Bryce Harper: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo Obliterates Cole Hamels in Defense of OF

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels had to know he was opening a can of worms when he admitted to throwing at Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper. Even Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo decided to unload on the ace.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post passed along thoughts from the front office executive, who didn't hold back after hearing about Hamels' comments.

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"Players take care of themselves," Rizzo said after I called him this morning. "I’ve never seen a more classless, gutless chicken [bleep] act in my 30 years in baseball.

"Cole Hamels says he’s old school? He’s the polar opposite of old school. He’s fake tough. He thinks he’s going to intimidate us after hitting our 19-year rookie who’s eight games into the big leagues? He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with."

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Harper definitely seemed to take care of it himself with base running normally reserved for savvy veterans. He took third on a single and proceeded to steal home, surely motivated by the plunking a couple minutes earlier.

He has provided a spark for the upstart Nationals, pushing them into first place in the NL East, a division that has been owned by the Phillies for the past five years. So it shouldn't be a surprise to see him become a target for opposing teams.

Whenever a prospect with as much hype as Harper receives is promoted, players around the league tend to scoff. After all, he has been in the spotlight more in nine games than some players have been in their entire career.

Harper should understand by now that he's not going to be treated warmly by opposing teams until he earns the level of respect the media has already attempted to grant him.

That said, Rizzo was wise to immediately defend his star. Doing so with such strong wording makes it seem almost like a rallying cry for his own team.

Not many people expected the Nationals to have sole possession of first place one week into May, so an incident like this can serve as motivation for the team to keep defying expectations.

Rizzo went on to mention the current bounty scandal surrounding the New Orleans Saints for attempting to hurt players. He said it should be a sign to MLB commissioner Bud Selig that action must be taken against Hamels for his admission.

The league hasn't made any statements about the issue, but a suspension is certainly within reason because of Hamels' loose lips. While he wanted to convey a tough-guy image, he might have also earned himself a start or two on the bench.

It's an incident that should make the rivalry between the Nationals and Phillies a lot more interesting. With Washington's days as a cellar dweller seemingly over and Philadelphia not prepared to relinquish the division, the next 15 games between the two teams will have a lot of tension.

Judging by all the comments over the past few days, neither side is prepared to back down.