Nationals suspend Papelbon 4 games after fight with Bryce Harper

How Papelbon, who is owed million next season, and Harper, the Nationals’ cornerstone, will co-exist remains to be seen.

Harper, at age 22, is odds-on favorite to be this season’s National League Most Valuable Player.

Papelbon was acquired from the Phillies in a trade in late July in hopes of a possible postseason push. He was immediately installed as the team’s closer.

Jonathan Papelbon #58 of the Washington Nationals is restrained by Wilson Ramos #40 after being thrown out of the game in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park on September 23, 2015 in Washington, DC. He threw that pitch shortly after wrapping his hands around the throat of superstar and likely National League MVP Bryce Harper.

Like mid-90s Rodriguez, Harper is great, young and mostly plays hard. “But, you know, I think we’ll worry about that when that comes [around]”. “I’m not going to judge his entire career on one incident”, he said. For me, I can’t allow that to happen in the middle of a game.

When asked about the altercation after the game, Papelbon stated that they had talked things out. “That’s all I’m going to say on the matter”.

“He apologized, so, yeah”. “I really don’t care….”

Both players dismissed the issue by comparing the incident to brothers fighting.

“The behavior exhibited by Papelbon yesterday is not acceptable”, General Manager Mike Rizzo said in a written statement. Then Major League Baseball players as a whole did so once again afterward by anonymously ripping Harper, not Papelbon.

Papelbon was suspended and fined for his actions against Machado, but that’s not necessarily common. You’ll be shocked to learn that he allowed a go ahead home run to the Phillies and loaded the bases before he was pulled from the game. Machado called Papelbon’s antics “coward stuff” and Harper concurred, saying it was “pretty exhausted”. “Manny freakin hit a homer, walked it off and somebody drilled him”. Nobody got hurt. I imagine that they probably settled it and thats the sort of thing that helps create an equilibrium in the clubhouse. Nationals manager Matt Williams said earlier today that Papelbon will not travel with the team on its season-ending road trip as the veteran reliever serves his two suspensions.

More than a lack of closure or missing out on a show of appreciation, Zimmermann said he was just disappointed with the results he got in what might be his last start as part of the Nationals’ rotation.

In 2014, Washington were 96-66 and made the first-round of the playoffs before being ousted in four games against the San Francisco Giants.

Harper left the game and didn’t return in the top of the ninth.

Manager Matt Williams, in a second season at the helm of a Washington Nationals franchise on the rocks, said it has been a rough 24 hours for the organization. They were picked by many to win the division.

Harper is batting.336 with a.467 on-base percentage and.658 slugging percentage this season.