Phillies

Bad Bryce Harper Tweets and Takes

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 1st, 2019 · 11:55 AM EST

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There are a lot of them out there. I don’t think any came from me though. Hopefully not.

Some folks believe that it’s better to have a bad take than no take at all, which I fundamentally disagree with. I’d prefer to have no take, which prevents you from ending up on the Freezing Cold Takes Twitter account with stuff like this:

FWIW https://t.co/6x8YGMVdUZ

— Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) February 28, 2019

Yeah? Turns out Randy Miller’s source was incorrect.

Now, I actually kind of like Will Cain. I think he’s good on First Take alongside Stephen A and Max Kellerman. But he’s a Dallas guy and needles Philadelphia when possible, which resulted in this rant:

This is me loving you Philly. But like every sad sack headed for a bad marriage you burn the friend who tells you the truth that she’s not that into you. This is love. We’re far from the shallows now Philly. https://t.co/po6zJ8euxw

— Will Cain (@willcain) February 28, 2019

“You’ve got callers like Mike..” 

Actually, that’s a fair point from Cain.

Kyle didn’t like Jack’s take, after the jump:

https://twitter.com/JackMcCaffery/status/1100193786100154368

Bob wrote the other day about the 94 WIP caller who didn’t want Bryce Harper because he plays right field, which is where you stick the worst kid in little league:

Apparently Angelo was getting ready to organize the booing of the Phils this season, something similar to his Dirty 30 morons who booed the selection of Donovan McNabb back in 1999:

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1101095283105193984

Angelo quickly changed his tune after the signing:

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1101210234436177925

He also got this wrong while trying to pat himself on the back:

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1101210672023719936

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1101218640446324736

Angelo had previously said the Phillies and Harper were stuck over an opt-out, which was later reported not to be true by most of the top baseball writers.

Angelo:

“Phillies are in a staredown with agent Scott Boras over Bryce Harper’s demand for a three-year opt-out in the 10-year, $330-million deal. What do you say, Philadelphia? Should the Phillies say yes?”

So Angelo had the dollar amount right, but the contract length and opt-out were incorrect. Close, though.

Here’s Howard Eskin on Wednesday, thinking that Harper never wanted to play in Philadelphia:

If this story is true and Bryce Harper will sign with the SF Giants, it’s obvious that Scott Boras and Harper played the #Phillies. Seems like he never wanted to play in Philadelphia. II think Harper good but over rated. Money well not spent. @SportsRadioWIP https://t.co/lYudiQ6yPz

— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) February 27, 2019

Looks like WWE’s “Graves,” whoever the hell that is, ended up having to eat this comment:

Tonight on @WWE Monday Night Raw, Announcer @WWEGraves takes a shot at the City of Philadelphia about Bryce Harper#Phillies #RAW #BryceHarper pic.twitter.com/A3O5o2Qasd

— David Malandra Jr (@David_Malandra) February 26, 2019

I had to Google “Graves” to see what his deal is. Looks like he’s from Pittsburgh. He’s a disgusting yinzer.

Not surprisingly, the Crossing Broad comments section was filled with troll trash.

Stuff like this:

Checking in with Skip Bayless:

Phillies now have BRYCE HARPER. Sixers have JOEL EMBIID and BEN SIMMONS and JIMMY BUTLER. Too bad the Eagles don't have a star.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 1, 2019

Skip is right. The Eagles don’t have Pro Bowlers Fletcher Cox or Lane Johnson. They don’t have Carson Wentz or Zach Ertz. They don’t have.. <checks Dallas roster> …Dak Prescott.

https://twitter.com/dr3w_g/status/1101486437843648523

Andrew is right. Harper only has a career .900 OPS with 32 home runs and 91 RBI averaged annually.

Let’s go through those old Andy Martino tweets.. found one:

Have been hearing lately Bryce Harper unsure about Philly. They'd better convince him for their sake.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) February 19, 2019

They convinced him.

I was also a fan of this story from FiveThirtyEight, titled “Bryce Harper May Already Be Past His Prime.”

Travis Sawchik:

The good news for the Phillies is that Harper should help them immediately. Based on 100 simulations run for FiveThirtyEight by Out of the Park Developments, Harper will improve the Phillies from an 80.2-win team in 2019 to an 86.1-win team, though the computer forecasts still had Philadelphia missing the postseason. Harper caps an aggressive offseason for the Phillies, who traded for catcher J.T. Realmuto and shortstop Jean Segura and added notable free agents Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson to a young core led by ace pitcher Aaron Nola and slugger Rhys Hoskins.

But what’s troubling for the Phillies, who are now committed to Harper through his age 38 season in 2031, is that there’s a good chance that Harper has already played his best baseball.

We’ll see.

There’s a treasure trove of trash out there. Get to deleting.