Looking at the forecast on Wednesday, it was easy to see that rain would make an appearance at Nationals Park sooner or later. Bryce Harper said so in his pre-game chat with the media, before what might be his last game at Nationals Park as a member of the home team.
Here's the clip from the radio broadcast on the team's flagship station, 106.7 The Fan, which aired after the seventh inning:
"It was pretty tough...0-for-4 with two punches (strikeouts); that's part of the game, I guess," he grimaced in telling the media in the clubhouse after the game. "I don't really like the rain right now but that's how it goes...I tried to enjoy it the best I could today and I did that."
Egged on with a question of being cheated out of a last at-bat by ended the game in the eighth, Harper was quietly noncommital: "It happens."
"I ran out to right field and did the same thing; I did my bow and everything like that," he said on the magnitude of the day. "I felt fine. I wasn't really thinking about it being my last game or anything like that.
"You never know what's going to happen, I didn't really want the farewell treatment. I wanted just a normal day today, going about it the right way, trying to play the game and trying to win. I was able to go out there and enjoy that, I guess, and not really think about it being my last game or it not being my last game. You never know what's going to happen.
"My heart lies here. If I'm going to play somewhere and have some fun and enjoy that, hopefully I make those plans to stay where I'm at. If I'm not, I'm not scared to make those changes either."
As a bit of foreshadowing for the negotiation process, he was asked about a fan sign that was visible from the stadium that said "Eight more Years for 34." Harper's response: "I'm not sure. Eight years sounds kind of short."
Follow Brian Tinsman and 106.7 The Fan on Twitter.
