Bryce Harper and Nyjer Morgan Show Promise, Petulance of Nationals

Bryce Harper’s line from his game with the College of Southern Nevada yesterday looks like a typo the first time you see it. Then it seems like a hoax. ↵↵Then awe sets in.↵

↵↵In a must-win game, Harper would have to produce to keep CSN’s season from ending. “That was in my mind. I did not want that to happen,” he said. “I came into this game saying, ‘I need to pick it up for my team,’ … and maybe hit a few bombs.” He left it with everyone else saying “Whoa.”↵

↵↵⇥⇥⇥Harper did better than that, hitting four home runs to lead CSN to a 25-11 victory over Central Arizona and launch the Coyotes (49-14) to next weekend’s Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. ⇥⇥⇥↵⇥↵⇥⇥⇥... ⇥⇥⇥⇥↵⇥

↵⇥⇥⇥⇥↵⇥↵⇥⇥⇥Harper also doubled and tripled and finished the game 6-for-6 with 10 RBIs. He homered in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.⇥⇥⇥↵⇥

↵↵On one hand, Harper’s playing in a college league that isn’t quite on par with NCAA competition, and he’s been destroying the league all season. On the other hand: He went 6-for-6, slammed four homers, added a double and a triple, and drove in 10 runs.↵↵That’s a day everyone who saw that game can tell distant relatives about. It’s insane. It’s absurd. (It could have been his second consecutive cycle, but Harper homered in his last at-bat. “Some people said, ‘He needs a single for cycle.’ I said, ‘I don’t care. I want him to hit another home run,’ ” CSN coach Tim Chambers said.) ↵

↵↵It’s also a microcosm of why Harper’s going to be the number one pick in the MLB Draft, unless the Nationals, who own the pick, decide it doesn’t make sense to give a 17-year-old $15 million.↵

↵↵But while Harper’s currently a catcher, maybe the Nats could make him into an outfielder. They would probably like to replace Nyjer Morgan today, after his epic tantrum created an inside-the-park home run.↵

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↵↵That’s one heck of a reaction to a missed catch. Morgan explained after the game that he thought the ball bounced off his glove for a home run. This would make sense as an explanation, except that Morgan could have looked around to make sure that happened before throwing his fit.↵

↵↵That play didn’t actually seal the Nats’ fate—they rallied to win 7-6—but it’s the second inside-the-parker that a Morgan miscue has led to this week. (Angel Pagan legged one out on Wednesday.) ↵

↵↵And this is exactly the sort of thing that makes Nationals fans pine for Harper. Perhaps, if the Nats pony up for him and bring Stephen Strasburg up, the team can sustain its early surprise success and leave behind the Major League-type mishaps like the one involving Morgan.↵

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