Bryce Harper

Ozzie Guillen is no stranger to controversy, and Bryce Harper has made some headlines of his own in a three-month-old career, though he tried to lay low in his battle with the Marlins manager this weekend. On Sunday, Guillen accused the Washington Nationals outfielder of using too much pine-tar on his bat. So to apologize and make amends, Harper sent Guillen an autographed bat. The catch is, he just signed the bat and had no idea who it was intended for . It's common for players to get autographs for each other.

I'm a little afraid to toss this question around in the bar today. I'm afraid some of you may be throwing haymakers if the discussion gets heated. It could turn into a donnybrook or brouhaha if things get ugly. (Yes, I know it is a fake bar, there will be no physical altercations. But it allowed me to get the words donnybrook and brouhaha into a blog. I'm forever grateful for my imagination). Anyway, for Tuesday's paper I wrote a story about Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and his rapid ascension from prospect to one of the best young players in the big leagues.

The future has arrived for the Nationals. In the midst of its best start since moving to Washington from Montreal, 19-year-old phenom Bryce Harper will make his much-anticipated MLB debut for the Nationals on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Washington will place third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list to make room for him on the roster. "We thought that we needed to bring in an impactful left-handed bat," said Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo of Harper.

Ever since the Orioles drafted Manny Machado with the third pick overall out of a Miami high school in 2010, there were comparisons with another former Miami phenom. Machado may never shake the Alex Rodriguez comparisons - which was the ultimate compliment a few years ago. But with Rodriguez's injury and off-field issues, no one wants to be called the next ARod anymore. Regardless, Rodriguez was an amazing player almost from the start of his big league career. And Machado has been excellent in his short time with the Orioles.

In what is thought the be the first dual-Bundy interview in the history of modern civilization, brothers and fellow Orioles pitching prospects Dylan and Bobby Bundy were guests on “The Norris & Davis Show” on 105.7 The Fan on Wednesday morning. The Orioles selected the former with the fourth overall pick on Monday. By no fault of host Steve Davis, the interview might have made a few decaffeinated people fall asleep at the wheel on the way to work. That sort of thing can happen when you interview a senior in high school.

  Orioles manager Buck Showalter usually has an answer for most questions thrown his way, but he didn't have a quick response for one interesting inquiry this weekend in Anaheim. Before Saturday's game, Showalter was asked why he believed Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, the team's phenom 20-year-old third baseman, isn't mentioned in the same breath as fellow young phenoms like the Angels' Mike Trout and the Nationals' Bryce Harper. Showalter was stumped. He said he'd really have to think about it. The easy answer is that Machado didn't arrive in the big leagues until last August, and by that time, Trout and Harper had already established themselves as fixtures on contending teams.

I'm a little afraid to toss this question around in the bar today. I'm afraid some of you may be throwing haymakers if the discussion gets heated. It could turn into a donnybrook or brouhaha if things get ugly. (Yes, I know it is a fake bar, there will be no physical altercations. But it allowed me to get the words donnybrook and brouhaha into a blog. I'm forever grateful for my imagination). Anyway, for Tuesday's paper I wrote a story about Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and his rapid ascension from prospect to one of the best young players in the big leagues.

Ever since the Orioles drafted Manny Machado with the third pick overall out of a Miami high school in 2010, there were comparisons with another former Miami phenom. Machado may never shake the Alex Rodriguez comparisons - which was the ultimate compliment a few years ago. But with Rodriguez's injury and off-field issues, no one wants to be called the next ARod anymore. Regardless, Rodriguez was an amazing player almost from the start of his big league career. And Machado has been excellent in his short time with the Orioles.

Regional hero: Freese Ron Fritz Baltimore Sun Why not an almost local hero? David Freese isn't from Kansas City, but he plays for the Cardinals and grew up outside of St. Louis, about a four-hour drive to Kansas City. He led the Cardinals to the title last year and he has more than helped fill in for the departure of Albert Pujols in the offseason. Freese's numbers are way better than Bryce Harper's and Chipper Jones'. They are slightly better than Michael Bourn's and Aaron Hill's.

I apologize for not blogging about Orioles prospect Dylan Bundy yet today, but I was out at a local MMA gym shooting this week’s Right Back @ You segment, which should be up on the blog sometime tonight. But I’m back, and ready to pass along a few new nuggets on the Orioles’ first-round pick in the 2011 draft. First things first, Bundy’s comment about how he would handle Bryce Harper -- which became national news after I blogged yesterday about his interview on 105.7 The Fan -- got around to the Harper clan, and we now have a full-fledged Bundy-Harper rivalry in the Beltway region.

  Orioles manager Buck Showalter usually has an answer for most questions thrown his way, but he didn't have a quick response for one interesting inquiry this weekend in Anaheim. Before Saturday's game, Showalter was asked why he believed Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, the team's phenom 20-year-old third baseman, isn't mentioned in the same breath as fellow young phenoms like the Angels' Mike Trout and the Nationals' Bryce Harper. Showalter was stumped. He said he'd really have to think about it. The easy answer is that Machado didn't arrive in the big leagues until last August, and by that time, Trout and Harper had already established themselves as fixtures on contending teams.

It was the spring of Gavin Floyd's senior year, and professional baseball scouts were flocking to his games at Mount St. Joseph High School. A right-handed pitcher with a blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve, Floyd was considered one of the top prep pitchers in the country and perhaps the closest to being major league-ready in 2001. "Pitching that year was really fun," reflects Floyd, now 30, a dozen years after drawing national attention. "I remember the visuals. It was a long time ago. " Born in Annapolis, Floyd grew up in the Chartwell neighborhood of Severna Park and honed his skills with the Green Hornets at Kinder Park and in youth leagues in Gambrills, according to his mother, Elaine Floyd.

Karl Marx is credited with saying that religion is "the opium of the people. " But here in the nation's capital, baseball is the drug of choice that rescues political junkies from the unpleasant realities around them. Currently providing relief from the congressional stalemate over the deficit that has produced the "sequester" of spending cuts, job furloughs and general fiscal paralysis is the return of last year's Cinderella baseball team, the Washington Nationals. After rising from traditional doormat to champion of the National League's East Division, the Nats heart-breakingly collapsed in the final game of their first playoff series.

What some other media outlets are saying about the Orioles: • Reuters Team Report credits the Orioles with a bold move in calling up highly-touted prospect Manny Machado last week: The decision to promote Machado is telling. First, it indicates how poor the club's third basemen have played this season. Second, Machado's promotion is indicative of the trust the organization has in the top prospect, who has been compared to Yankees' slugger Alex Rodriguez since he was drafted third overall in 2010.

Ozzie Guillen is no stranger to controversy, and Bryce Harper has made some headlines of his own in a three-month-old career, though he tried to lay low in his battle with the Marlins manager this weekend. On Sunday, Guillen accused the Washington Nationals outfielder of using too much pine-tar on his bat. So to apologize and make amends, Harper sent Guillen an autographed bat. The catch is, he just signed the bat and had no idea who it was intended for . It's common for players to get autographs for each other.

Regional hero: Freese Ron Fritz Baltimore Sun Why not an almost local hero? David Freese isn't from Kansas City, but he plays for the Cardinals and grew up outside of St. Louis, about a four-hour drive to Kansas City. He led the Cardinals to the title last year and he has more than helped fill in for the departure of Albert Pujols in the offseason. Freese's numbers are way better than Bryce Harper's and Chipper Jones'. They are slightly better than Michael Bourn's and Aaron Hill's.

Et cetera Top draft pick Harper has RBI single in first pro at-bat Bryce Harper hit an RBI single in his first professional at-bat, a nifty start in Class A for the overall No. 1 draft pick last summer by the Washington Nationals. The 18-year-old Harper singled to shallow center field on a full-count offspeed pitch in the first for the Hagerstown Suns in their South Atlantic League game against the host Rome Braves. The power-hitting prospect then stole his first base.

Whispers It's no coincidence the two managers to resign in midseason, Jim Riggleman and Edwin Rodriguez, were the two lowest-paid in the majors. Riggleman, in his third season with the Nationals and 12th as a manager, was earning $600,000, according to sources. That's more than $200,000 less than Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. Riggleman may wish he had handled his situation differently, but you can see why he said he never felt "respected. " … The group of pre-1980 players who were awarded pensions in a deal MLB and the players union announced April 21 still hasn't received any money.

Mark in down on your calendars: the Bryce Harper Tour comes to town Friday. Oh, sure, the 19-year-old phenom is bringing the rest of the Washington Nationals with him for the three-game interleague series against the Orioles at Camden Yards. But it's the kid Sports Illustrated put on its cover as a high school sophomore with the understated headline "Baseball's Chosen One" who's getting all the hype - even more than the Nats' other Chosen One, flame-throwing righty Stephen Strasburg.

Packed into a sardine can of an interview room with about two dozen reporters - most of them sending details of his outing to his home nation of Taiwan - Orioles rookie left-hander Wei-Yin Chen tried to explain the toughest day of his brief major league career. Through his first seven starts as a big leaguer, the 26-year-old has been close to perfect on paper. He came into Sunday's start against the Washington Nationals with a 4-0 record that included wins over the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers in his past two starts.