Bryce Harper, catcher and Scott Boras advisee

"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/

pissed that the runner ahead of him on his double didn't score, BH got marooned short of third and just stood still and got tagged out. #controversy

just faced a pitcher younger than him for the first time (jacob lindgren), flew out to left

Harper has a WAR of 5.3 through 65 team games. That projects to 13.2 for a full season, which would be less than Ruth's 14.1 in 1923 (first on the position-player list), but more than Ruth's 12.9 in 1921 (second). Won't happen, but just getting this far into the season at that level is worth making note of.

Good timing on that update.

"Be as sexy as you can in the box."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/bodybryceharper/washington-nationals-outfielder-bryce-harper-unbuttoned-espn-magazine-body-issue

https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/harper-mag.jpg?w=300&h=369

@Todd_Dybas
My favorite Bryce Harper Looney Tunes stat: When he swings in a 1-0 count, he’s hitting .703 (26-for-37), w/7 HRs, 7 2Bs and a 2.151 OPS.

man imagine if he was putting these numbers up as a catcher

@AndrewSimonMLB
Bryce Harper comes into tonight riding his 1st three-game hitless streak of the year. His OBP over those three games is .538.

lmao

https://instagram.com/p/8WWqhTgIZa/

23 years old today

http://i.imgur.com/XoCnlMF.png

MY EYES
HIS EYES
EVERYBODY'S EYES

that's a clown tweet, bro

https://vine.co/v/iujFXdbUbHU

meh-meh???

In Game 4 of the 2014 division series against the Giants, he stood on deck in the seventh inning with the (Giants leading 2-1. A fan in the sunken seats about 10 feet away, holding a glass of red wine, berated Harper with an intensity that couldn't be ignored.

"Hey, buddy," Harper said. "How's that glass of wine?"

Harper remembers that the fan sputtered before saying, "You're going to strike out."

"You know I love playing here, don't you, buddy?"

Seconds later, Harper drove a fastball into San Francisco Bay. As he touched home plate and turned for the dugout, Harper fixed his eyes on the fan, holding his stare a step or two longer than necessary.

"He was just devastated about life," Harper says.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/14935765/washington-nationals-bryce-harper-wants-change-baseball-forever

doesn't get better than trashing a premium Giants fan, at least in NL

lol, well done

Harper 100% otm with pretty much all of this, great article