Bryce Harper

If Cole Hamels was an everyday player, the five-game suspension the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher received for intentionally hitting Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch might be considered significant. For pitchers, however, five games is next to nothing -- one start at best. And in Hamels' case this week, the suspension actually does amount to nothing as he really won't miss a turn in the rotation. He began serving the suspension Monday night, the day after the incident occurred.

"I want him to play 100 miles an hour with his hair on fire. " - Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo , to the Washington Post, rejecting suggestions that Bryce Harper should play cautiously in the outfield after injuring himself crashing into the wall at Dodger Stadium. "I don't answer to fans. They don't play this game. … They have absolutely no idea what it means to be a professional teammate at this level. " - New York Mets Manager and former Angels manager Terry Collins , on criticism for using Jordany Valdespin to pinch-hit one day after Valdespin angered the Pittsburgh Pirates with a bat flip and slow trot after homering in a 7-1 loss.

Bryce Harper, the 19-year-old rookie outfielder for the Washington Nationals, continues his march toward the record for the most home runs in a season by a teenager in the major leagues after hitting his 19th on Friday night. Harper, possibly the most-hyped player to come along since Ken Griffey Jr. more than two decades ago, drove in the Nationals' only run in a 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves with a homer into the left-field stands in the sixth inning. The opposite-field shot moved him into second place overall and No. 1 all-time among National Leaguers, ahead of New York Giants slugger Mel Ott, who hit 18 homers as a 19-year-old in 1928, his third season in the majors.

A clean-shaven Bryce Harper stood in the visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, 11 stitches tracing a line under the chin of the young Washington Nationals star. The night before, Harper was chasing a fly ball when he crashed into an unpadded part of the right-field wall that features an electronic National League scoreboard covered by transparent plastic and a coated chain-link-style screen. Harper's legs, shoulder, ribs, hand, wrist and chin were sore, he said, but he did not suffer a concussion.

Bryce Harper had a great opening day, homering in his first two at-bats as the Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins, 2-0. To top it off, it was his first major league opening day, making it extra special for him. Many players will save a memento from their first opening day, be it a game ball, cap or jersey. Harper wanted to save his jersey. Something to show the grandkids one day. "This is the jersey I wore when I homered twice..... " Well, the Nationals had different ideas.

Bryce Harper has Twitter abuzz Wednesday morning. But all the fuss isn't just about the monster game he had Tuesday for the Washington Nationals -- it's about what he said afterward. One line in response to a query from a reporter in Toronto following the Nationals' 4-2 win over the Blue Jays: "That's a clown question, bro. " Harper had just posted his second straight three-hit game -- one that included the longest home run of his young career -- to help the upstart Nationals win their fifth straight game and pull to a four-game lead in the National League East.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels freely admits he intentionally hit Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper with a pitch in the first inning of Sunday night's game.  “I was trying to hit him,” Hamels said. “I'm not going to deny it.” The move -- and the blunt admission afterward -- is likely to cost Hamels a suspension from Major League Baseball. But at least he had a good reason for plunking the 19-year-old emerging star ... right? “That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened.

Bryce Harper, the rookie phenom on the once lowly Washington Nationals, will dig into the batter's box and look to exact some more revenge against the Phillies' lefthander Cole Hamels on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. The last meeting of the two ended with Hamels being suspended and Harper rubbing a sore back as the Phillies pitcher “welcomed” the rookie into the league with a 93-mph purpose pitch to the kidneys ( see video above ). After the game, when reporters asked Hamels about the first pitch to the Nationals' right fielder, the pitcher simply said: “I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it. I'm not trying to injure the guy. They're probably not going to like me for it, but I'm not going to say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message.” And in case you didn't get the message, Hamels continued, “[It's the]

WASHINGTON -- Perhaps no one has been more enamored of Washington Nationals' rookie slugger Bryce Harper than his fellow Nevadan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid, a great lover of baseball, brings up Harper almost weekly in his press briefings on Capitol Hill, including Tuesday, when, in a display of pop-cultural proficiency, Reid popped off with "That's a clown question, bro" -- Harper's put-down gone viral -- when asked a political question on Capitol Hill. Reid was being questioned about the muted Republican response to President Obama's decision to allow young illegal immigrants a temporary reprieve at deportations, a policy that grew from the Dream Act. Mitt Romney, the presumed GOP presidential nominee, has yet to substantially address the issue, and fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill are largely holding their opinions until he does.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels has been suspended five games for intentionally throwing at Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper. "I was trying to hit him," Hamels said after Sunday's game, during which he hit Harper in the back with a pitch in the first inning. "I'm not going to deny it. " Major League Baseball announced the penalty Monday. Hamels also was fined an undisclosed amount. Hamels added, "It's just, 'Welcome to the big leagues.' " Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann hit Hamels in the leg with a first-pitch fastball two innings later.

With a season-best performance on the vault and a steady finish on the uneven bars Friday, UCLA qualified for the NCAA women's gymnastics team finals. Joining the Bruins in the six-team finals Saturday will be Florida, Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma. The Bruins tied with Oklahoma for second place in the evening semifinals with a score of 197.200 points. Alabama won the evening semifinals with a score of 197.350 to join three other Southeastern Conference representatives in the finals.

Bryce Harper had a great opening day, homering in his first two at-bats as the Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins, 2-0. To top it off, it was his first major league opening day, making it extra special for him. Many players will save a memento from their first opening day, be it a game ball, cap or jersey. Harper wanted to save his jersey. Something to show the grandkids one day. "This is the jersey I wore when I homered twice..... " Well, the Nationals had different ideas.

THE CONTENDERS 1. WASHINGTON (4-1) Three names: Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper 2. SAN FRANCISCO (3-2) Best starting rotation in the major leagues 3. DETROIT (3-2) After reaching Series in '12, Cabrera, Verlander hungry to win one this year 4. CINCINNATI (3-1) Stable lineup, stable manager will soften loss of OF Ryan Ludwick 5. DODGERS (2-2) Guggenheim Partners' pockets deeper than the Marianas Trench 6. BALTIMORE (3-1) Had first winning season in 15 years in 2012 7. TAMPA BAY (2-2)

A baseball postseason in Washington is as rare as bipartisanship in that city. Hall of famer Walter Johnson got the Washington Nationals to the World Series in 1924 and 1925. But when was the last time a Washington team reached postseason? Why it was the Washington Senators in 1958. Of course, getting to the World Series required Satan's help. Joe Boyd, middle-aged Senators' fan, is transformed into Shoeless Joe Hardy by the Devil in the movie “Damn Yankees.” While he makes the hapless Senators a contender, Hardy sours on the deal and tries to use an escape clause.

What price victory? Well, Nebraska set the price at $1 million. That's what the Cornhuskers are paying Arkansas State for Saturday's game in Lincoln. Alabama may have "The Million Dollar Band," but Arkansas State can now post "The Million Dollar Paycheck. " Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne told t he Associated Press in an email the fee is so high because Nebraska is not returning a game at Arkansas State. Nebraska paid Southern Mississippi $300,000 for a game earlier this season but the Cornhuskers are returning the game next year.

Less than a year ago, Florida State running back Chris Thompson lay in a North Carolina hospital with two broken vertebrae in his back, an injury he sustained in a game against Wake Forest. Thompson had led Florida State in rushing the previous season, but it looked like his career might be over. Turns out, far from it. Thompson returned to the Florida State backfield against Wake Forest on Saturday, seeing his first extended action of the season for the fifth-ranked Seminoles And celebrating with a couple of extended touchdown runs.

Dodgers utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. was in the Washington Nationals' spring training camp with Bryce Harper last year. Hairston spent a few more days with Harper during the season while on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment with the Nationals' double-A affiliate. Harper, 19, will make his major league debut on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. But as amazed as Hairston is at how advanced Harper is at 19, that isn't what he thinks about when he looks at him. “I look at it different,” Hairston said.

Bryce Harper, the 19-year-old rookie outfielder for the Washington Nationals, continues his march toward the record for the most home runs in a season by a teenager in the major leagues after hitting his 19th on Friday night. Harper, possibly the most-hyped player to come along since Ken Griffey Jr. more than two decades ago, drove in the Nationals' only run in a 2-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves with a homer into the left-field stands in the sixth inning. The opposite-field shot moved him into second place overall and No. 1 all-time among National Leaguers, ahead of New York Giants slugger Mel Ott, who hit 18 homers as a 19-year-old in 1928, his third season in the majors.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The lockers of Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw were next to one another in the National League clubhouse, and Kershaw wasted no time throwing a recruiting pitch at Hamels. "You'd look good in Dodger blue," Kershaw told him. Hamels, the premier pitcher eligible for free agency, grew up in San Diego. He said he would be interested in the Dodgers or Angels, although he was not so sure the Angels would be interested in him. PHOTOS: 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game "The Angels are pretty set, aren't they?"