Good: Bryce Harper hates Dave Dombrowski and I do too

The Athletic dropped a report Wednesday confirming what a lot of us already suspected, which is that Bryce Harper and Dave Dombrowski still can’t stand each other, and the whole thing is finally spilling out into public view.

Bryce Harper said Tuesday night that the team needs help at the deadline, which every single person in baseball already knew, but apparently saying it out loud “annoyed team officials.”

Then Don Mattingly waded in with some words for Harper before Wednesday’s game. So now the beef is out in the open, and I want to be crystal clear about which side I’m on.

I’m with Bryce Harper, obviously.

No question about it. I hate Dave Dombrowski too, and watching our franchise player see through this guy the exact same way the fanbase does might be the most relatable thing Bryce Harper has ever done.

Bryce Harper Is Right to Hate Him

Per The Athletic, Harper and Dombrowski have not repaired their relationship. Harper’s locked in through 2031. Dombrowski is signed through 2027 with an extension expected, which is its own crime we’ll get to. Of course, The Athletic has it wrong and paints both Harper and Sleepy Dave as two egos that need to sort shit out but I couldn’t disagree more. Again, Harper’s the one who’s right here, and Dombrowski earned every bit of this animosity.

Dave Dombrowski Couldn’t Keep His Smug Mouth Shut

Last April, Dombrowski publicly wondered out loud whether Bryce Harper could return to being an elite player. I hated it then and I hate it now even more. The president of baseball operations went to the media and openly questioned whether his franchise cornerstone, a former two-time MVP, who changed Phillies baseball from being decade-long losers to contenders, still had it.

What a fucking brain-dead comment, right?

Bryce Harper has been “the guy” since he was 15 years old, probably earlier. He’s been a generational prodigy his entire life, on the cover of magazines as a teenager, told from childhood that he’s one of the best to ever swing a bat.

So when some suit like Dombrowski strolls in and publicly takes a shot at that greatness, of course Bryce Harper is going to despise him instantly and forever.

Any competitor with a pulse would. Bryce Harper was always going to hate Dombrowski’s guts the second those words came out of his mouth, and frankly, he should.

That’s the whole point.

Dave Dombrowski created this entire feud himself, over nothing, because he apparently can’t resist the urge to hear himself talk. It was petty, unnecessary, and completely avoidable, and now it’s poisoning the organization at the worst possible time.

That’s Dave Dombrowski in a nutshell.

This is the thing about Dombrowski that drives me up a wall. He gets treated like some infallible baseball genius, the big-game hunter who builds winners, and meanwhile the actual results under his watch have been a parade of disappointment.

Failed October after failed October. A bullpen he’s never adequately fixed. A farm system he’s hollowed out. A fifth-starter spot that’s lost eleven straight. Now, apparently, a franchise player who can’t stand him because he ran his mouth about him in the press.

Dave Dombrowski is the man responsible for building the roster and he is also is beefing with the best player on the said roster. I don’t know, call me crazy, but maybe just focus on building a better roster? We are days away from the deadline and we have these dumbass reports dominating the headlines on an off-day after getting swept by the Marlins.

Congratulations, Dave Dombrowski, you fucking idiot.

Speaking of the Trade Deadline….

A first baseman and a president of baseball ops don’t need to be friends. They barely interact day to day. Normally this cold war wouldn’t matter much but the deadline changes everything, because this is exactly where Dombrowski’s ego could actively torch the season.

Bryce Harper isn’t going to stop demanding meaningful additions, because he doesn’t care if it puts pressure on Dombrowski.

Good. He shouldn’t but now there’s a real danger that Dombrowski, being the petty egomaniac he is, decides he doesn’t want to look like he’s caving to Harper’s complaints. He could stand pat, keep the roster as-is, and let all the blame for a failed season fall on the players while he washes his hands of it.

That’s the nightmare scenario, and it’s not far-fetched given how this guy operates.

Meanwhile the whole clubhouse is stuck in the middle. The best player says the team isn’t good enough and the fanbase is left praying that Dombrowski, with his shitty track record of doing anything good at the deadline, doesn’t cost us a season we can’t afford to waste.

I Stand With Bryce Harper

I’m not sitting here wringing my hands about whether Harper and Dombrowski need to hug it out. I’m glad Bryce Harper hates him. We should be applauding the fact that the face of the franchise looked at Dave Dombrowski and came to the same conclusion the rest of us reached a long time ago.

This guy talks a big game, delivers October heartbreak, hoards credit, ducks blame, and apparently can’t even manage his relationship with the most important player on the roster.

Dombrowski has a chance at this deadline to shut everyone up, put the ego aside, and actually go get the arms and the bat this team needs. If he does it, great, I’ll give him credit. If he lets his pride get in the way and stands pat to prove a point to Bryce Harper, it’ll be the most Dave Dombrowski thing he’s ever done, and it’ll cost this city a season.

Bryce Harper hates him. I hate him too. The clock is ticking on whether the worst executive in Philadelphia is going to do his job or let his ego sink the ship.

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