VIDEO: Possible playoff run, Harper in Derby

On last night's episode of "The Baseball Show" on CSN, Jim Duquette, Rob Carlin and I both looked back at the All-Star Game and surrounding festivities and looked ahead to the second half of the season.

In the above clip, we look at what it would take for the Nationals to make a playoff run over the season's final 2 1/2 months. We also look at a bunch of clubs over the last few years who have come out of the All-Star break right around the .500 mark and still reached the playoffs (or even, in a couple of cases, the World Series). So, yes, the Nats do still have a shot.

Below the jump, you'll find our discussion of the Home Run Derby, what it meant for Bryce and Ron Harper to share the moment together and what might have happened had somebody else pitched to the Nationals young slugger.

And in the final segment below, we look ahead to the July 31 trade deadline and wonder what, if anything, Mike Rizzo might have up his sleeve. Enjoy...

Harpers share Derby dream together

USA Today Sports Images

Updated at 12:55 a.m.

NEW YORK — During those long, scorching-hot afternoons in Las Vegas — before the baseball world had ever heard of his youngest son — Ron Harper would throw batting practice to young Bryce, unloading pitch after pitch after pitch to the boy who would someday become a major-league star.

So when they stepped into the spotlight Monday night at Citi Field, Bryce and Ron Harper paid no attention to the crowd of 43,588 watching in person or the millions more watching the Home Run Derby on national TV. As far as they were concerned, they were simply father and son, back in Vegas.

"Having my dad out there throwing to me, I was so calm and cool about it," Bryce Harper said. "I wasn't even thinking about the million people in the stands. All I was thinking was that my family's here, my brother's on the field and everybody that's here is family to me."

By night's end, Harper had put on a show worthy of the 20-year-old's first-ever Derby appearance, reaching the final round of the contest before losing out to Athletics slugger Yoenis Cespedes. Results aside, the experience was far more meaningful to the entire Harper family.

2013 Home Run Derby

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

NEW YORK — They've been holding the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game since 1985, and they've been holding it in primetime since 1998, but tonight for the first time somebody wearing a Washington cap will be participating in the annual display of raw power.

Bryce Harper makes his Derby debut, and there's every reason to believe the Nationals' 20-year-old slugger will feel right at home in this event. He did, after all, win a similar contest as a 16-year-old amateur in 2009. And he'll have a familiar face pitching to him: his father, Ron.

Harper faces stiff competition in the Derby, most notably Orioles masher Chris Davis and Tigers first baseman (and defending champ) Prince Fielder, but he's got as good a shot at winning this thing as anybody else in the field.

Chase Hughes and I are both here at Citi Field to chronicle it, and we'll combine to post updates along the way on CSNwashington.com, so please be sure to check back throughout...

2013 HOME RUN DERBY
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 8 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN
Radio: WTEM (980 AM), WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM)
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, Wind 6 mph LF to RF

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Prince Fielder (DET)
Yoenis Cespedes (OAK)
Chris Davis (BAL)
Robinson Cano (NYY)

Highlights from All-Star media day

Courtesy @NationalsPR

NEW YORK — The interview/press conference portion of All-Star workout day is now complete, and Bryce Harper (predictably) has been everywhere.

The Nationals' lone participating All-Star had a big crowd surrounding him during his media availability this afternoon at Citi Field, much of it consisting of international media members who peppered him with questions about his global fan support and asked him to say something in Chinese (Harper politely declined that request). Harper then was ushered upstairs to the official Home Run Derby press conference, where he sat alongside NL teammates David Wright, Michael Cuddyer and Pedro Alvarez.

Jordan Zimmermann was a bit less popular with reporters, which didn't seem to bother the soft-spoken right-hander one bit. Davey Johnson was, of course, a big hit, showing up in full All-Star BP uniform (pretty much everybody else was in street clothes) and answering questions on every topic known to man, including his time in Japan, his thoughts on Chris Davis and obviously his memories of the 1986 Mets.

Here are some highlights from today's sessions...

All-Star agenda

USA Today Sports Images

NEW YORK — Good morning from the Big Apple, where baseball always is on center stage but for the next 48 hours will occupy every stage in the city with the All-Star Game coming to town. It was only five years ago that old Yankee Stadium hosted the Midsummer Classic in its final season of existence, but this time the festivities take place in Queens, as the Mets get to host this event for the first time since 1964.

The Nationals' presence at this All-Star Game won't rival last year, when Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez all took Kansas City by storm. But even though Harper is the lone member of the organization playing tomorrow night — Jordan Zimmermann is here but will sit out to rest his lingering neck strain — there still will be plenty of attention lavished upon the Nats.

Harper, of course, draws a crowd all by himself, and plenty of eyes will be on him both tonight in the Home Run Derby and then tomorrow night in the All-Star Game. But don't discount the significance of Davey Johnson's presence here. The 70-year-old manager, in what by all accounts will be his final All-Star Game,

Harper on HR Derby and All-Star Game

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper has participated in only one Home Run Derby in his life: an amateur showcase in 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the then-16-year-old clubbed a 500-foot homer and was presented a trophy by none other than Davey Johnson.

So when he got the call from Mets slugger David Wright late last week, offering an invitation to compete in his first official MLB Home Run Derby, Harper knew he couldn't say no.

"I was just trying to think about for a couple of days, see if I really wanted to do it," he said. "I thought it would be pretty cool. And I didn't want to tell David Wright: 'No.'"

Harper will be the second-youngest player in Home Run Derby history, bested only by Ken Griffey Jr., who was 39 days younger when he competed as a 20-year-old in 1990.

Harper in HR Derby

USA Today Sports Images

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper has accepted an invitation to compete in next week's Home Run Derby, adding another chip to his growing All-Star resume.

Harper was officially named this evening as one of the eight participants for Monday's derby in New York, accepting NL captain David Wright's invitation to compete. Harper and Wright will be joined on the NL squad by Rockies teammates Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer. The AL foursome features the Orioles' Chris Davis, the Yankees' Robinson Cano, the Tigers' Prince Fielder and one more slugger to be named.

Harper will participate in the derby on Monday, the first Nationals player ever selected for the home-run-hitting contest. He'll then start in the NL's outfield on Tuesday night, the youngest NL starter ever voted in by fans.

There was some question whether Harper would accept the