Nationals Arm Race

I'm going to miss the Warpaint. Photo thebiglead.com

I am being facetious of course.  You’ll probably never see more ink about a meaningless spring training game than this one, but phenom Bryce Harper‘s professional debut is worth the effort.  In the Nats 9-3 win yesterday over the Mets Harper batted twice and struck out twice.  He faced two journeymen relievers and fell victim to the same culpret that caused him to strike out frequently in the AFL: the off speed pitch.

It doesn’t mean he cannot hit them; it means he is still a jumpy, antsy 18-yr old who is probably like a kid in the candy store right now and he is over-eager to swing and show everyone who he is.  The key to hitting off speed stuff is patience.  You have to look for the fastball and adjust for the offspeed stuff.  He’s not there yet, and that (in the absence of all the other reasons) is the primary reason he needs minor league time.  He needs time to get into the routine, to learn how to play games every day for 4 months, to adjust for slumps, to play the game “slow” instead of excited fast.

Remember, if he was playing by the rules he’d be in his senior year of high school right now.  That’s hard to fathom really.  And we gloss over that fact all the time (kinda like the way we glossed over Michelle Wie competing on the LPGA as a 13 yr old.  A 13yr old!  She made the cut at the Womens US Open at the same age you and I were in 7th grade.  Still kinda amazing).  So, lets enjoy him in major league camp while he’s there and then wait for him to (hopefully) tear up Hagerstown and Potomac this summer.