Two weeks ago, I wrote that Drew Storen breaking his thumb against his locker and knocking himself out for the rest of the season was the unofficial symbol of the 2015 Washington Nationals. Following the Nats’ official elimination from the playoffs, I thought our end of season post-mortem would be the final word on this team. I was wrong. Wow, was I wrong.
Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper became the poster for the Nationals’ lost 2015 season on Sunday by getting into a fight in the dugout during the eighth inning of Washington’s 12-5 loss to the Phillies. The literal poster image, as you can see above, was provided by Greg Flume of Getty Images.
That is the face of the Washington Nationals’ franchise with someone else’s hand around his throat. It’s an unbelievable picture. Except it’s totally believable because we’ve seen the footage of Papelbon trying to choke out Harper when the two confronted each other, leading to four or five other people in the Nats’ dugout trying to break up the fight.
Many people joke about how unobjective the MASN broadcast team of Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo is during the Nationals game telecasts. The Nats can seemingly do no wrong when they’re on the call. It’s almost embarrassingly positive toward the home team. Yet not even Santangelo could sugarcoat what happened as he was narrating a replay of the Papelbon-Harper scrum. “It’s getting ugly, folks,” he said. “There’s no other way to put it.”
Confrontations between teammates surely happen frequently throughout a MLB season. Especially when so many things have gone wrong and frustrations build, as they have for the Nationals. Some of those altercations even happen in the dugout. Players get in each other’s faces, maybe there’s finger-pointing or even a shove.
But Papelbon reaching out to put his hand on Harper’s throat crosses a line, doesn’t it? Maybe not, when it comes from the players’ point of view.
On MLB Network, analysts Joe Magrane and Mike Lowell (a former teammate of Papelbon) seemed to think this was just two strong personalities clashing and Papelbon’s actions were all right. Magrane even seemed to place the blame on Harper, pointing out more than once that he’s 22 years old and perhaps needs to be more of a team player than focusing on his own achievements and goals in regards to how he approaches the game. Fox Sports’ C.J. Nitkowski polled several former players, all of whom took Papelbon’s side as the veteran teaching the upstart a lesson. Even if we’re talking about a reliever versus an everyday player who’s going to be NL MVP.
I was surprised by that reaction. Actually, I was shocked. Immediately after news of the fight broke, I presumed this would be the first time that everyone — fans, commentators, analysts, players, coaches, executives, etc. — would root for Harper, who’s been a polarizing figure throughout his baseball career. Apparently, I was wrong about that and don’t understand that Harper violated some clubhouse ethics by calling Papelbon out earlier in the week when he threw at Manny Machado’s head and was ejected from a ballgame (and subsequently issued a suspension).
Maybe I’m focusing more on Papelbon going for Harper’s throat, especially when looking at Flume’s photo. I think that’s a perfectly normal, human reaction. Nitkowski is right when he says that a MLB clubhouse can’t be compared to a regular workplace. If you or I put our hands on a co-worker’s neck and pushed him up against the wall until we were separated by four or five of our colleagues, I think it’s safe to presume that we would either incur a significant penalty or would no longer be employed by that company. Yet this is allowed because Harper’s veteran teammates might think he’s a petulant kid? Punk had it comin’? Even though he actually did run to first base on a shallow fly ball?
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 27: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals is pulled away by Ian Desmond #20 after an altercation with Jonathan Papelbon #58 (not pictured) in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park on September 27, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
We are shown on a nearly daily basis that real life and sports life don’t exactly occupy the same world. So maybe that’s why Papelbon was inexplicably allowed to pitch the following inning. But if actual justice didn’t apply, karmic justice apparently decided to rule on the situation. Papelbon served up a home run, walked two batters and hit another on his way to allowing five runs (two earned) in the ninth inning, putting a tied ballgame out of reach for the Nationals and demonstrating for all why a team widely picked to win the World Series was eliminated from the playoff chase with a week remaining in the regular season.
Following the game, manager Matt Williams provided the latest example of why he shouldn’t be the Nationals manager as of Oct. 5. Asked by reporters why he left Papelbon in to pitch after attacking a teammate, Williams simply said, “He’s our closer.” Never mind that the closer was probably rattled enough to have been taken out of the ballgame mentally, and showed that was the case when he took the mound in the ninth.
Hours later, according to James Wagner of the Washington Post, Williams made the effort to contact reporters and offer further (weaker) explanation. Williams said he wasn’t aware of the fight because he was on the other end of the dugout, and besides, the melee only lasted for a few seconds. Only after viewing TV footage of the incident did he realize what happened and immediately regretted his decision to keep Papelbon in the game.
OK, maybe that’s plausible. Major league dugouts in modern ballparks are enormous and perhaps Williams’ attention was focused on the field. Yet it defies explanation that the manager wasn’t aware of what happened in his dugout, especially when two of his coaches were involved in the scrum. At the very least, wouldn’t he have learned about the fight when Harper didn’t go out to his position in the ninth inning? (Or, like one of the former players Nitkowski talked to, did Williams think Harper quit on his team?)
This makes Williams look clueless and ineffective as a dugout and clubhouse leader. “Lack of institutional control” gets college coaches fired and programs put on probation. Even if you say these are grown-up players who ultimately police themselves, don’t the fight and Williams’ apparent ignorance show that the manager has no control over his team?
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 08: Manager Matt Williams #9 of the Washington Nationals talks with Yunel Escobar #5 during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on September 8, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
If general manager Mike Rizzo was deliberating over whether or not to fire Williams, this situation surely makes the decision easier. Poor game management aside, Williams has shown a complete inability to motivate his players and impress any urgency upon them as the NL East and a wild-card bid slipped away. We now know he has no authority over his clubhouse either.
The question now becomes whether or not Papelbon follows Williams out of D.C. As the manager explained, he’s the Nats’ closer and set to be paid $11 million next season. That’s a salary few teams are willing to pay, if for no other reason than it’s an above-market salary. Closers aren’t worth that kind of money anymore.
But then you factor in the personality. If the Nationals’ clubhouse was fragile before Papelbon joined the team, he blew it up soon thereafter. How many clubs are willing to add that? Would the Cubs and Joe Maddon want Papelbon anywhere near their young players? How do you like Brad Ausmus’ chances of dealing with this if Papelbon joined the Tigers? The same goes for Don Mattingly and the Dodgers. This guy isn’t worth the headaches he causes.
If Rizzo wants to avoid a different kind of headache, he’ll take care of this in the offseason so Harper isn’t alienated. If Williams and Papelbon return, it’s pretty clear that the Nationals don’t have his back. Even if Harper is destined to leave D.C. once he becomes a free agent after 2018, any thoughts of re-signing with the team are likely out the window. Maybe he’ll even demand to be traded and become a more disruptive presence than Papelbon.
Rizzo already has a considerable mess to clean up, but that task could become a disaster if he doesn’t handle this correctly. It’s pretty clear which is the right choice to make for the future of the Nationals.
