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Is Bryce Harper lobbying the Nationals to spend more money?

Sometimes it’s difficult to fully grasp the concept or context of a tweet. Even when tweeting was a simple 140-character message, it could be a struggle to understand its true meaning. Now that its evolved into subliminal messaging expressed through emojis, it can border on impossible.

Fortunately, Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper spared us any emojis in his much-talked about tweet from Wednesday, which focused on the potential addition of two new free agents. But its contents were still left open to various forms of interpretation and speculation.

To present the full picture, Harper was responding to a tweet from ESPN’s Jim Bowden, which noted Washington’s lingering interest in free agents Matt Wieters and Greg Holland. However, in the same tweet-breath, Bowden also indicated budget issues created by the team’s new spring training complex could prevent further spending.

Naturally, that’s not something fans want to hear. They want to at least believe that their team is working (or willing to spend) aggressively to put the best team on the field.

The players are much the same, which may have prompted this response from Harper.

The only clear point being made here is that adding both Wieters and Holland would be a huge boost to Washington’s roster as they attempt to get over the hump in the National League.

What’s not so clear is the true meaning of Harper’s tweet. Was he saying “spring training complex be damned, let’s free up the money and make signing these guys a higher priority?” That’s the way some people are leaning, with the contents of Harper’s tweet being described as “harsh criticism” of the organization.

Was Bryce Harper out to stir the pot on Wednesday? (Getty Images)
Was Bryce Harper out to stir the pot on Wednesday? (Getty Images)

Others saw it as light-hearted recruiting or even a nod to two players who also employ Scott Boras as their agent. Believe it or not, those guys tend to stick together.

Or maybe Harper already knew what Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reported Wednesday night, and was simply trolling the masses knowing such a tweet would raise some eyebrows.

All three scenarios are plausible. As is the idea that Harper simply enjoys stirring the pot.

Only Harper knows what he was going for with that tweet. But if his intentions were to create some mid-January buzz, then he definitely succeeded.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!