With Harper, don't expect too much too soon

Bryce Harper, the 2010 No. 1 pick, will make his major league debut. Stephen Strasburg, the 2009 No. 1 pick, will be on the mound. Matt Kemp, who leads the universe in hitting with a .452 average and 10 home runs, will hit third for Los Angeles. The Nationals and Dodgers are both in first place in their respective divisions. Is this just about as exciting as an April baseball game can get, or what? The eyes of a large part of the baseball world will be on the Nats-Dodgers game tonight, as the Harper/Strasburg duo combined with the competitive aspect of this game should make for great entertainment. The big story is obviously Harper and how he fares in his first taste of major league ball. The expectations will be through the roof, but I keep cautioning fans not to be disappointed if Harper gets off to a slow start. Slow starts are the phenom's specialty. He struggles out of the gate at each new stop along his baseball path (seriously, it's happened at every single level at which Harper's played), before turning things around and crushing the ball. That's part of the reason why it's important for all of us not to overreact to an 0-for-4 or a few disappointing games. We Harper might be "The Chosen One," but he's still got a lot of learning to do and has plenty of time to develop into the player everyone's so confident he'll become. It would make for a fantastic night if Harper launches a ball into orbit tonight or drives in the game-winning run to lead the Nats to victory. But there's also no need to panic if he fails to hit his stride right away. By the way, Tyler Moore hit his seventh home run of the season for Triple-A Syracuse today. Would you take it easy, Tyler? Today's Bryce's day.