Well, he did it again. Washington Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper once again stepped on his… tongue.

Remember a couple years ago when, after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays, a Jays beat writer asked the then 19-year-old Las Vegas, NV native if he was going to celebrate with a Canadian beer?

“That’s a clown question, bro,” answered Harper.

Harper’s answer drew a huge laugh from the gathered media and sent the social media world into a frenzy. It even prompted one entrepreneuring young man to create a T-shirt bearing the now famous quote which became an immediate best-seller in our Nation’s capital – not so much in Toronto or the rest of the country.

“That’s a clown question, bro.” – Bryce Harper
(Getty Images)

Although the question may have indeed been a dumb one, Harper’s answer raised a few eyebrows from his veteran teammates and from players throughout Major League Baseball. After all, Harper had played in a grand total of 40 major league games at the time.

Over the course of the next two injury-plagued seasons, Harper would frequently make comments (and challenge umpires’ calls) that you might expect from a 10-year plus MLB veteran rather than a kid who, in fact, turned 21 in 2013. And while Harper may get a pass on his “clown” comment, he absolutely does not get one for the comments he made about Dodgers co-ace Zack Greinke on Sunday afternoon after the Dodgers right-hander and his MLB-best 1.30 ERA handed Harper and the rest of the Nationals their lunch in a 5-0 shutout, thereby extending Greinke’s consecutive scoreless innings streak to 43.2.

As reported by Bleacher Report’s Dan Carson, Harper had these less-then-flattering things to say about Greinke.

“For me, I don’t think he was very tough,” Harper said. “He’s a great pitcher, he does what he does, but when you’re getting six inches off the plate it’s pretty tough to face him.”

Now that’s a clown comment, bro.

Greinke allowed no runs and only three hits with a walk and a season-high 11 strikeouts in his eight innings of work in what can only be described as an absolute masterpiece – regardless of what Harper says. And while Greinke clearly got a couple of called strikes that were off the plate, in the end it really didn’t matter, as not one Nationals base runner even reached second base off of him. And while Harper was right about some of the blown calls by home plate umpire Bill Miller, an 18-year veteran and crew chief, those blown calls went both ways.

It’s probably safe to say that Bryce Harper is the only guy in all of baseball who thinks that Zack Greinke isn’t tough to face. Greinke has now thrown 43.2 consecutive scoreless innings.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Perhaps Harper realized the error of his ways and that he had just assassinated the credibility of the guy who is currently the leading candidate to win the 2015 NL Cy Young ward because he immediately began backpedaling a bit after his poorly chosen words – but not entirely.

“He’s a good pitcher. He’s doing what he’s doing to help that team over there,” added Harper. “But I don’t want to give him too much credit because I’ve gotta face him again. That’s the biggest thing, I don’t really want to give him too much credit because of that reason, but he’s a damn good pitcher.”

Let us know how that works out for you, Bryce – when you do face Zack Greinke again… and again and again and again.

Harper might want to file this one under the “Things I wish I’d never said” category.

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Author’s Note: In his four-year MLB career, Harper is 1 for 4 (.250) with a single, two walks and two strikeouts against 12-year MLB veteran Zack Greinke.