Bryce Harper on Matt Williams' lineup card: 'If I had the lineup it would maybe not be the same'

Bryce Harper is back in action for the Washington Nationals for the first time since April 25, but he's not a fan of manager Matt Williams' lineup card Monday night vs. the Colorado Rockies.

"I'm in the lineup, that's all that matters," Harper told CSN Washington's Chase Hughes prior to the game. "If I had the lineup it would maybe not be the same. But he's [Williams] got the lineup card, he's got the pen and he knows what he's doing. There's nothing I can do about it."

Williams omitted second baseman Danny Espinosa from the lineup Monday, a move Harper doesn't think is best for the team because of the positional implications it creates for other players.

I think [Ryan Zimmerman] is great and he should be playing left. [Anthony] Rendon's a great third baseman and he should be playing third. And we got one of the best second basemen in the league in Danny Espinosa. Of course you want the best hitting lineup in there, and I think Rendon playing third and Zim playing left is something that is good for this team and I think that should be what's happening.

The two-time All-Star is manning left field vs. the Rockies and isn't worried about his surgically-repaired thumb.

"I'm just going to play. If I hurt it, I hurt it. If I blow it out, I blow it out," Harper added. "I'm going to slide headfirst, I'm going to slide feetfirst when I need to, but sliding headfirst is what I'm comfortable doing and I'm going to keep doing it."