UFC champ Daniel Cormier says Jonathan Papelbon’s form was ‘terrible’ in choke

It was later revealed that, although the Washington Nationals are by now statistically eliminated from the playoffs, Jonathan Papelbon took serious issue with Harper and his apparent lack of effort on the play. Is Jonathan Papelbon really a guy that can stick around in Washington? The gossip Web site came across Daniel Cormier on Monday for one of its impromptu sidewalk interviews, and what better to ask of an MMA star than what he thought of the fight? You’ve earned that right. That’s the way [John Smoltz] went about it. All the great closers I played with, they’re not gonna get down there in the first inning.

Harper, who is a leading contender for the National League MVP award, was shouted at by Papelbon for what he believed was Harper’s failure to run hard when he hit a fly-out. Not always in front of TV cameras, perhaps, but teammates do get into fights with each other. “That bothered me”.

That adds up to a seven-game suspension – or one more than Washington has left in its disappointing 2015 season.

Papelbon’s season is over.

Last week, after he hit Baltimore slugger Manny Machado (who homered in previous at-bat) with a pitch, Major League Baseball suspended Papelbon for three games. Which was probably the most, if not the only intelligent decision he’s made since becoming a Nat in the first place.

On Sunday, after Harper flied out in the eighth inning against Philadelphia, he headed to the dugout, where he and Papelbon exchanged words. Then he turned to return to the dugout.

Harper was asked after Monday’s game what the club expected him to do differently once Papelbon’s hands were on his throat.

Did the coaches make a mistake by not telling Williams?

The Nationals dealt for Papelbon in July.

“Now that I’ve had a chance to view the videotape, I would absolutely not have sent him back out there”, Williams said, according to James Wagner of The Washington Post.

“He was involved in it”, Williams told reporters.

“Everybody’s adrenaline and emotions are all over the place, and it happens”, said David Ortiz, who played with Papelbon on the Boston Red Sox. The fighter didn’t specify, but he probably wasn’t thrilled with Papelbon’s technique in reaching out toward Harper’s neck from a facing position.

Let’s be clear on one thing: Papelbon was in the wrong for not only putting his hands on a teammate, but acting like it was his job to admonish the 22-year-old Harper, whether he warranted it or not.

Before the Nationals signed Papelbon, they were 52-46 with a one game lead in the division and have gone 27-30 since, losing 10 ½ games to the Mets.

After Harper disappeared into the Nats’ clubhouse following the scrum, Papelbon could be seen leaning against the dugout rail with a pronounced smirk on his face. Naturally, Papelbon gave up a go-ahead two-run homer and was booed when he was pulled with the bases loaded.