Bryce Harper Finally Hits Something, His Face

As the camera cut to Bryce Harper in right field after a throw, you could see a giant stream of blood running down his face.  The TV announcer had said he saw Harper take a bat into the dugout hallway, after going 0-4, and when he came back out he was "cut wide open" as they say in wrestling.

Apparently, Harper went out of camera view and took some swings at the wall, and the bat swung back. (Washington Post)

Even in a game where he went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and stranded 5 runners, in a game where the Nationals bats came alive and they scored 11 runs and picked up a win, Harper made himself the story of the game.  It looked like he loved the fact that he was bleeding out there.

The incident which required Harper to get 10 stitches above his eye didn't keep him out of the game.  It happened in the 7th and he stayed in to bat, and strikeout, in his 5th at bat before Davy put Nady in to finish the game in the field.

One of the things that Harper was praised for during his first few MLB games was his hustle.  He was running out routine ground balls and taking extra bases.  However, during a ground out at bat on Friday night, the one before he smashed up his face, Harper jogged out the grounder to the 2nd baseman.

You can see the look in Harper's eyes that he is frustrated.  The blank look on his face after he strikes out tells you everything.  It makes me wonder if Davy Johnson didn't trust Harper as a rookie too much.  The other day, I wrote about how Harper is not being treated like an ordinary rookie, but with this slump and with the effect it is having on Harper, maybe he should be.

There are 2 schools of thought on this issue.  You could keep Harper in the 7th slot for most of the year and take all the pressure off of him.  Or you could challenge the young player to step up and fight through adversity.  Typically I like the latter, but with a 19 year old it could be tricky.

It appears this incident won't keep Harper out of the lineup (unless Davy gives him a personal day) so we will see how Harper bounces back and we will see how Davy plays him going forward.  I can't wait for Harper to step up and get on track.