Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper Runs Into Wall, Launches A Thousand Posts

Davey Johnson, as usual, had the line of the night. "I feel sorry for the walls," the Washington Nationals' manager joked, "because [Bryce Harper is] going to keep running into them." The Nats' 20-year-old outfielder ran face first in the fenced out-of-town scoreboard in Dodger Stadium's right field wall during last night's Nationals' win over the Los Angeles. It was a scary few moments as Nationals fans held their breath and hoped the 2010 no.1 overall pick hadn't knocked himself out. Harper got to his feet, argued to stay in, but eventually left the field under his own power, lines of blood trickling down each side of his neck from a cut on his chin which required 11 stitches.

The Nationals' manager said the first tests showed no signs of a concussion, but there will likely be a few more tests and a couple days off for Harper, who appeared dazed as he left last night's game. If you don't want to watch the Nats' franchise player come real close to seriously injuring himself, turn back now. If not, it's link time and there are lots of them to follow, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!:

• NATS BEAT:

• "Leading off the fifth inning, Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis roped a line drive over [Bryce] Harper’s head in right field." - "Bryce Harper receives 11 stitches, no concussion after nasty collision with Dodgers Stadium fence [UPDATED]" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• "Bryce Harper required 11 stitches in the area of his chin and will go for precautionary X-rays on his left shoulder..." - "Bryce Harper requires 11 stitches after collision with Dodger Stadium wall" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Truth be told, [Bryce] Harper is extremely fortunate not to have suffered something truly serious on one of the most frightening plays you'll ever see on a baseball field..." - "Harper lucky to avoid serious injury" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "Scary moment out in Los Angeles, as Bryce Harper left tonight's game against the Dodgers after colliding face-first with the right field fence." - "Nationals Pastime: 11 stitches, bruises, but no concussion after Harper collides with wall" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "[Bryce] Harper rolled onto his back and eventually got up under his own power. Streaks of blood were evident on his neck as he walked off the field." - "Bloody Harper leaves game after hitting wall" AP/WTOP.com

• "[Bryce] Harper, 20, lost sight of the ball. As the ball hit the bottom of the wall, Harper crashed into it face-first and was shaken up on the play. [A.J.] Ellis ended up with a triple." - "Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper leaves game after hard collision with wall" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• "The first thing Bryce Harper wanted to know was, 'Is it bad?'" - "Bryce Harper gives the Nationals another scare" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• via Twitter:

Please, no one encourage Bryce Harper to think his wall-crash play is brave/tuff/funny. It's crazy. Learn quick or have a Pete Reiser career

— Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) May 14, 2013

• Bryce Harper Runs Into The Wall Again And Again:

• "Preliminary tests showed that Harper had suffered no concussion, according to the Nationals and Harper’s agent, Scott Boras." - "Bryce Harper collision: Baseball’s concussion rules in focus" - Cindy Boren, Washington Post

• "When Bryce Harper arrived at Dodger Stadium 380 days ago, he knew it would be the day he’d go from uber-hyped prospect to major leaguer." - "Bryce Harper excited to return to site of major league debut" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "[Bryce] Harper hit the scoreboard wall face-first while tracking a ball hit by A.J. Ellis over his left shoulder." - "Nationals beat Dodgers 6-2, lose Harper" - Beth Harris, AP/WTOP.com

• "Back to [Jordan] Zimmermann, who's now allowed just three runs over his last 32 2/3 innings of work. He's absolutely locked in right now." - "Nationals Pastime: Zimmermann keeps rolling as Nats beat Dodgers 6-2" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "[Ryan] Zimmerman’s error now puts the Nats’ third baseman tied with Ian Desmond atop the entire league with seven on the season." - "State of the Nats-5/13" - Chase Hughes, NatsInsider.com

• "While the team took a 6-2 loss to the Nationals on Monday, the Dodgers will try to ride the success of Clayton Kershaw this season at Dodger Stadium into Tuesday's matchup." - "Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers - May 14, 2013" - Quinn Roberts, MLB.com Preview

• "Roughly a quarter into the season, [Davey] Johnson still has not found a way to mix Suzuki and Wilson Ramos that he deems correct." - "Wilson Ramos and Kurt Suzuki to play multiple days in a row" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• "[Kurt] Suzuki and [Wilson] Ramos were playing every other day because Johnson didn't want to put any added pressure on Ramos, who was recovering from knee surgery." - "Nationals getting catchers consecutive starts" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• "[Steve] Lombardozzi, who played in 41 games in the outfield in 2012, got his second consecutive start in left field on Monday as the Nationals opened a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers." - "Davey Johnson explains why Steve Lombardozzi is playing left field" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Back to [Jordan] Zimmermann, who's now allowed just three runs over his last 32 2/3 innings of work. He's absolutely locked in right now." - "Nationals Pastime: Zimmermann keeps rolling as Nats beat Dodgers 6-2" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "With [Jayson] Werth out this week, [Davey] Johnson plans to use a platoon of Steve Lombardozzi, tonight’s starter, and Tyler Moore in left field." - "Jayson Werth to rehab in Potomac as Steve Lombardozzi, Tyler Moore fill in" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• "[Jordan] Zimmermann (7-1) allowed two runs on nine hits and struck out five batters. He threw 101 pitches while becoming the Majors' first seven-game winner." - "Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers - May 13, 2013" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap

• "[Jordan] Zimmermann was superb again in the Nationals’ 6-2 victory over the Dodgers on Monday, the two earned runs he allowed over 7 2/3 innings actually raising his minuscule ERA." - "Jordan Zimmermann leads Nationals over Dodgers" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama):

We need to understand that material development by itself it doesn’t bring peace of mind. This can only be developed within the mind.

— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) August 31, 2012

• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

• "Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper has left Monday night's game against the Dodgers after running face-first into the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium." - "Bryce Harper leaves game after crashing into right-field wall" - Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com

• "Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper has proven two things about himself before his 21st birthday. 1) He can play baseball better than most. 2) He can make himself bleed quite creatively." - "Bryce Harper slams face-first into outfield fence: Needs 11 stitches, has no concussion" - David Brown, Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports

• "It's called a warning track for a reason." - "Bryce Harper Ignores Warning Track, Smashes Face Against Wall" - Timothy Burke, Deadspin

• "Tracking down a fly ball from Dodgers’ catcher A.J. Ellis, [Bryce] Harper appeared surprised that he was nearing the wall and abruptly ran into the electronic scoreboard in Dodger Stadium." - "Bryce Harper leaves game after running into right-field wall" - SI Tracking Blog

• "The warning track exists to prevent players from colliding with the wall, and those who don’t heed the warning pay the price." - "Bryce Harper forgot about the warning track and smacked full-on into the wall" - Simon Samano, For The Win

• "Zack Greinke will pitch on Wednesday. Whether he does it against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium or the San Jose Giants in Rancho Cucamonga, where the Dodgers' Single-A team plays, remains to be seen." - "Zack Greinke to pitch Wednesday; Dodgers unsure where" - USA TODAY Sports

• "The Los Angeles Dodgers may be one of the better hitting teams in the NL, but they haven't been able to provide much run support for ace Clayton Kershaw." - "Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers - Preview - May 14, 2013" - ESPN Los Angeles

• "By the third inning, the Nationals led 4-0 — and many in the crowd of 32,337 were already booing." - "It's back to reality for Dodgers in 6-2 loss to Nationals" - Kevin Baxter, latimes.com

• "The biggest moment of the game did not come with some unexpected rally, but when Washington’s budding superstar Bryce Harper ran hard into the right-field wall trying to chase a triple from A.J. Ellis." - "Josh Beckett still winless after Dodgers fall 6-2 to Nationals" - Steve Dilbeck, latimes.com

• "All of a sudden, Bryce Harper's ingrown toenail doesn't seem so scary." - "Bryce Harper Hits Wall: Nationals Star Runs Face First Into Wall, Leaves Game vs. Dodgers (VIDEO)" - Chris Greenberg, Huffington Post

• NATS MINORS:

• Class-A Hagerstown: Hagerstown 9; Greensboro 4: Tony Renda - 2 for 5, 2B; Khayyan Norfolk - 3 for 5, 2B - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard

• "The low Single-A Hagerstown Suns, the South Atlantic League affiliate of the Nationals, have worked for years to try to get a new facility built in their city to replace the aging Municipal Stadium." - "Report: Proposal for minor league stadium in Fredericksburg" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Class-A Potomac: "Potomac LHP Robbie Ray was pulled from the game after 3.0 innings in which he surrendered a pair of earned runs on two hits with two walks and a whopping seven strikeouts." - "Nationals Blanked by Winston-Salem in Series Finale" - Potomac Nationals News

• "Last Night In Woodbridge" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com

• Double-A Harrisburg: "The Harrisburg Senators had their chances, but stranded 11 runners on base and fell 4-0 to the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the series opener at Metro Bank Park on Monday night." - "Senators Shut Out by Flying Squirrels" - Marshall Kelner, Harrisburg Senators News

• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, lost 8-7 to the Norfolk Tides in a 10-inning thriller on Monday afternoon." - "Tides edge Chiefs in wild 10-inning game" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• "Jeff Howell homered in the bottom of the ninth and Chris Marrero drove in Jeff Kobernus in the bottom of the eighth for Syracuse." - "Chiefs lose two 1-run games, one blowout, at will of Tides" - Ben Meyers, The Auburn Citizen

• NATSTOWN:

• "Bryce Harper’s crash into the wall, in images" - Dan Steinberg, D.C. Sports Bog

• "Ask Boswell 5/13/13 edition" - Todd Boss, Nationals Arm Race

• "Losing two home games against the Chicago Cubs is disheartening and, after the excellent game Friday night, it was as if a switch just flipped ..." - "Nationals Buzz: A glass half-full" - Ted Leavengood, MASNSports.com

• "Frank Howard didn’t waste anytime as he unloaded a two run home run off of the Red Sox starter, Ray Culp. In the top of the sixth inning Howard slams a solo homer off of the Red Sox reliever Lee Strange." - "Day Two of Howard’s Home Run Streak" - Mark Hornbaker, D.C. Baseball History

• "Video: Davey Johnson on Bryce Harper's crash into Dodger Stadium wall" - Nats Enquirer

• "But all anyone wants to talk about in this one was the way Bryce Harper slammed into the out-of-town scoreboard in right field in the fifth inning, crashing into the chain link protected wall, lacerating his neck guillotine-style either on something in the fence or on the gold chain he wore around his neck." - "Washington Nationals Game 38 Review: Zimmermann wins 7th; Harper injured in collision with outfield wall" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page

• "I'm not saying Bryce should play first now, but there's something to be said about keeping this kid healthy and 'lucite box with holes punched in it' is still not an official position." - "Oh Bryce" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "Here's the Jordan Zimmermann Death Stare" - Nats Enquirer

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Mets: "Excited by their move, anxious to get his bat in their anemic lineup and his glove into their wavering defense, the Mets signed outfielder Rick Ankiel..." - "Rick Ankiel makes Mets debut, has rough go of it, just like Jeremy Hefner and Mets bats in 6-3 loss to Cardinals" - Kristie Ackert, NY Daily News

• Marlins: "All three are major-leaguers. At least they were when healthy. And all three — starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, first baseman Logan Morrison and reliever Jose Ceda — are counting the days until they return." - "Miami Marlins’ injured players count the days" - Clark Spencer, MiamiHerald.com

• Phillies: "The Phillies won but Charlie Manuel was distracted. He uncapped a blue marker and doodled on his worn lineup card late Saturday night in the desert." - "Shades of 2012: Phillies still aren't hitting" - Matt Gelb, Philadelphia Inquirer

• Braves: "For one night, at least, Justin Upton and Chris Johnson made sure that Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers’ worst fears were fully realized." - "J.Upton has 4 hits including a homer in first game against his..." - David O'Brien, www.ajc.com