More on Williams' decision to pitch Papelbon in ninth after fight with Harper

After Sunday's embarrassing eighth-inning dugout fight between Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon, I questioned Nationals manager Matt Williams during his postgame press conference about his egregious decision to send Papelbon back to the mound to pitch the ninth inning.

Here is the exchange:

CJ: "What was behind your decision to send Papelbon back out for the ninth?"

MW: "At the time, it's a tie game."

CJ: "But given what had happened?"

MW: "He's our closer."

CJ: "It appeared that (Papelbon) put his hands on (Harper's) throat."

MW: "He's our closer. That's all I'm gonna say on the matter. He's our closer. In a tie game, he's in the ballgame in the ninth inning."

Williams was widely lambasted following his flimsy explanation. So late last night, he attempted to clarify his position, telling the Washington Post he wasn't fully aware of the details of the fight between his star slugger and veteran closer.

Williams was standing in his typical position on the dugout steps closest to home plate when Papelbon began jawing at Harper as he made his way to other steps leading to the dugout up the first base line. The reason for instigating the argument: Papelbon was upset that Harper - the favorite to win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award - didn't hustle out a lazy fly ball to left field to start the eighth.

"Run that out," Papelbon apparently yelled at Harper.

A profanity-laced shouting match ensued as Harper made his way down the dugout steps, leaving the two face-to-face. Video caught Harper asking Papelbon, "Do you want to go?" Papelbon wasted no time considering the offer, lunging at Harper and immediately clutching his left hand around Harper's throat.

Harper and Papelbon went crashing back into the bench before players and coaches broke up the melee. Veterans Ian Desmond and Jose Lobaton and rookie Trea Turner, along with hitting coach Rick Schu and pitching coach Steve McCatty, helped separate Harper and Papelbon. After Desmond ripped Harper away, Harper immediately headed for the Nationals clubhouse, exiting the game.

Yunel Escobar followed with a seven-pitch at-bat resulting in a lineout and then Clint Robinson flew out to center to end the frame. During that time, Williams apparently never asked either of his coaches or his veteran players what occurred between Papelbon and Harper, roughly 50 feet away.

So he sent Papelbon back out to pitch the ninth in a 4-4 game, the day after the Nationals had been eliminated from the playoffs. Papelbon proceeded to surrender a go-ahead two-run homer as the Phillies went on to plate a whopping eight runs in the frame.

Following the 12-5 loss, which was originally scheduled to be the Nationals' home finale (before today's makeup game with the Reds), Williams joined his players on the field for a jersey presentation ceremony for season ticket holders. From there, he headed directly to the press conference room at Nationals Park without watching the video of the brawl, according to the Post.

"Now that I've had a chance to view the videotape, I would absolutely not have sent him back out there," Williams told the Post late Sunday night. "I didn't have the luxury of viewing that at that time, with one out in the eighth inning. And I'm livid about it."

How Williams didn't know the details of the fight - that Papelbon had a chokehold on Harper - before sending Papelbon back out for the ninth is hard to believe. It's equally as hard to fathom that McCatty and Schu, two valued members of Williams' staff, didn't fill the skipper in. If true, it speaks volumes to the disconnect occurring between Williams and his team.

It's also hard to understand how Williams doesn't take a moment to watch the video of the fracas at any point before stepping foot into his postgame press conference. It wouldn't have even required going back to his office. A simple check of Twitter and he would've found numerous uploads.

Williams is due to speak at his normal pregame press availability at 12:15 p.m. today, and he will have another opportunity to explain his reasoning further.