OT: Nats, Wiz, O's, Ravens, Terps, DC United, Navy, Gtown, etc., 2018-2019

[Bananas]

Not sure why Bryce didn’t just go where his heart wanted to be. I see virtually no sense in trading money for happiness when you’re gonna be making 25-30 million a year no matter what.

Bah. Who am I kidding?

Did anyone ever get the sense that he was gonna stick around once he hit FA? From the moment we drafted him I had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be a lifer.

Dude is in love with money ... and the status of having “the richest contract ever”. Dare I say I’m getting the sneaking sensation that this guy’s a M-I-C-R-O?

 

[Ridley Simon]

So— lost in all of this.

Manny got a better deal than Bryce? I mean.....really?

Huh. Everyone thought/said Bryce would get a far better deal than Manny.

Weird

 

[Beef Invictus]

It will be interesting to see how this contract plays out. As I said before, 13 years is a long time. Especially in the City of Brotherly Love.

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out ( I mean...obviously, from a sports perspective, but also as a fanbase experiment). The list of athletes who can make it 13 years in Philly without becoming a whipping boy is short. It's more likely than not that everyone involved will have regrets.

Bednarik
Clarke
Giroux looks like he'll do it


You'd think Mike Schmidt would be on this list but nope, a lot of people hated him because they thought his skill/efficiency were laziness. So...if Schmidt couldn't make it, what happens to Harper when he combines high pay with a tendency to slump, and the occasional braindead defensive play? He also has a hairstyle that people will hate. Jeff Carter was hated in large part due to hairstyle. 35-40 goals a year and good defensive play, nullified by his hair for a ton of people.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Not sure why Bryce didn’t just go where his heart wanted to be. I see virtually no sense in trading money for happiness when you’re gonna be making 25-30 million a year no matter what.

Bah. Who am I kidding?

Did anyone ever get the sense that he was gonna stick around once he hit FA? From the moment we drafted him I had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be a lifer.

Dude is in love with money ... and the status of having “the richest contract ever”. Dare I say I’m getting the sneaking sensation that this guy’s a M-I-C-R-O?

The moment I knew....HR Derby, everyone else wearing their hats...him....dooshy headband. I immediately thought, that’s a guy centered on himself. “Hey look at me”...

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Opening day is a month away...

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Harpers agent said it didn’t matter where he went so long as that was the last team he would play for in his career.

Believe that or not but he did sign a 13 year deal with no opt outs and a no trade clause and he will be 39 when the deal is up. Philly should be his last team.

 

[Silky mitts]

 

[Bananas]

Nailed it ^

 

[notDkristich]

Harper is completely overrated. At 13 years and 330 million its all about his ego. He is an average fielder (or worse), overrated hitter, and completed overrated as a player. And my wife says he is ugly. So take that.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Neil Greenberg is the f***ing worst. He's awful. Speaking as a fellow nerd, he is the worst kind of nerd. He is the kind of nerd who knows nothing about sports or how to build a team but cherry picks stats and calls himself an analyst. Greenberg is the same guy who said the Caps should sign Burakovsky long term and cut bait on Wilson. Dude is garbage.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Bryce is off to a good start in Philly.

 

[Calicaps]

Bryce is off to a good start in Philly.

 

[Hivemind]

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out ( I mean...obviously, from a sports perspective, but also as a fanbase experiment). The list of athletes who can make it 13 years in Philly without becoming a whipping boy is short. It's more likely than not that everyone involved will have regrets.

Bednarik
Clarke
Giroux looks like he'll do it


You'd think Mike Schmidt would be on this list but nope, a lot of people hated him because they thought his skill/efficiency were laziness. So...if Schmidt couldn't make it, what happens to Harper when he combines high pay with a tendency to slump, and the occasional braindead defensive play? He also has a hairstyle that people will hate. Jeff Carter was hated in large part due to hairstyle. 35-40 goals a year and good defensive play, nullified by his hair for a ton of people.

Even Giroux gets the “he’s great but he’s a effing p***y” treatment from a lot of Flyers fans. They want his scoring but with the attitude and play style of Mike Richards or Bobby Clarke.

 

[Silky mitts]

Neil Greenberg is the ****ing worst. He's awful. Speaking as a fellow nerd, he is the worst kind of nerd. He is the kind of nerd who knows nothing about sports or how to build a team but cherry picks stats and calls himself an analyst. Greenberg is the same guy who said the Caps should sign Burakovsky long term and cut bait on Wilson. Dude is garbage.

He wrote Ovy wasn't washed up, just overpaid and past his prime and Ovy won the Hart 4 months later and the Richard 5 out of 6 years since.

 

[Hivemind]

Neil Greenberg is the ****ing worst. He's awful. Speaking as a fellow nerd, he is the worst kind of nerd. He is the kind of nerd who knows nothing about sports or how to build a team but cherry picks stats and calls himself an analyst. Greenberg is the same guy who said the Caps should sign Burakovsky long term and cut bait on Wilson. Dude is garbage, just like Peter Hassett from RMNB.

Don’t lump Hassett in with Greenberg. Not everyone likes Hassetts analysis, but he’s ten times the analyst Greenberg is. Greenberg once tried to use a 4 game pre-season sample size corsi numbers to justify roster decisions when he was still writing for RMNB. Greenberg has no idea how to use numbers.

 

[Hivemind]

Welp, I'm now a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fan. Adbul-Jabbar auctioning off career memorabilia to support kids learning STEM.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Even Giroux gets the “he’s great but he’s a effing *****” treatment from a lot of Flyers fans. They want his scoring but with the attitude and play style of Mike Richards or Bobby Clarke.

For Philly fans that's a downright positive treatment of a long-term star. McNabb was far and away the best QB the Eagles had ever had and that dude was routinely beaten up, for instance. Gonna be interesting to see how things go with Embiid.

I think Harper gets turned on fast.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

For Philly fans that's a downright positive treatment of a long-term star. McNabb was far and away the best QB the Eagles had ever had and that dude was routinely beaten up, for instance. Gonna be interesting to see how things go with Embiid.

I think Harper gets turned on fast.

So the next question...where does he finish out that contract?

I’d wager against it being in Philly.

 

[Beef Invictus]

So the next question...where does he finish out that contract?

I’d wager against it being in Philly.

Who even knows.

Howard made it all the way to the opt-out somehow. They may just stick with him.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Who even knows.

Howard made it all the way to the opt-out somehow. They may just stick with him.

I thought Bryce's contract had no opt-outs? 13 years in Philly... good luck.

 

[Bananas]

I will say this, the Nats apparent lack of “we really want this guy” type of negotiations - they gave him a take it or leave it deal with 100 million in deferred cash - makes it even stupider they they didn’t trade him at the deadline.

It’s almost as if they gave up the players/prospects they could have acquired just so they could say to their fans “See, we tried to keep him!” - even though they really didn’t. It’s terrible asset management.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

 

[Bananas]

Yeah totally two sides to this story. Frankly I think it boils down to the fact that the Nationals weren’t desperate to keep him at his astronomical demands, and Harper didn’t really want to stay because he never really gave a shit about the District. The proof, as always, is in the pudding.

I’m a fan of the city of Washington, and our somewhat new baseball team, WAAAAY more than I’m a fan of Bryce Harper. Ultimately, I wish the Lerners/Rizzo were smart enough to trade his services at the deadline. It would have been a very savvy hedge against him walking for nothing. They always could have gotten involved in the negotiations after the season, and it always seemed clear that the Boras/Harper duo was going to go for the money.

My takeaway from all this is that Bryce is a money grubbing, potential MICRO, jerk. And Rizzo and Co blew a chance to stock the farm.

In the end Bryce is gone, and we’re stuck with the team; so I’m more upset about the latter than I am with the former.

 

[usiel]

Yeah totally two sides to this story. Frankly I think it boils down to the fact that the Nationals weren’t desperate to keep him at his astronomical demands, and Harper didn’t really want to stay because he never really gave a **** about the District. The proof, as always, is in the pudding.

I’m a fan of the city of Washington, and our somewhat new baseball team, WAAAAY more than I’m a fan of Bryce Harper. Ultimately, I wish the Lerners/Rizzo were smart enough to trade his services at the deadline. It would have been a very savvy hedge against him walking for nothing. They always could have gotten involved in the negotiations after the season, and it always seemed clear that the Boras/Harper duo was going to take the money.

My takeaway from all this is that Bryce is a money grubbing, potential MICRO, jerk. And Rizzo and Co blew a chance to stock the farm.

In the end Bryce is gone, and we’re stuck with the team; so I’m more upset about the latter than I am with the former.

In hindsight the lack of anything happen two years before Harper hit free agency was pretty obvious it was about money. Pretty clear that this is the case now. With other core players coming up just didn't make sense to shell out the money plus the damn money dispute with masn doesn't help here. The best thing about Harper signing elsewhere is I don't have to hear my Dad complaining about him, sheesh.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I'm glad the Dodgers didn't sign him. I was afraid they would.