Earlier on Wednesday, we pointed out that Bryce Harper shouldered the blame for the Nationals' loss, claiming his fear of colliding with the outfield wall in San Francisco led to him missing a catch. You would think that would suffice for the teammates he felt he let down, but you'd be wrong, as Rafael Soriano has some things to say about small children and how they know how to play the outfield better than Harper:
Rafael Soriano says ‘4-year-old son’ could make play Bryce Harper missed
But uh don’t worry, he isn’t blaming anyone for their failures.
Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
“It may not have been a catch-able ball, but if we’re positioned the right way, there might have been a different outcome. With two outs, I could tell my four-year-old son, ‘You know where you need to play,’ and he would go to the right spot to make the play. It’s not an excuse, and I’m not speaking badly about anybody, but I think that’s how you play the game.”
“I’m not speaking badly about anybody” doesn’t carry a lot of weight when you’re 1) speaking about a specific non-play by a specific player and 2) claiming a 4-year-old could do what a 20-year-old baseball phenom could not.
Funny, though, that Soriano didn't have anything to say about the 1-2 pitch he left over the plate for Gregor Blanco to annihilate in the direction of Harper:
I wonder if his precocious son knows about waste pitches and quality strikes, and that even a light-hitting player like Gregor Blanco can mash a belt-high hanger?
More important than our snark, though, is that Soriano is typically great at his job. Harper, too, excels. Even the best make mistakes! Sometimes they come on 1-2 counts in the ninth inning, sometimes they come in the outfield, and sometimes they come in post-game interviews.
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