Should have seen this one coming. After commenting on Jonathan Papelbon’s reaction to Manny Machado “showing him up” on a home run hit by Machado on Wednesday night, Papelbon took exception and went after Bryce Harper as he came into the dugout after an at-bat on Sunday. Reports say that it was due to Papelbon taking exception to Harper not running out a pop out. This is the best angle of how it started.
https://twitter.com/RobertMurrayBBE/status/648227369119936512
Papelbon’s tenure with the Nationals has been tumultuous to say the least. His general behavior after joining the team notwithstanding, it also pushed Drew Storen out of the closer’s role after Storen was having a career year, a move that Storen could not have been happy about. Weeks later, Storen broke his hand in frustration after giving up a home run, but it’s widely believed his frustration over his new role contributed to that specific action.
The Nationals slide can’t be completely attributed to Papelbon, but he stands out as the symbol of a team’s drastically underperforming season. This will also most certainly be the death knell for Matt Williams, as his handling of the team down the stretch and his lapses in judgement are starting to rear its ugly head in the form of team-wide angst and frustration. The Nationals are an absolute mess, and this fight is without a doubt the low point of the season for a team once thought of as a shoe-in for a playoff spot in the National League.
