Papelbon-Harper bout lowlights Phils' win in Washington

WASHINGTON - There is addition through subtraction and apparently there can be subtraction from addition.

High-maintenance closer Jonathan Papelbon appears to represent both.

Yesterday, Papelbon, who was traded from the Phillies to the Washington Nationals on July 28, continued a tumultuous tenure in D.C. by starting a shouting match with teammate Bryce Harper that escalated to him putting a two-handed chokehold around the neck of the MVP candidate.

Papelbon apparently got irritated that Harper did not run out a pop fly to leftfield with the score 4-4 in the eighth inning, and let him know about it as he came off the field.

Harper appeared to tell Papelbon to shut up, but the dress-down continued into the dugout. Papelbon then lunged at Harper's throat with his left hand, and after getting hold, he brought in the other. Several Nationals players pulled Papelbon off before he could complete a choke-out.

As if Papelbon had not done enough to irritate Nationals fans by assaulting a favorite son, he then gave up a two-run homer to second baseman Andres Blanco that ignited the Phillies to eight runs in the ninth inning of a 12-5 victory.

"I was wrong and I apologized to Bryce," Papelbon said of his actions, which put a pall over the Nationals' Fan Appreciation Day. "I grew up with brothers. (Harper) grew up with brothers and I view him as a brother of mine.

"Sometimes in this game there is a lot of testosterone, a lot of intensity and sometimes things boil over. The thing that happened today, I can't allow that to happen in the middle of a game. It's just in the heat of the moment.

"I fought with my brothers growing up and the next day you give a hug and say, 'I was wrong, you're right, now let's come back together.' "

Harper said he would just concentrate on playing "hard and well" in the Nationals' last six games.

The Phillies weren't going anywhere when they addressed Papelbon's whining to get out of Philadelphia by shipping him down I-95 to Washington.

Acquiring Double A pitching prospect Nick Pivetta for him was a bonus to getting him out of a clubhouse that was soon to be stocked with impressionable young players.

The Nationals, however, believed Papelbon was the final piece of their championship puzzle, so much that they traded for him. That, despite having Drew Storen, who had been effective with 29 saves and a 1.73 ERA with 44 strikeouts and nine walks over 36 1/3 innings.

Things didn't work out.

Washington was 52-46 and leading the National League East when Papelbon arrived. After yesterday's loss to the Phillies, the Nationals are 27-30 with Papelbon in their uniform and missed the playoffs.

Certainly, the Nationals' collapse from World Series contender to playoff observer can't all be pinned on Papelbon, who is signed through the 2016 season. But don't tell that to Washington fans who haven't exactly warmed up to a guy who was perceived as destroying the team's chemistry.

The way he was booed as he walked off the field after being charged with five runs in the ninth must have reminded Papelbon of his final days in Philadelphia.

"Not everything is always hunky-dory," said Papelbon, who is already appealing a league suspension for hitting Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado with a pitch last week. "It's part of the atmosphere. It's frustration, I get that. I've been frustrated. I've been happy.

"When you are wrong, you admit you are wrong. When you are right, you stick up for what's right."

The Phillies decided to decline their 2016 option for lefthander Cliff Lee and are shutting down rookie righthander Aaron Nola.

Lee, 37, did not pitch this season because of an elbow injury. This was the final guaranteed season of his $120 million, five-year contract. The deal included a $27.5 million team option for 2016; instead, the Phillies owe him a $12.5 million buyout.

Interim general manager Scott Proefrock said Nola was being shut down because he has thrown 187 innings (in the majors and minors combined) after throwing about 172 last year. Nola ends 2015 with a 6-2 record and a 3.59 ERA in 13 starts in the majors, with 68 strikeouts and 19 walks in 77 2/3 innings.