The biggest news out of the Nationals 4-0 victory over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon was an incident between Nats 19-year old rookie Bryce Harper and Miami's 48 year old manager Ozzie Guillen. Guillen took exception to Bryce Harper pointing his bat at him, and went on a curse filled tirade where he screamed "F You Kid!" to the chosen one.
Bryce did point the bat a little as if to tell the opposing manager to "look at my bat, anything wrong with it?" After the game, Guillen called the move "unprofessional" and didn't have anything more to say about the situation.
Davey Johnson thought that Ozzie was trying to intimidate his young outfielder and analysts threw around the baseball term "gamesmanship".
If it is a game, then the next move may come from Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie took exception to Harper's gesture and if baseball history tells us anything it is that it is now Ozzie's turn to fire back at Bryce.
So when Bryce Harper comes to the plate in the first inning to face the Marlins fiery pitcher Carlos Zambrano, will a fastball be heading his way?
If that does happen, then the Nationals will have a decision to make. Will they have Edwin Jackson retaliate and throw at Zambrano, get ejected, and face a possible suspension where he will miss a start. Or will they remain calm and let it slide, possibly saving it for their next meeting in August?
Retaliation would be part of the baseball mindset, where you don't let the other team "mess with you". However when you are a first place team like the Nats, remaining calm and collected could be the smart move.
So tune in tonight for the game and find out what happens. There could be a huge show...or there may just be a regular old baseball game.
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