Harper's arm is a weapon, too

VIERA, Fla. - In a game that included two triples, a throw was perhaps the most incredible part of yesterday's 2-1 win over the Astros.

Houston outfielder Alex Presley ripped a ball past the extended Danny Espinosa and into the right-center gap in the fifth inning. As right fielder Bryce Harper casually made his way to the ball, Presley headed for second. In a flash, Harper fired a bullet to the bag and Presley was tagged out by Wilmer Difo.

"I came up slow on that on purpose, just to see if he'd round the bag or something like that," Harper said. "That's something I want to play this year, something I really want to do this year. Coming up on the ball to try to take the extra bag, hopefully have a good throw to second base to get 'em out."

After the game, Nationals manager Matt Williams wasn't exactly interested in getting caught up in the hype of Harper's blistering throw. Instead, Williams was more focused on practicing proper fundamentals.

"I think that the package is well-documented," Williams said. "If a guy decides to challenge his arm, he's got the ability to make a strong throw. We don't want it to get to that situation. We want it to stop. The way they stop is by him getting on that baseball quickly and being ready to throw, and that batter-runner will stop at first. It's part of the game, it happens. We know that he's got great talent and has the ability to do a lot of things. But today, he could have got on the ball quicker and stopped the guy at first. It was a great throw nonetheless, but we want to stop that guy."

The conservative approach might be a hard sell for the 22-year-old Harper, who moves to his new position in right field this season.

"I don't think I've played enough games for people to realize, 'Hey, he's gonna do this or do that.' So I understand that (Williams) is going to say that," Harper said. "But I mean, that was something in my head before I even got the ball, so I like when guys take wide turns."

Harper has made 64 starts in right field in his three seasons in the majors. When Williams revealed the Nats' intentions to flip-flop Jayson Werth and Harper in the outfield at the Winter Meetings, the popular reaction was to prepare for some highlight-reel throws from the two-time All-Star.

"It really lets me use my arm a little bit more," Harper said. "Of course, I have to be accurate. If I don't, it will look bad. But I'm fairly accurate with the way I throw, so there are certain times I can use that to my advantage, like back-picking guys or them trying to take a second bag if they think I am going slow in the gap or a ball down the line turning around throwing to second trying to get a guy out. So it's part of my game. It was part of my game when I played behind the dish. And I can use it a little bit more now."

Harper lights up when he talks about making the spectacular defensive play almost as if nailing a guy with his arm gives him a greater feeling than rocking a home run.

"I love it," he said. "That's one of my favorite things to do. I think that is why I enjoyed catching so much. Sorry to bring up catching so much. But that is something I love to do. I love to throw. I got shut down a little bit in left last year just because nobody would run or do certain things. Right field is a little different, you've got the balls down in the corner, the ball in the gap. Hopefully, I can play that a little more and throw some guys out."

Harper starred as a catcher before the Nationals drafted him first overall in 2010. It was decided to move the phenom to the outfield to preserve his knees and give him a better shot at a longer career. Clearly, Harper still has some lingering love for his old position.