2011 MLB Season Thread

[Don]

What I read was that he wanted to talk about his situation, he didnt like the contract when he signed it (600k per year for 2 years, club option, 100k buyout) but knew he couldnt pass it up. Rizzo told him we'll talk after the season about your contract and Riggleman kept pestering him and told him one day he's just going to quit, and he did. Sounds pretty petulant to me. There was one incident in particular that came up in Tom Boswells column in the Washington Post when he yanked Jason Marquis and they went at it and Rizzo had to be called in from a scouting trip to put an end to the situation. He felt like he didnt have any leverage in any beef with a player cause to them he was a lame duck.

[infrared41]

What a selfish prick, no matter how much he wanted that extension he should've never quit on the team and fans like that. I hope that this moron never gets a job in the MLB again.

You really don't understand how the real world works yet, do you? A man's beliefs and job satisfaction count way more than the team and the fans. If you don't like your management, don't like coming to work every day (because of your deal or whatever other reasons), and have leverage (which is debatable in this case, but he apparently felt he did), then you make your move. Once your bet is called, you don't show your bluff, or you lose any bargaining power and credibility you might have in the future.

In my "real world" a professional doesn't walk off the job in a huff just because his boss wanted him to do the job as it was described in the contract both parties signed. A contract I might add that Jim Riggleman was not forced at gunpoint to sign. Do a great job, finish the season, and two things happen; either the Nats give you a better deal, or another team comes along and offers you a better deal. Instead, Mr. "real world" has decided his best career move would be to add "walked out on a job in the middle of the season" to his wholly unremarkable resume.

[pmoehrin]

This is going to be one of those things probably where 10% of what actually happened gets out in the media.

The Nats don't want to come off as a team that throws their manager under the bus, and Jim Riggleman doesen't want to come off as somebody who whines if he doesen't get what he wants with his contract, so my bet is that neither side will say much of anything.

Maybe 20 years from now when everyone involved is retired we may get to the bottom of what actually happened.

[BBTV]

What a selfish prick, no matter how much he wanted that extension he should've never quit on the team and fans like that. I hope that this moron never gets a job in the MLB again.

You really don't understand how the real world works yet, do you? A man's beliefs and job satisfaction count way more than the team and the fans. If you don't like your management, don't like coming to work every day (because of your deal or whatever other reasons), and have leverage (which is debatable in this case, but he apparently felt he did), then you make your move. Once your bet is called, you don't show your bluff, or you lose any bargaining power and credibility you might have in the future.

In my "real world" a professional doesn't walk off the job in a huff just because his boss wanted him to do the job as it was described in the contract both parties signed. A contract I might add that Jim Riggleman was not forced at gunpoint to sign. Do a great job, finish the season, and two things happen; either the Nats give you a better deal, or another team comes along and offers you a better deal. Instead, Mr. "real world" has decided his best career move would be to add "walked out on a job in the middle of the season" to his wholly unremarkable resume.

Well an employer can fire or lay off a guy with a contract and pay him, or a guy can resign and not get paid. While typically not the best career move, there's nothing wrong with walking away from a situation in which you're unhappy, as long as you can endure the consequences (not getting paid.) Sports is different than real jobs in a lot of ways (but also very similar in others.) For one, the money is a lot higher in most cases, so the labor can afford to make these kinds of choices. For another, coaching / managing millionaires as a lame duck isn't the same as managing guys in a chemical plant. Not saying he's right, but if he felt that he wasn't gettting the respect he needed, and that extra year would have fixed that, then he just felt like he had to step away before it all blew up. It could end up being a horrible move that gets him blackballed. Either way, he had to do what made him happy. A lot of people are jealous of the leverage that professional athletes (and some coaches) have, because they'll never have it. I think that's why they get pooped on so much for things like hold outs and this, even though any of us would hold out if we could get paid millions in return for doing it, and were valuable enough to actually pull it off.

This is going to be one of those things probably where 10% of what actually happened gets out in the media.

The Nats don't want to come off as a team that throws their manager under the bus, and Jim Riggleman doesen't want to come off as somebody who whines if he doesen't get what he wants with his contract, so my bet is that neither side will say much of anything.

Maybe 20 years from now when everyone involved is retired we may get to the bottom of what actually happened.

In 20 days, let alone 20 years, this will all be forgotten.

[pmoehrin]

This is going to be one of those things probably where 10% of what actually happened gets out in the media.

The Nats don't want to come off as a team that throws their manager under the bus, and Jim Riggleman doesen't want to come off as somebody who whines if he doesen't get what he wants with his contract, so my bet is that neither side will say much of anything.

Maybe 20 years from now when everyone involved is retired we may get to the bottom of what actually happened.

In 20 days, let alone 20 years, this will all be forgotten.

I would say that will probably be the case as well unless the Nats go on to win the World Series this year or the manager they wind up hiring becomes one of the all-time greats.

They got a nice club though, so it may not be a bad idea to look for somebody who you know is going to be a long term fit rather then someone like Davey Johnson who I don't see lasting anymore then three years at the most. Not sure exactly who that guy could be, but one person who I would throw out there is Sandy Alomar, Jr. I'd also look into making Ivan Rodriguez a defacto bench coach especially on his days off if managing is something he would want to do down the road. May already be doing it to some degree, I don't follow the Nats enough to say for sure.

[Epiphanic]

The reason why this is such a big story now is because it happened while the Nats are playing excellent baseball. If they had lost 13 of 14 instead of winning them, this wouldn't be a story at all.

[crashcarson15]

And Riggleman probably wouldn't have even been asking for an extension if they lost 13 of their last 14.

As someone who likes to see the Nats do well, here's my thoughts on the situation. I'm not completely sure why Riggleman would quit at this point getting the team into the pennant race. If he somehow was able to keep the team playing well and keep the Nats in the playoff race until Strasburg could come back (he won't if the Nats aren't in the race), there's no telling what could happen. If Riggleman could somehow make the playoffs with this team, or at least be competitive, there's a good chance the Nats would have given him an extension. Now though, he's probably never gonna get a managing job again because of this. Oh well, he did it to himself and hopefully the Nats can still keep the good play up anyways.

[BrySmalls]

The Nats are now over .500. How do they celebrate?

Riggleman resigns.

:blink:

Well that is kind of surprising. However, I presume that there is or was an ongoing internal conflict between GM Rizzo and Riggleman, which fans will known more about once, if any, information becomes available.

I don't think this was what you meant by the "Break Up the Nats" quote over the weekend, huh?

You're right; Riggleman's resignation was the last course of action that I envisioned would have affected the Nats first.

[BigEd76]

Oswalt's back issues flared up again last night and he says it's been giving him trouble for 2 years. Sounds like he might retire after this season...

[BBTV]

Oswalt's back issues flared up again last night and he says it's been giving him trouble for 2 years. Sounds like he might retire after this season...

I thought that was well known that this was probably his last year?

Either way, back issues or not (can't fault a guy for having a bad back) he really seems to be overwhelmed by being in Philadelphia, and now there's stories of how his trip to Missouri (or was it Mississippi?) to check on his houses was more of an escape from the media and the pressure and kind of a mental vacation. He resisted the trade for a while, preferring to play in St. Louis or another small market / small media town, and I think we're seeing why. This opinion has nothing to do with his back, just his demeanor and attitude. He's clearly not comfortable playing in front of sold out crowds every night.

[The_Admiral]

I think the Astros drew pretty well in 2003-05, didn't they? Oswalt had no trouble being on the top of his game then.

[bterreson]

Just a reminder- This weekend (starting tonight) is the Mariners @ Marlins in Seattle series.

http://goo.gl/usuln

[loogodude90]

While typically not the best career move, there's nothing wrong with walking away from a situation in which you're unhappy, as long as you can endure the consequences (not getting paid.)

Well, maybe you can't be stopped from doing that, but it doesn't make it a good move.

An employer, in any field, is going to hesitate hiring a guy who left the way Riggleman did. It's more of a reputation issue than a "Can he endure not getting paid" issue.

In other news, O's pitchers hit 0.466 this season.

I gotta wonder if that's a record for highest batting average by a pitching staff by any team in any season.

[pmoehrin]

Oswalt's back issues flared up again last night and he says it's been giving him trouble for 2 years. Sounds like he might retire after this season...

I thought that was well known that this was probably his last year?

Either way, back issues or not (can't fault a guy for having a bad back) he really seems to be overwhelmed by being in Philadelphia, and now there's stories of how his trip to Missouri (or was it Mississippi?) to check on his houses was more of an escape from the media and the pressure and kind of a mental vacation. He resisted the trade for a while, preferring to play in St. Louis or another small market / small media town, and I think we're seeing why. This opinion has nothing to do with his back, just his demeanor and attitude. He's clearly not comfortable playing in front of sold out crowds every night.

I don't know if that's the case. Its not like Houston is exactly a small market. He pitched great for the Phillies last year, and he's also been a second half pitcher. First half career ERA 3.38, second half 2.96

[BBTV]

Oswalt's back issues flared up again last night and he says it's been giving him trouble for 2 years. Sounds like he might retire after this season...

I thought that was well known that this was probably his last year?

Either way, back issues or not (can't fault a guy for having a bad back) he really seems to be overwhelmed by being in Philadelphia, and now there's stories of how his trip to Missouri (or was it Mississippi?) to check on his houses was more of an escape from the media and the pressure and kind of a mental vacation. He resisted the trade for a while, preferring to play in St. Louis or another small market / small media town, and I think we're seeing why. This opinion has nothing to do with his back, just his demeanor and attitude. He's clearly not comfortable playing in front of sold out crowds every night.

I don't know if that's the case. Its not like Houston is exactly a small market. He pitched great for the Phillies last year, and he's also been a second half pitcher. First half career ERA 3.38, second half 2.96

You're right - he was great last year. But by many accounts, very uncomfortable. And while Houston is a large market population wise, it's not really a "sports" (or at least baseball) market the way that the East coast cities are, and by all accounts, the media presence is much different.

[oddball]

Well, I'd blast Jim Riggleman for quitting on the Nats, but what about this bizzare and wild scenario: He becomes manager of the Marlins? Other than getting a better paying job, there is no reason you walk out on an employee unless you have something that pays more and is a "better" situation. Grant you, I don't see the Marlins as a better situation than the Nats, but unless he has another job lined up, he just blackballed himself out of baseball and will be labeled as a quitter. I would never play for a manager or a coach that walked out on his team.

[BBTV]

Well, I'd blast Jim Riggleman for quitting on the Nats, but what about this bizzare and wild scenario: He becomes manager of the Marlins? Other than getting a better paying job, there is no reason you walk out on an employee unless you have something that pays more and is a "better" situation. Grant you, I don't see the Marlins as a better situation than the Nats, but unless he has another job lined up, he just blackballed himself out of baseball and will be labeled as a quitter. I would never play for a manager or a coach that walked out on his team.

If you had a 5-year $50M contract you'd play for a team even if they named Jahagee (or whatever that jagoffs name is) as manager.

[cameroncrazie07]

Well, I'd blast Jim Riggleman for quitting on the Nats, but what about this bizzare and wild scenario: He becomes manager of the Marlins? Other than getting a better paying job, there is no reason you walk out on an employee unless you have something that pays more and is a "better" situation. Grant you, I don't see the Marlins as a better situation than the Nats, but unless he has another job lined up, he just blackballed himself out of baseball and will be labeled as a quitter. I would never play for a manager or a coach that walked out on his team.

That actually makes a lot of sense. Obviously the Marlins will be looking for a new manager in the offseason, and going into a new park maybe they'd hire him. But yeah he definitely has to have something else lined up because I could never see a guy quitting for no real reason.

Maybe he has a job as an analyst on ESPN lined up, just like pretty much every other former player/coach to have ever been involved in a mainstream sport.

[The_Admiral]

The Marlins aren't going to make a big splash by hiring Jim Riggleman. For Christ's sake, guys, it's Jim Riggleman.

If he felt he had no authority in the clubhouse as a lame duck and as such could not do his job, then I get why he would leave. The Nationals shouldn't have been so adamant about his contract expiring this year and that was that. Jim Riggleman already struggles with credibility issues as a result of, again, being Jim Riggleman; hanging him out to dry like that didn't help matters.

[Cujo]

Washington just finished off the White Sox in 14 innings, in a game which the Nats blew THREE saves.