's how you play the game.''

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/5/22/4355532/rafael-soriano-bryce-harper-nationals-giants-walk-off

bursitis

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9315401/bryce-harper-washington-nationals-not-lineup-due-sore-knee

my bf just sent me a text reading "spending the day trolling bryce harper"

v proud of him atm

how so if i may ask

a Mets blog: "In an attempt to minimize their offensive potential, new Nationals manager Matt Williams said that he will likely bat Bryce Harper fifth this season."

http://news.rotowire.com/Bryce-Harper-googid471017-spmlb.htm

players be hatin'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/03/24/mlb-players-vote-bryce-harper-most-overrated/

ejected today

by a crew featuring cb bucknor and angel hernandez

btw I don't think i mentioned i saw him make a game-saving 9th-inning play in KC last August. He has rig.

@OGTedBerg
I asked Bryce Harper his favorite player to watch. He smiled: "I love Yasiel Puig."

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/63817564/v31953173/miawsh-harpers-homer-reviewed-call-stands-in-4th/?query=Bryce%2BHarper%2Bhome%2Brun

from a couple weeks ago, but holy moly

to DL, sprained thumb

I'm kind of LOLing at what must be going through his head these days -- "When I ease up they bench me... when I play as hard as they want me to, I get hurt. What the fuck am I supposed to do?" He's a great physical talent with meatballs for mind grapes, so I doubt his thought processes are any more complicated than that.

"Expected out until July"

torn ulnar collateral ligament, surgery

hair holding up

https://twitter.com/Bharper3407/status/461222853652664320/photo/1

Keith Law excerpt:

"Of course, after Harper's injury, Williams was quick to point out that Harper "plays the game hard." But that was always the case; it's just that Harper also plays it smart, and doesn't waste time with false hustle -- probably because false hustle has yet to win any team a ballgame. The entire incident has highlighted that the Nationals organization made a mistake in hiring a manager with zero experience in Williams, who spent the first few weeks of the season trying to figure out how far down in the lineup he could bury Harper.

The Nationals took a calculated risk in 2010 when they chose to move Harper, who played catcher as an amateur, out from behind the plate immediately after signing him, removing him from the middle of the field and from a position he'd played since childhood -- and a position he played well. Although catcher is normally a more injury-prone position than the outfield, Harper's unfamiliarity with the outfield and with playing on a corner could have been a factor in several of his injuries in pro ball, including his collision with the outfield wall in Los Angeles last April.

The move to right field may have gotten Harper to the majors faster, but it put him at a position with a much higher baseline (replacement-level) against which we measure his performance, meaning that the Nationals may have left a lot of value on the table by shifting him to the outfield. It's probably too late to return Harper to catching -- although I don't doubt that Harper could do it, as he still has the athleticism and the arm -- so why are the Nationals so willing to further devalue the guy who should be the franchise player by claiming he doesn't hustle and perhaps driving him to overdo it in response?"

in probably his final rehab game at AA Harrisburg tonight, Harper went 4 for 5 with 3 home runs

Hasn't been good at all, lately.

He has been struggling a lot, lately.

-0.1 WAR

better now

yes! hopefully that'll get his confidence back!

4 post season HR before age 22, tied record.

with?

the broadcast didn't say!

Mantle, Cabrera, Andruw

Mantle's were in the WORLD SERIES, of course, and i hate mixing endless TOURNAMENT baseball records with WORLD SERIES ONLY baseball.

ya... every game seems to bring a new "playoff record or achievement of note" and every time i hear one, the morbs voice in my head jumps to his feet and shouts "that is dumb!"

Harper would be on his way to being the New Face (or Hair) of Baseball if only his teammates had produced and/or were not robbed blind by ball/strike calls.

i think that was one lousy call last night... takes a team to lose three games.

and a manager who calls on AARON BARRETT at the moment of truth.

should have called on PUIG! (seriously he can't be worse than Mattingly)

just read the article on Williams posted on the Ginats vs Nats thread. so he might actually be worse than Mattingly.

factoid from BP annual: Harper has never faced a pitcher younger than himself in the pros.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CERQXE9WYAArZtd.jpg

three homers today, still in the fifth

http://m.mlb.com/video/v103656883/miawsh-harper-smashes-his-third-homer-of-the-game

Bombs, too

I suspect we can confirm the Arrival of Bryce the Beast.

mook & i saw him take a scary swing (flyout) on 3-0 on Sunday.

@MLB_PR
WSH OF Bryce Harper named NL Player of the Week after hitting .455 with 6 HR, 13 RBI, a 1.318 SLG percentage and 29 total bases last week.

solid week

.336/.475/.750

popped it up the other way . . . and then it went out

sure the wind's blowing out but it's a 1-1 game in the 7th

https://vine.co/v/ebqjr5hEIQX

hottest hot streak since 1950?

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-bryce-harper-historic-hot-streak/