Bryce Harper...

[CJF]

Who? This is the All Star game. Harper should be there.

Bourne is having the better year. I love Harper's talent and the way he plays the game. Bourne has carried the Braves for the first half and has better numbers than Harper. Bourne should have made it over Chipper also. Not a fan of sentimental picks for the all star game. Especially now that WS home field depends on the outcome.

[Surfah]

Bourne is having the better year. I love Harper's talent and the way he plays the game. Bourne has carried the Braves for the first half and has better numbers than Harper. Bourne should have made it over Chipper also. Not a fan of sentimental picks for the all star game. Especially now that WS home field depends on the outcome.

During the Nats game today they said Bourne was going to be Desmond's replacement.

[MarkGrace]

Congrats, bryce harper! Very cool.

[UtahDan]

During the Nats game today they said Bourne was going to be Desmond's replacement.

That sucks that Desmond is not playing. He richly deserved the nod.

[Surfah]

That sucks that Desmond is not playing. He richly deserved the nod.

He obviously could based on his jack last night, he's just trying to get his strained oblique some rest. He's still an all star. I think that's pretty mature of him to sit out his first game though to rest. I think he, like the rest of the Nats believe that this could be a special year.

[UtahDan]

He obviously could based on his jack last night, he's just trying to get his strained oblique some rest. He's still an all star. I think that's pretty mature of him to sit out his first game though to rest. I think he, like the rest of the Nats believe that this could be a special year.

I guess what I mean is I wanted to see him play. But it will be fun to see Harper there. It will be interesting to see what unfolds for this team. At the midpoint they seem to be the best of the NL and played .500 ball with the AL East. The things that concern me are the small amount of separation in our own division, hitting consistency (there are games where it still just disappears) and Strasburg has not looked great recently. Still, there is a ton to be optimistic about too and they do seem to have picked up a bit of a swagger.

[Surfah]

I guess what I mean is I wanted to see him play. But it will be fun to see Harper there. It will be interesting to see what unfolds for this team. At the midpoint they seem to be the best of the NL and played .500 ball with the AL East. The things that concern me are the small amount of separation in our own division, hitting consistency (there are games where it still just disappears) and Strasburg has not looked great recently. Still, there is a ton to be optimistic about too and they do seem to have picked up a bit of a swagger.

Desmond with another dinger. 17 HRs and 51 RBIs. Not a bad year. When Werth comes back they're going to have power at 2-7.

[CJF]

Desmond with another dinger. 17 HRs and 51 RBIs. Not a bad year. When Werth comes back they're going to have power at 2-7.

It's too bad that Desmond is missing the game. He's more than earned it. As a Braves fan I am terrified of what the Nats have built long term. Again, Dodger fans take note. Stan is the man.

[MarkGrace]

“I’d rather be a good person off the field than a good baseball player on the field,” he explained. “I wanna be as good as I can be off the field for these fans and this town and I don’t wanna put anything into my body and do anything outside of this clubhouse that’s going to affect this team or anybody in this city or anything like that.

“I give everything I can every single day and I don’t wanna go out, I don’t wanna party, I don’t wanna drink or anything like that,” Harper continued. “So, when someone asks me a question that, I think it’s a little disrespectful and, you know, it was the first thing that came to my mind. Like I said, my body is a temple and I’m not going to put anything in it that will affect me or the way I play because I want to give everything I can for this team and this city every single day.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...yPYW_blog.html

So what happened to the kid that wanted to be Joe Namath?

[Art Vandelay]

Bam-Bam's pimped out AMG

[FN Phat]

Bam-Bam's pimped out AMG

That car is bad ass.

[MarkGrace]

The Mo thing really starting to get more traction.

Harper, a Mormon who doesn't drink and insists he'll never touch a drop of alcohol in his life, can't go out with most of his teammates at night. Even if he's not drinking, he's not old enough to enter a nightclub. He lives alone, and if not listening to country music or watching sports, will study the Food Channel, determining which restaurants to visit on the road.

"I can't really go out at night or anything," he says, "but breakfast is my thing. I love breakfast, especially pancakes. So I try to go out and find get best breakfast and lunch spots. That's my thing."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...ame/56108740/1

Harper's ascent to the major leagues, where he now plays for the Washington Nationals, was full of awe, but it also had some hiccups. Harper has never been shy about showing his talent, and as he conquered each stage of the game, he started showing people up, too. He's blown kisses at a pitcher, drawn lines in the dirt to show umpires where he thought strikes were balls and, overall, been pretty cocky.

That's why a lot of people do a double-take when they find out Harper is Mormon -- and not just check-a-box Mormon, but follow-the-book Mormon. Harper famously doesn't drink (the source of "that's a clown question, bro"), but he also doesn't party or get into much mischief off the field.

It's difficult to imagine the impetuous Harper as a devout anything, but by all reports, he's serious about his faith. And as he becomes a larger figure in American consciousness, he hasn't been shy about acknowledging what he believes and explaining how it fits in with his everyday life.

http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/tim-tebo....html#comments

[TripletDaddy]

Did anyone post Harper's boneheaded fielding error in last nights game? Also, why wasn't it ruled an error?

[MarkGrace]

Did anyone post Harper's boneheaded fielding error in last nights game? Also, why wasn't it ruled an error?

I didn't see it so I couldn't tell you. Did he lose the ball? If so, typically not an error. Did the runner get an extra base? If not, typically not an error.

[Surfah]

I didn't see it so I couldn't tell you. Did he lose the ball? If so, typically not an error. Did the runner get an extra base? If not, typically not an error.

This. He lost the ball. Started straight up and it landed ten feet behind him, no extra base.