Nationals Chatter: Harper, Harper, Harper and power rankings

Bryce Harper. Those two words dominated headlines not just in Washington, D.C., but all around baseball this past week - whether it was for his lack of hustle in Saturday's game against the Cardinals or for his hyped matchup with the Angels' Mike Trout. Here are a few headlines you may have missed from other media outlets regarding Harper and the Nationals. * Manager Matt Williams has received praise from many in the media over the way he handled the Harper situation. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal said the removal of Harper should not be a surprise because of Williams' Marine-like behavior. For more from Rosenthal, click here. * SI.com also chimed in on the now infamous benching of Harper. Cliff Corcoran didn't necessarily agree with Williams. He believes that Harper is a bit misunderstood and that he was wrongfully benched. Here's more. * Outside of Harper's benching, he along with Trout dominated headlines as the two squared off for the first time in their young careers. In the first game of the matchup, the story was not about Harper and Trout, however. It was all about veteran Raul Ibanez. For more, read Mike Bauman's column on MLB.com. * Scott Allen of the Washington Post says the comparisons between Harper and Trout need to end. Allen shared the opinions of Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser, who discussed the matter on PTI on ESPN. One of the reasons Wilbon there is no comparison is because of Harper's recent benching. For more, read here. * Nobody wrote a more scathing column on Harper's benching than the Washington Post's Thomas Boswell. I'll let you read his take for yourself. * Finally, the Nats dropped two spots to No. 11 in FOXSports.com's power rankings. Harper dominated the comment section, which should come as no surprise. That's a wrap of this week's Nationals Chatter. Don't forget to come back to MASNsports.com for complete Nationals coverage.