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Some Thoughts on the Respective Bryce Harper and A.J. Brown Dramas
By Nick Piccone
Published:
We’re living in quite the times when two of the biggest faces in Philly sports are using the media to send messages.
But to who exactly? We know Bryce Harper is likely sending a message to John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski, given the quotes he provided to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb in response to Dombrowski’s end-of-season press conference a couple of weeks ago:
“I have given my all to Philly from the start. Now there is trade talk? I made every effort to avoid this. It’s all I heard in D.C. (with the Nationals). I hated it. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
In case you missed it, Dombrowski said, “He’s the one who will dictate [whether he’ll be an elite player again] more than anything else. That’s what it comes down to. I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. And, again, it wasn’t a bad year. But when I think of Bryce Harper, you’re thinking elite, right? You’re thinking of one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think it fit into that category.”
Harper likely realizes the trade talk isn’t coming from anyone that has the ability to make that happen, right?
On the Eagles’ side, we have A.J. Brown posting cryptic tweets after team wins in which he had pretty good stat lines, so whatever has him not outwardly happy, it’s not the numbers.
So, who is it for?
By now, we know exactly how the response to these types of things goes. We have some fans and media telling everyone to ignore the smoke. We have some fans and media pouring gas on the fire. We have some fans and media debating whether trading both, neither, or one of the two.
It’s kind of wild. We joke around about a certain segment of the fanbase overreacting to everything, but then things like this happen, and it gives them the power to say, “See?” even when nothing has happened. Now the offseason will be full of conversation among media and fans debating whether or not Harper should be traded, despite the fact that he has a no-trade clause. They will lament whether or not trading Brown is good for the team overall, despite the massive cap hit the Eagles would take on. Howie Roseman’s dealt with big cap hits before, so that now apparently doesn’t matter when, in all likelihood, he would like to avoid eating a ton of dead money once again.
Of course, owner Jeffrey Lurie might have final say on that, and said as much to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini when he explained that the Eagles will always do what’s best for the team. This gives the Negadelphians more power.
Just a month ago, I wrote about why some fans and media want the wide receiver diva behavior. At that point, Brown wasn’t really involved in the first two games. It’s a little harder to defend the cryptic posts after he’s been eating. I even cited a quote from Brown himself from last season:
“We’re not in it for feelings. We’re not in it trying to hold everybody’s hand. … We’re trying to hold up a Lombardi Trophy. That’s the end goal. So who cares if [the public] wants to spin it and perceive me as a bad guy, that I’m throwing somebody under the bus, who cares? It’s about what we’re trying to do at the end.”
It certainly feels personal at this point. But I’m still not at the point where trading Brown is considered good for the team. He and Jalen Hurts aren’t out there punching each other like the Giants:
Brown isn’t helping quell the narratives that are out there, either. But, honestly, as long as the players inside that locker room don’t have a problem with him or how he handles his business, why should we? And the media has already planted seeds insinuating the hamstring injury isn’t serious enough for him to miss a game, so it’s part of a larger plan to eventually trade him.
This is how the fans and media earn their reputation and then get up in arms when called on it. It doesn’t matter if the percentage of fans clamoring for the trades of Brown or Harper peaks at 12%, the national story will be that we ran them out of town… if the unthinkable happens. It’s always been that way. It’ll continue to be that way.
Nick Piccone has covered Philly sports and events for over 14 years with various outlets, including PhillyVoice and Philly Influencer. In 2015, he co-launched the Straight Shooters Wrestling Podcast. He's also a producer for Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia and 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