Phillies-Nats, earlier tonight: Cole Hamels practiced Bryce Harper with 2 outs in the 1st. Harper then stole home, so joke was on Cole. But none of that would matter much, since Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann buckled in the fourth, & the Phillies won 9-3.
No, he didn't exactly ask for a plunking, but Harper's attitude (it's called Natitude, actually) goes in part to vex the opponent. Perhaps we imagined this kind of behavior had value in hockey only, where Jarkko Ruutu and Sean Avery made careers out of it, but Harper and his free base show that it doesn't make for bad baseball, either.
Nor does plunging, we'd add. There's nothing wrong with unsettling an eager hitter. But now that Hamels has copped to targeting Harper, MLB will probably get involved, as it does, & we'll soon have another snoozer of a national conversation about conduct befitting our pastime. Meanwhile, Harper's haircut will remain unpunished.
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