The Story Of The “Sun Monster”

Bryce Harper has been in D.C. for less than six months and he has already coined several popular catchphrases, with timeless classics like "That's a clown question, bro" and "Be as sexy as you can."

Last weekend, Harper brought to light (no pun intended...okay, maybe intended) a new phenomenon that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find cute or terrifying: the "sun monster."

"The sun monster got me," Harper said after he lost a fly ball during Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The sun monster (here's a real picturegot Jayson Werth Sunday, too. Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress.

The Nationals, however, were able to harness the sun monster's power and use it for good Monday in their 12-2 rout of the Brew Crew. Coincidentally, it was Werth's routine fly ball that Carlos Gomez lost in the sun that turned what should have been the end of the inning and a 2-1 score into a decisive six-run frame. 

Werth said after the game that he "[doesn't] remember a worse sun field, worse sun conditions" and that "you almost don't have a chance out there as the game goes on." Meanwhile, manager Davey Johnson simply called it "payback."

Either way, one thing is for certain: there's no stopping the "sun monster." I, for one, welcome our new solar overlord.


Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamVingan and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.

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