Not So Nice Bryce
Posted by Steve L. on March 15th, 2012 · Comments (34)
Will Leitch has a great feature on Bryce Harper in GQ. Click here to read it.
Kid sounds like a real horse’s ass. I’m sure baseball will knock him on his own if he keeps it up.
This article is a bullshit hack job. The incident with Harper blowing a kiss at a pitcher after taking him deep came after previous run-ins with that pitcher showing up Harper and talking smack to him. If the pitcher doesn’t like being shown up, the pitcher should remember not to dish it out if he can’t take it.
Harper may be aware of his potential greatness and there will no doubt be growing pains but there are plenty of people in the world — like Will Leitch, apparently — that will hate the guy before even getting all the facts.
Fuck Will Leitch. Haters gonna hate.
@ MJ Recanati:
“Fuck Will Leitch. Haters gonna hate”. MJ, really?! Your expressing the same “attitude” that you profess to abhor. Time will tell, but if Mike Schmidt commented on his behavior……
@ KPOcala:
Agreed.
@ MJ Recanati:
There’s little to like about Harper. Call me one of Harper’s haters.
KPOcala wrote:
What attitude do I profess to abhor?
Reminds me of all the haters who hate me because they think I hate Cashman and/or A-Rod. I’ve heard “Haters gonna hate” thrown at me – from people saying that they hate me, wish I was dead, etc.
It’s the black kettle thing.
@ Steve L.:
I’m hating on you because I think the article Leitch wrote is slanted and full of crap? I don’t see how I said anything about you at all.
MJ Recanati wrote:
LOL. I never said anything about me and you.
You put some hate on Leitch for what you see as his hate on Harper. And, then you said that Haters Gonna Hate.
I think that’s what KPOcala meant – but, I could be wrong.
@ Steve L.:
No, Steve you understood me perfectly. I think our Society could use a lot less of the “hate thing” and finger pointing, and little more ‘agree to disagree’. But after 30+ years of media, politicians, and special interest groups bombing the public with this mindset, it’s no wonder that the way we think has shifted. And MJ, I’ve read enough of your writings to know that your above that ilk, just trying to show you how easy it is to fall into the habit, or trap….
@ MJ Recanati: MJ, please read my response to Steve, found below…
BTW, I just saw that Arodys Vizcaino may be headed for TJ surgery. Never fall in love with young pitchers. I know that Cashman has been taking heat for giving him up, but…..
KPOcala wrote:
Like Hughes, Joba, ManBan, Dellin…
KPOcala wrote:
It’s rare that such talent presents itself, that’s why people go nuts over them.
@ KPOcala:
It’s one thing to disagree, it’s another thing to just be out and out irrational about something.
@ Raf:
Raf, I think that’s Steve’s reply to me. I think.
If the Nats grow tired of Harper’s act, they can always trade him to the Yanks.
@ Evan3457: Then we’ll all be gushing, “what a great guy, he even loves his dog”…..
KPOcala wrote:
Which one?
I was referring to falling in love with pitching prospects (and prospects in general), not necessarily the ones Steve named. It’s ok to get excited about the guys on the farm, it’s only natural, especially when that talent may be exceptional.
Harper was interviewed by Harold Reynolds on MLBN, I believe, he seemed to be a little more grounded there.
@ Raf: Raf, I’m all for the fun of the “prospect dream”. But I think sometimes people get a little too serious about it, and then skewer the GM with “your an imbecile for trading away “Roy Halladay” for example. The example I referred to above was Arodys Vizcaino, a single A pitcher when traded. Keith Law, et al immediately had him winning the Cy Young, Cashman’s an idiot, you know the drill. I always think of Jose Rijo, great potential early, injuries for years, and would have a year or two where I would be thinking “damn, how could we have traded him” just before he blow something out again. Basically what I believe now is to temper expectations and wait for 10 or so years to pass before I grill a GM. The worm tends to turn like an auger in baseball…
Raf wrote:
MLB Network has interviewed him a couple of times and you’re right. I honestly kind of like his attitude on the field, though. If he can back it up, he’ll make for a lot of interesting games in the future. He might get thrown at a bit, but hey, he’s not on my team.
Corey Italiano wrote:
Perfectly fine. It’s the middle infielder that pays the price anyway.
And so begins. Nice debut yesterday, overshadowed by Kemp’s game wining bomb, though…
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7899287/philadelphia-phillies-cole-hamels-plunks-bryce-harper-admits-aiming-him
On my way back from Rochester, I listened to the game on the radio a bit. I did hear the incident where Hamels threw at him. I also heard the play where he stole home in retaliation.
Harper also abused Pierre in LF, running on his arm at every opportunity (or at least the opportunities I heard on the radio
.
@ Raf:
The press on Harper is bad but everything I’ve seen from him — including the comments of his teammates and managers — show him to be a hard-working kid that engenders jealousy from opponents.
I loved the steal of home to pay back Hamels’s HBP. Harper is going to be a joy to watch. He’s so talented and it’s always fun to see haters work themselves up into a frenzy over perceived misdeeds that are merely projections of their own inadequacies.
Just saw the MLBN highlight of Braves – Nats. Looks like Harper took an extra base when Heyward didn’t hustle in the field. Suprisingly, he remained in the game…
Harper is easily becoming my new favorite player. He hit a homer yesterday that barely scraped over the wall, what did Harper do? He sprinted around the bases and kept his head down. Love it.
Guy takes the extra base, plays every AB with 100% intensity and hustle, has all the talent in the world. Charlie Hustle 2.0.
Corey Italiano wrote:
Couldn’t agree more, Corey. All the bad stories about him seem petty and borne of jealousy. The kid plays hard and seems like exactly what you’d want in a player.
Then again, character is who you are when no one else is watching…
Steve L. wrote:
And since ballplayers are always being watched it’s absurd to think that you or anyone else would know his character, especially since all you’d know of his character is what comes from reports while he’s being watched.
I’m just saying…
No one played the game harder between the lines than Ty Cobb and Pete Rose. But, off the field, they were less than desirable personalities. Just food for thought before building a shrine to Harper.
Note, and I do STRESS, that I am not saying Harper is a bad guy. I dunno?
I am just saying that we need to allow more time to pass before making any judgements.
Steve L. wrote:
I don’t care one bit what people are like off the field or in their private lives. Mickey Mantle was a raging alcoholic and a shameless philanderer but we never talk about that because people actually liked Mickey (as opposed to the contemptible Cobb or Rose, for example). Point is, we don’t know anything about these guys. The ones we think we know…we really don’t.
Steve L. wrote:
Who’s building a shrine? Harper plays the game hard and seems to say/do all the right things. If we can’t celebrate a 19 year old that busts his ass on every play, who can we celebrate? Liking and respecting a player doesn’t constitute shrine-building.
Steve L. wrote:
No, we really don’t. You don’t need to wait “an appropriate period of time” to laud someone for their effort. Harper looks like he’s going to be a great player but, even if he flames out, we can still marvel at the tools he’s flashing right now and be impressed with his hustle and dedication. If he’s a rotten guy at home, so be it. I only care about what a player does on the field. When the game’s over, he’s on his own time and, as long as he’s not breaking any laws, I’m not interested in anything else.
I’m just saying, years and years ago, I was a fan of guys like Bonds, A-Rod and Clemens because I thought they were baseball gods in the making. And, now, years later, I regret thinking about them the way that I did…as a fan.
Steve L. wrote:
And that’s your right. But there are no universal rules to fandom that state that your opinion — or my opinion, for that matter — on these subjects is the law.
I love Clemens and A-Rod. They’re two of my favorite players of all time and nothing has changed that or will change that.
Steve L. wrote:
You say he’s not a bad guy, yet, you have no problem comparing him to a gambler and a racist…
No one’s building a shrine to Harper, just marveling at his talent. Same went for Bonds, Clemens, Rodriguez, Mantle, Cobb or Rose when they were active.