More Harper on grievance, Rizzo, Scherzer, rotation and expectations

SARASOTA, Fla. - Some other gems from Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who held his first media session of spring training this afternoon:

On any hard feelings from his grievance against the club and his relationship with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo: "Mike's awesome. Truly. If I had a problem, I'd probably tell him straight to his face because that's how he is and that's how we are. I absolutely love Mike Rizzo, and the way he went about everything, it's business and that's how it is."

On the Nats signing Max Scherzer to join Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez in the rotation: "Well, the thing is he's a (Scott) Boras client. So sitting there and I'm talking to Scott and I'm thinking, I'm asking him, 'Hey, are we going to get Scherzer or what?' Because I mean we had a great staff. It's not like - we wanted him, but it's not like we truly were a team that was like, 'Oh, yeah, we need this guy for sure.' Because (Tanner) Roark was so good, Gio is great, Stras, Zim and Fister - that's unbelievable."

On the rotation: "They work, and they work hard. And to add a guy like Scherzer, who's a bulldog out there, who's unbelievable in the postseason, who shows that fire and that emotion, it's something that I'm going to enjoy watching this year. And I think our team in the outfield is going to do a lot of watch, because they're going to be carving it up. I can just worry about hitting. I don't really have to worry about playing right. It's all good."

On if he's concerned about losing teammates to free agency: "We've got a great team right now, so I think worrying about what we need to this year is where we need to be, not about if we're going to sign a guy long-term or this or that. Of course, if you look at all the great teams that have stayed together, they've done what they have. Prime example: You look at the Yankees back in the day. They all stayed together for as long as they did. They had their core five, their core six that they had, and they won, and they won multiples. So definitely you have that family, you have that camaraderie you want, you need inside the clubhouse. Sometimes, it's just the business side of baseball and things that take over. But like I said, you want to worry about this year. We've got a great team. We have unbelievable players. Our staff, we have five number ones. I don't care what nobody says, we have five number ones and one of the best lineups in all of baseball. So it's exciting to see that. I think the fans are excited. We're excited as a team. I think if we could have just played through last year after the playoffs, we would have kept playing, because that's how we are, that's the team we are. We're excited."

On the sky-high expectations for this Nats team: "I've been getting that a lot, actually. But everybody looks at our league and they think, 'Oh, man, we're sure shot, definitely.' And I think we are, too. I think we're a great team. I think we have the things that we do. But if you look at all the staffs that we're about to face, the Mets have one of the best staffs in all of baseball, I don't care what nobody says. Their one through four is pretty impressive. Miami's one through four, they're one of the toughest teams, I think, in all of baseball myself. I think the lineup they have, the manager that they've got, the way they play, the bullpen they have, I think they're going to be a very good team. The Phillies are young, but they've still got Cole Hamels, they've still got Cliff Lee, they've still got (Chase) Utley, they've still got some guys that are pretty dang good. And then you look at the Braves, they've got Shelby Miller, Julio Teheran. I mean, you just look at our division and it's unbelievable how good the division is. Not just our division, but all of the NL. Not taking anything away from the AL and how they play and stuff, but the NL is just so good with the pitching we've got and the divisions we have. It's going to be tough. We think we're a good team and we want to go into every game thinking we're going to win and do the things we need to do. But it's going to be tough. It's not sure shot. So we've got to keep going out here, working hard and hit on all cylinders, get to work."