HBT Weekend Wrap

God, wasn’t that family thing/working/cleaning/ thing a pain in the butt this weekend? Kept you from paying attention to baseball? Yeah, me too. Thankfully, then, here is everything you missed that mattered:

Jose Reyes is gonna be gone a while.
Josh Hamilton continued to distinguish himself.
As the hour gets late in the bar, everyone starts to look better and better.
Just your routine 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 triple play.
John Buck > Miami Marlins.
Your ace has time to turn it around. Really.
Robinson Cano: shortstop?
The Diamondbacks made some Dodgers fans change clothes. Because they have their priorities in order.
Danny Espinosa and Stephen Strasburg are not all that impressed with the Braves. Even after getting swept. They’re the Black Knight of the NL East. Have at you! We’re invincible!!!
Jacket 1, Jose Fernandez 0.
Joe Maddon hates big bunts and he cannot lie.
“42” is doing well at the box office.
Say what you want about Alex Rodriguez, but at least he’s using his treadmill for running and not for hanging laundry on like all of us are.
Carlos Quentin wisely drops his appeal the day before he’s supposed to face Dodgers pitching.
Conor Jackson retired.
Austin Kearns was hospitalized.
The Braves’ hot start guarantees them nothing.

Happy Jackie Robinson Day. Happy Morning Baseball Because of Patriot’s Day in Boston. Oh, and Happy Tax Day too. All kinds of things to celebrate, eh?

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports that Phillies owner John Middleton flew to Las Vegas for a meeting with Bryce Harper on Friday. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it’s “more of a meet-and-greet than a sign-a-deal” affair, but as the club is still at the forefront of trade rumors involving the All-Star slugger, there remains a possibility (however slight) that something could be completed in the days to come.

Even now, the Phillies aren’t alone in the race to sign Harper, but recent rumors have helped whittle down the competition from five or more teams (Phillies, Nationals, White Sox, Giants, and Padres) to three strong contenders. The Giants are said to be interested in a lucrative short-term deal with the outfielder, while the Padres remain in the conversation despite inking Manny Machado to a mammoth 10-year, $300 million contract this week. It’s not yet clear just how far either team would go to outbid Philadelphia as talks with Harper intensify.

As for the Nationals and White Sox, the former officially bowed out earlier today, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that the latter won’t make a strong play for Harper as they feel the asking price and competing offers are “getting too high” for the 26-year-old’s services. If a mystery team is still in the mix, there’s been no word on their standing with Harper in the last month or so.