After playing in every game of the spring so far, Bryce Harper finally got a day off on Wednesday. And a well-deserved day off, too. Harper spent part of his day doing an interview with Peter Gammons for MLB Network: see photo above of Harper with Gammons, via @NationalsPR.
Harper's aggressiveness apparently got the best of him on Tuesday; bet this won't be the last time you read those words over the next few years. Adam Kilgore of the Washington described it:
Harper’s most notable play, though, came on the base paths. With one out, Harper stood on first base when Wilson Ramos hit a dribbler to third. As Martin Prado charged and whipped the ball across the diamond, Harper bolted around second base. He paused for a moment, then started again toward third.
Freddie Freeman threw the ball back across the field, and Harper fell over trying to stop himself. Prado tagged him out to end the inning.
(via Natioals Journal, 3/5/2012)
Oh well. That's what spring training is for. Meanwhile, here's Ian Desmond on Harper's new toned-down personality in the clubhouse, via the Washington Times' Amanda Comak:
"I think last year he realized he was maybe a little bit too abrasive, and this year he’s toned it down a notch. He’s a little more humble. He realizes that the job is his and he’s trying to do everything he can to get it. I’m pulling for him, to be honest."
(Ian Desmond, via Washington Times, 3/5/2012)
Meanwhile, while Harper rode the pine, a guy named Carlos Maldonado is now out-homering Baseball's LeBron 1-0, accomplishing the feat on the same day J-Zimm made his first start of the spring.
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