Papelbon-Harper tiff in dugout had little to do with hustle

This apparently is what Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams, once a baseball phenom at UNLV, had in mind:

Before the ninth inning of Sunday's meaningless game against the Phillies — meaningless only because the Nats might have been the most underachieving team in baseball since the Gas-House Gorillas lost to Bugs Bunny in the cartoons — the Washington ballplayers would take the field, and then Williams would pull Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper to take bows on Fan Appreciation Day.

Desmond would get a curtain call because he had been with the Nationals for so long — they still were the Expos when they drafted him — and because he probably won't be back next year, because his contract is up.

Harper, once a baseball phenom at Las Vegas High and the College of Southern Nevada, would receive a big hand because he batted around .750 this year with a bazillion home runs and a bazillion and one RBIs.

But in the bottom of the eighth, Harper popped a short fly into left field and did not run hard to first base. He did not hustle in a Pete Rose style. A lot of today's ballplayers do not hustle as Pete Rose did, because today's players are different. They get easily frustrated. Some also have unruly facial hair.

But Harper not hustling to first base probably would have gone unnoticed had Jonathan Papelbon not gone Boston Strangler on him in the dugout, Boston being the place whence Papelbon came, via stopover in Philadelphia.

There was a scuffle among teammates. It ended with Papelbon's relief pitching hand wrapped around Harper's throat.

Ian Desmond would get his curtain call.

Bryce Harper would not get his.

Harper would not play in the ninth inning. Papelbon was allowed to stay in the game, and got lit up by his former teammates. Matt Williams said he didn't witness any Nat on Nat crime.

Papelbon appeared to be upset with Harper because the latter did not hustle to first base in a Pete Rose style.

It had little to do with hustle.

Earlier in the week, Papelbon had thrown a baseball at Manny Machado after the Orioles' slugger had hit another home run and received a three-game suspension from Major League Baseball, for which he withdrew his appeal Monday. Harper complained in the media about the need and wisdom of retaliation.

A secret code in baseball demands that when one star player is plunked with an errant fastball, then the other team's star player must get plunked the next day, or the next time the teams play, or in spring training next year, or in the 2040 Old Timer's Game.

Bryce Harper is his team's star player. He did not get plunked the next day, but he's not looking forward to the 2040 Old-Timer's Game.

"I mean, Manny freaking hit a homer," Harper said. "Walked it off, and somebody hit him. I mean it's pretty tired. It's one of those situations where it happens, and, I don't know, I'll probably get drilled tomorrow."

One assumes Papelbon did not appreciate being called "somebody" by a teammate, whereas the guy on the other team was called by his first name.

Papelbon, who was suspended another four games for the altercation with Harper by his team, said the dugout contretemps had nothing to do with what happened against the Orioles. He said he was wrong to go Boston Strangler on Harper, he considers Harper a brother, and that sometimes brothers fight. This was after the media was told to wait outside while the Nationals circled the wagons, which is hard to do when the wheels have fallen off and the team has become a rudderless, dysfunctional mess.

"He apologized, so whatever. I really don't care," Harper said. "It's like brothers fighting. That's what happens."

So this "brothers fighting" thing apparently is the best the Nationals could come up with before opening the clubhouse.

By Monday morning, Nationals fans were posting Twitter messages saying they would donate to the team's charity if Washington would trade Papelbon during the offseason, while current and former big league players were saying that Harper got what he deserved.

The hometown kid is a bonafide superstar, and he's having a better season than Roy Hobbs. But as he pulverizes, he polarizes.

He's only 22, and he wears lots of eye black and his cap backwards. He has opinions about stuff. If he were older, like Miggy Cabrera, people probably would cut him slack for not running hard to first base on routine pop flies and having opinions.

Derek Jeter was 40 during his last season, and he rarely had opinions. He always wore his cap with the "NY" in front.

A lot of baseball people seemed to admire Jeter.

Jeter hustled in a Pete Rose style. Remember when he flew into the crowd to catch that foul ball? When he sprinted across the infield to make that relay flip against the A's in the playoffs?

Those were hustle plays.

I was watching a ballgame the other day in which Chicago's Kris Bryant, another Las Vegas phenom of some repute, hit a ground ball that deflected off a Pittsburgh infielder. Bryant, head down, running hard, wound up on second base. He was credited with an infield double.

This deal in the Washington dugout wasn't really about hustle. But had Bryce Harper only run harder to first base, his baseball brother Jonathan Papelbon wouldn't have had an excuse to vigorously massage Harper's neck muscles with his pitching hand.

Harper would have gotten his curtain call, and that would have been nice. Because love him or loathe him, the kid has had a hell of a season.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him: @ronkantowski