The Old School Flunks the Papelbon-Harper Question

Throneberry Fields Forever ^ | 28 September 2015 | Yours Truly

[BluesDuke]

I think Mike Rizzo has some very loud music to face in the off season. Letting Clippard go was bad enough but then destroying Drew Storen's psyche, again, by demoting him when he was the only bright spot in that dark hole of a bullpen is the last straw for me. Storen was 29 for 31 in save situations! You perform like that and then get demoted?

Indeed.

And it gets even worse, if you can believe that. From this morning's Washington Post I find this:

Williams was asked at length about this week’s dugout unpleasantness, mostly repeating answers he had given previously. He said he doesn’t know or have an opinion on whether Jonathan Papelbon will be on the roster next season, that the organization has taken steps to make sure he would be better informed during a future incident, and that this episode shouldn’t define the team. He also declined to discuss what Harper said in the dugout after the fight, what coaches told him in real time, and whether the incident had roots in the Manny Machado business.

Near the end of the interview, Williams was asked about the “punishment” levied against Harper, who was held out of Monday’s lineup for his role in the Papelbon scuffle but was not formally suspended. Prompted by fans, who have largely taken Harper’s side, [radio host Eric]Bickel asked Williams what Harper could have done differently in the incident to avoid a reprimand from the organization.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what he could have done differently,” Williams said. “The fact of the matter is, that’s an organizational decision. And I don’t know. There’s no good that comes out of any [situation] like that, right? So a skirmish is something we don’t want. That type of behavior from Pap is unacceptable. All of those things we talked about.

“So what could he have done differently? Don’t know,” Williams said. “But he was involved, and the organization decided to do that. So it’s over, it’s done, we have a season to finish, and Bryce will have a fantastic career."

Note the phrasings.

The organisation will keep Williams better informed about things in his own dugout that he should be on top of no matter what he's seeing out on the field?!?

Williams is still sticking to his story about benching Harper for his "involvement" in the Sunday scrum on a day that Harper was originally scheduled to have a day off in the first place?!?

Rizzo and Williams are turning into the Abbott and Costello of baseball and they're not even half as funny. And they don't have a clue who's on first, either.

[Personal Responsibility]

Well, he was traded because he’s gonna be a free agent and the Rays have no wanting to spend the money it’ll take to sign him. Shields was always an up and down pitcher, some great years, some awful. Davis was a starter. He only found success after moving to the bullpen. Hellickson is getting shellacked in Arizona to the tune of a 4.6 ERA.

[pgkdan]

Rizzo and Williams are turning into the Abbott and Costello of baseball and they're not even half as funny. And they don't have a clue who's on first, either.

LOL....very good one.

I agree about the two of them...they're making fools of themselves. They're already in too deep, time to stop digging.

[chajin]

Hellickson is getting shellacked in Arizona to the tune of a 4.6 ERA.

True; I feel sorry for the guy. He was "this close" to being a really good pitcher as our third starter in 2014, and he may still cross that line next season. Nice personality, not a conceited bone in his body, which is a pleasant surprise given his achievements to date (e.g., starter in the 2010 Futures game). He also had the bad luck to be pitching opposite Felix Hernandez when the latter perfect-gamed the Rays; Hellie only gave up one run in seven innings that day, ended up with the loss. At least he's making good money (around $5 mil) in AZ, and my Tempe-residing son gets to see him.

[BluesDuke]

Barry Svlurga of the Washington Post has just presented a full description of, essentially, the case to can Williams . . . and Rizzo. Don't let the title fool you. Papelbon may have been one solvent but the rot goes deeper . . . and with Rizzo defending Williams until the bitter end, it makes Rizzo look just as bad as Williams looks.

In Jonathan Papelbon, Nationals got their closer---and their kiss of death.

[pgkdan]

Wow! What a great article. Things were worse with Matty than I thought.

I wish Desmond had signed that contract. I really believe his struggles this year came from pressing too hard because it was his FA year. Shame.

[Personal Responsibility]

Seems like a good kid but he needs a put-away pitch and/or better control to really succeed. He has the pedigree so writing him off as “can’t do it in the Majors” is silly (look at Jake Arrieta) but he definitely does need something to change.

[BluesDuke]

Desmond isn't the first player who pressed a) in his walk year, or b) upon signing a big new deal trying to live up to the deal. I can remember Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt having a bad (for him) season right after signing his first big big deal, and he admitted later he was trying too hard to live up to it.

[pgkdan]

Werth struggled mightily his year here. I used to sit in section 126...the boos were pretty loud every time he struck out.

[pgkdan]

- in a fit of frustration - he punched a wall and broke his hand. This Nats team was supposed to demolish the NL East. Rizzo and Williams both need to go.

He didn't punch a wall and he didn't break his hand. He slammed his locker door closed and hit his thumb on the metal latch. He broke a bone in his thumb. If I'd given up 4 walks and 3 runs in less than a third of an inning to help blow a 7-1 lead...I'd probably slam my locker door too.