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Some Thoughts on “The Bryce” Being Right
By Nick Piccone
Published:
After another annoyingly pathetic loss to the Marlins Tuesday night, Bryce Harper said publicly that the Phillies need help. You know, something most of us have been saying or thinking since October. We saw what happens when Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber struggle in a playoff series – they won’t win. It’s not ideal to ask three of your starting pitchers to try and pitch perfect games. Who would have thought?
So, Harper needs help:
“I think we need some help. I think we’ve proved, you know, pretty much all year we’ve done a pretty good job. But anytime you can get some help in here, and reinforcements, I think it helps… I think both (an arm and a bat), I think obviously everybody knows what we need. I’ve said it over the last couple of days. We need both.“
“Love the Bryce…”
The people who don’t mind Harper saying the team needs help publicly know he’s right. We still have a few days left until the non-waiver trade deadline, and it’s obvious Dave Dombrowski has been looking at ways to improve this club, despite him “content” back in January. But the Phillies are 3-8 since the All-Star break and have lost four series in a row. Harper is relaying the message from you publicly. If Dombrowski can’t read your tweets or listen to your sports talk radio calls, he heard Harper loud and clear.
While the relationship between Harper and Dombrowski came under the microscope after the latter’s “elite” comments, this seems like a last-ditch effort by Harper to will the front office to help the team before what’s sure to be a lockout-shortened season at the very least next year. Much like CM Punk over a decade ago, maybe he feels like he’s the “voice for the voiceless.” Maybe he’s the Speaker of the Clubhouse if his teammates feel the same way. Maybe they don’t. Maybe they’re annoyed he took to the mic publicly. But given how these guys talk about the clubhouse and team, it’d be hard for me to believe Harper did this purposely to annoy the guys he plays with every day. Gabriel Rincones Jr. cannot start in October.
“Hate the Bryce…”
The people who don’t like what Harper said publicly are basically his haters. And that number has grown the last few seasons. Whether it’s his struggles in the playoffs or his raw milk and toothpaste TikToks, Harper has received more criticism in this city than ever before. I get it when it comes to not performing on the field, but some of the criticism that stems from his off-field hobbies just feels weird. Harper receives some criticism from people who think because it’s their job to talk about sports, he should shut up and swing the bat. God forbid a player has an opinion about his own team not being good enough to win a championship. This is the same thing these talking heads say daily, but you see, they’re allowed to say it because it’s their job. It’s not Harper’s job to have a public opinion about a team he plays for.
“Bringing in his friends” made the team better at the time. If he were actually the general manager, the team might coincidentally be in a better spot.
Now, I understand people are starting to wonder if Harper will stay here for the duration of his contract. Sometimes, players talking publicly leads to player/organization divorces. But this is hardly the first time Harper has publicly had an opinion about a team he plays for. Worrying about whether he’s going to ask for a trade or the organization asking him to waive his no-trade clause drives our emotional need to either pick one side or the other. Apparently, “two things can be true” doesn’t exist in this specific situation for some.
Harper’s having a pretty good year at the plate, and a bad year at first base. He can’t carry the load. Neither can Schwarber. The expectations for Turner are so low we’re only asking him to not make a backbreaking error in crunch time. If we have to lower the expectations for those guys any more, any moves Dombrowski makes might not even matter. But Bryce is right. Whoever’s mad by that is just making noise.
Nick Piccone has covered Philly sports and events for over 15 years with various outlets, including PhillyVoice.com and PhillyInfluencer.com. In 2015, he co-launched the Straight Shooters Podcast, focused on covering the professional wrestling industry. He was a producer at Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia and currently produces broadcast and social media content for the Villanova Sports Radio Network. He grew up in South Philadelphia and South Jersey, and is a graduate of Neumann University. Contact: picconenick@gmail.com