how can you not love the guy after his comments about harper

I didn't know what you were talking about until I looked it up.

"The Orioles 2011 first round draft pick, 18-year-old pitcher Dylan Bundy, had strong words in reaction to Nationals’ prospect Bryce Harper’s blown kiss on a home run Monday night. 105.7 The Fan’s Steve Davis asked Dylan how he would respond if Harper blew him a kiss after going yard to which he responded, “If I was pitching the next game, I would hit him all four at-bats.”

Dylan’s brother Bobby, who pitches for the Orioles at Single-A Freder!ck, agreed with the comments. ”That was a little over the top,”

Harper’s blown kiss has the whole nation talking about baseball etiquette and the gigantic target he has put on his back at just the low-A level. From the Ultimate Warrior facepaint, to the mustache and mohawk, Harper has found ways for fans outside of D.C. to cheer against him."(Baltimore Sun)

Harper's brother said this in response: “Im pretty sure the #Bundys dont want any part of the #Harpers & they need the full story before they start callin people out!”

Can I get a Wooooooooah Bundy! lol. I hope he makes it in the bigs because I think a woah Bundy would be a pretty cool thing for the fans to do whenever he gets a strikeout.

"whenever he gets a strikeout"

... or hits Harper :)

Watch the boxing video on Youtube. No, Harper. You don't want any of that. You may be able to hit the ball, but Dylan would whoop you like thieving crackhead.

That's funny. I like it.

So the “Natinals” made Harper delete his twitter account, since he is an egomaniac. But I also found out that he is ” an ardent fan of the New York Yankees (as well as the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Lakers and Duke)”

That means he is a front runner. He rooted for the teams that were winners during his youth so he could be a winner by association. That is the worst kind of fan there is. Lavern James also rooted for the Yankees and Cowboys.

Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers, Duke?

"No. I'm sure of it, I hate him."
-Val Kilmer, Tombstone

There was an article in the Harrisburg paper this week indicating that Harper thinks he is a sure shot to make the Nationals' Opening Day roster.

I saw him play in Harrisburg last year. He did just about enough to warrant coming back to Harrisburg for the start of this season. If he'd done any less, he'd deserve to be starting 2012 in single-A.

The hype for Harper is so juicy that everybody who cares about that team is now on board for putting him in RF on Opening Day. Cool. Washington will lose a year of "control."

I like to think that Machado will have a better ML career than Harper but that's just personal bias. Both of them are 19 years old and nobody knows what will happen.

"Cool. Washington will lose a year of "control.""

Exactly, if the Nats are smart he'll at least start the season in the minors. I think he has to be in the minors for at least 20 days as I recall. I really don't think he's ready anyway.

Dave Johnson is pushing for Harper starting the year in Washington. Rizzo hasn't made a statement on the subject but there's no reason to in March. I read the Washington Post every morning and the D.C. media seems to be hoping Harper's in RF on Opening Day... something about two games,won or lost, that could be "meaningful" for the Nationals' playoff hopes.

No doubt about it, the Nats have been busy the last couple of years. I can hope that their long-term deals with Werth and Zimmerman are disastrous, Espinosa and Rendon fail, Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson can't locate the strike zone, Morse was a flash in the pan, Strasburg and Zimmermann struggle, etc., but that won't happen. They've done a good job. They have a lot of talent.

Harper will probably have to play his way off Washington's Opening Day 25-man.

"Harper will probably have to play his way off Washington's Opening Day 25-man."

Yeah, but I don't think they will give up a year of team control over it. He's gonna have to spend 20 days in the Minors at some point. May as well be at the beginning of the year.

A year of service is spending 170 of 182 days on a teams active 25 Man Roster in one year. ( more or less)

The super Two kicks in when a player has secured two years of service but less than three
AND is among the top 17 percent for cumulative playing time in the majors in this class of players
AND was on an active major-league roster for at least 86 days in the previous season.

The Nats have two years to secure not having the "Super Two" kick in and three years to set back the "Arbitration Clock". It is usually done in the initial season (Wieters,Longoria). It could follow the scenario of bring him up, he falters to a point of being below replacement, send him back down to secure his service time and learn. If he gets injured while on the 25 all that time counts even if its 60 days. The 60 day and longer scenario usually gets the ball club an extra option year (Bergy, Berken). This extra option year needs to be granted from MLB.

"It is usually done in the initial season (Wieters,Longoria)."

Right.

"It could follow the scenario of bring him up, he falters to a point of being below replacement, send him back down to secure his service time and learn."

Right, but if he doesn't falter than it would seem unjustified by the fans to send him down which is why I said they should start him in the Minors to begin the season and just get it over with.

I think the "Arb Clock" is of more importance at this juncture for the Nats then a win or two early in the season.
The cost of the "Super Two" in in "Millions" while a win or two may only be chump change. With those that have contracts coming due at the same time Harper hits his second year of arbitration may cause the Nats to have to trade players away that are their future. Time will tell.

"I think the "Arb Clock" is of more importance at this juncture for the Nats then a win or two early in the season."

Yup, I agree, and Harper may or may not be the difference for that "win or two" anyway. Either way they need to monitor the clock on him.

The Nats, unlike the Orioles, have a lot invested in this season. They might start Zimermann in their home opener (April 12 against the Reds) so they can get another full house for Strasburg's first home start. Having Harper in the lineup every day, at least against RH pitching, will also draw attention.

That home-opening series with Cincinnati should let them show off Zimmermann, Strasburg, Gonzalez and Jackson to the locals. Baseball is entertainment and the Nats seem to understand that. Washington does play its first 6 games on the road... at Chicago and NY. If they lose to the Cubs and Mets, that'll take the shine off the apple, of course.

I agree that it's foolhardy in the long run but that's some of the the buzz.

Tom Boswell put it in perspective though by saying: "Circle April 26 on your baseball calendar as a potential Harper debut. By keeping Harper in the minors for 21 days to start the season, he couldn’t become a free agent until after 2018, rather than 2017. (That’s the MLB rule.) Obviously, you don’t want to give away a full year of Harper at age 25 for the sake of three weeks this season. If Harper starts opening day, and becomes free agency eligible after 2017, somebody’s lost his mind."

Tom Boswell is absolutely right about this. The Nats would be out of their minds if they didn't secure the extra year.

To sort of restate what I said earlier - if Joe Schmoe had come up to Bowie in the middle of last season and produced the kind of results that Bryce Harper did for Harrisburg, the only question in anyone's mind would be whether Schmoe should start 2012 in Bowie or be sent back to Fred (erick) for a little more seasoning. The possibility that he might make the Orioles' Opening Day roster would be the farthest thing from anyone's mind.

It's all about the hype.