Jim Riggleman resigns as Nats manager

[Mogriffjr]

Very unexpected and according to twitter world, it was due to the nationals not picking up his option. Uncertainty of his contract situation led to this

 

[RyanLeaf16]

Very unexpected and according to twitter world, it was due to the nationals not picking up his option. Uncertainty of his contract situation led to this

Exactly what it was. Rizzo should of picked up his option. What Riggleman has done without Zimmerman or Strasburg is worthy of a commitment to him for the future.

Rizzo came off sounding like an ass in his statement regarding the situation as well.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Exactly what it was. Rizzo should of picked up his option. What Riggleman has done without Zimmerman or Strasburg is worthy of a commitment to him for the future.

Rizzo came off sounding like an ass in his statement regarding the situation as well.

You also forget that Jayson Werth has been a dud for the most part this season. That makes it even more impressive.

The Nats continue to mismanage their team though- this is no surprise to me. Riggleman will be a hot commodity this off-season, and for good reason. It will be interesting to see how the Nats are affected by it when hiring someone as well.

 

[Rudi]

I guess Riggleman told them that they if they didnt pick up his option before the game he was going to resign. And he did. Good for him.

Crazy that the manager of a team that has won 11 of 12 games resigned.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

You also forget that Jayson Werth has been a dud for the most part this season.

Didn't see that one coming.

 

[NAHSTE]

This is too bad, Riggs has the Nats playing great ball right now.

 

[FedEx227]

Didn't see that one coming.

Yeah who knew. 32 year olds never usually regress.

 

[mcstl25]

Riggleman probably won't ever get a job as a MLB manager again. You don't just walk out on your team half way through the year, especially when your team is on the upswing.

 

[KnightNoles]

damn, damn, damn....

 

[Rudi]

Barry Larkin named as a potential replacement. Thatd be real tight.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Riggleman probably won't ever get a job as a MLB manager again. You don't just walk out on your team half way through the year, especially when your team is on the upswing.

With what Rizzo has said in the wake of this, he will. Yeah, he walked out but he's signed a string of one year deals and finally has the team performing well.

Rizzo has been :smug: since taking over for Jim Bowden. He's rubbed some people the wrong way, and I can't wait to see this team implode. I'm pretty sure that they will fall apart soon- a young team isn't going to make it through something like this unscathed.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Well, Larkin would have been interesting, but instead its John McLaren, the manager who owns a 68-88 record as a manager.

CHICAGO (AP)—John McLaren is moving from bench coach to interim manager of the Washington Nationals following the stunning resignation of Jim Riggleman.

McLaren’s duties began Friday when the Nationals opened a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Nationals had won 11 of 12 before Riggleman quit after a 1-0 victory over Seattle on Thursday, saying he felt the franchise wasn’t committed to him over the long term.

Riggleman wanted the Nationals to pick up his contract option for next year, and said the reluctance of general manager Mike Rizzo to have a meeting on the subject reinforced his feeling that he was merely a placeholder until the team could find someone better.

McLaren is a former Seattle Mariners manager, going 68-88 over parts of two seasons.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-nationals-mclaren

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Another update: Davey Johnson could take over soon- looks like McLaren could be a very short interim manager. It will be very interesting to see Johnson back in the dugout.

McLaren will serve as the Nats' interim manager until Sunday, when they wrap up a three game set against the White Sox, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com. McLaren is not a candidate to become the interim manager of the team for the remainder of 2011 (via Twitter).General Manager Mike Rizzo is expected to name another interim manager by Monday.

Rizzo said that Davey Johnson is a candidate to become the next manager of the Nationals, Ladson tweets. Johnson currently serves as a senior adviser for the club.
The GM confirmed that he has spoken to Johnson, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. He went on to say that he will name a new interim skipper in "days, not weeks".

Rizzo believes that Johnson would enjoy the challenge of managing the Nats, otherwise he wouldn't talk about it, Kilgore tweets. Kilgore adds that there's a great chance that Johnson will be the choice.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/06/nationals-notes-mclaren-johnson.html

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Well Davey Johnson is officlal as the new Nats manager. Not sure how I feel about this, as Johnson hasn't managed an MLB game for over a decade. He's one of the best though, so if anyone could have kept up with trends, its Johnson.

10:45PM: Johnson's contract runs through 2013, according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter).

The Nationals will name Davey Johnson as their new manager, a source familiar with the situation tells Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. The 68-year-old will manage the team for the rest of the season and next season, pending league approval.

9:47PM: Johnson's first game as manager will be Sunday afternoon when the Nats wrap up a three-game series with the White Sox, a source told ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine. An official announcement could come as soon as tonight.

Johnson, who is a senior adviser with the Nationals, last managed in the majors in 2000 for the Dodgers but served as the skipper for the United States baseball team in 2003. Johnson won a World Series in 1986 as the manager of the New York Mets and has a career MLB managerial record of 1148-888.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/06/nationals-to-name-johnson-as-manager.html