Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=Hog1;808164]Well...for the sake of accuracy, it should be noted Chico posted....some time ago. However, it appears he reiterated a point previously made by you. But carry on, Your doing a nice job for the Nats!
HTTN[/quote]

A lot of other people have posted but none in a month...carrying on

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808154]This is unbelievable. 11-1 in their last 12 games and they let Riggleman resign?!

[URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/riggleman-quits-at-nationals-manager/2011/06/23/AGPDlnhH_blog.html"]Riggleman quits as Nationals manager - Nationals Journal - The Washington Post[/URL]

At some point, someone else will post in this thread[/quote]

Yeah what the hell is that all about? I'm at work right now, but I'd love to be listening to ESPN980. Czaben and Pollin are probably all over this with Mark Zuckerman...

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[B]WT-f'ing-F?!?!?!?!?![/B]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Dude!! WTF? How do you let this guy walk?

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=GMScud;808169]Yeah what the hell is that all about? I'm at work right now, but I'd love to be listening to ESPN980. Czaben and Pollin are probably all over this with Mark Zuckerman...[/quote]

Quite an interesting exchange via press conference b/w Rizzo and Riggle

Riggle: I'm too old to be disrespected

Rizzo: Guess someone doesn't believe in putting team first

I think the team's "success" is more a reflection of the work Rizzo has done than Riggleman, and I think Riggleman basically took advantage-as well as he should-of the winning streak to ask for his option.

Short term Riggleman abruptly re-signing is kinda chaotic for a team on a hot streak, though. It's not like this was a power struggle b/w the two. Not that I know of at least. I mean I don't think Rizzo was telling the Lerners either he goes or I go.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

If I am a GM and a coach basically extorts me to give him a raise by the end of the game or I quit I'd have him escorted out of the stadium immediately. I actually give a lot of credence to Riggleman's complaint's but there is a professional way to handle it and giving an ultinatum to a GM to extend your contract right now or else isn't it.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

I'm not so much worried about the long term impact of this but damn it! 11-1 in their last 12, we finally get 1 game over .500 and he quits now!? I feel like this, if anything, will be the downfall of the Nats the rest of the season, mainly because nobody saw this coming. I hope they prove me wrong and keep battling, and keep winning, because these last 12 have been a real treat to watch, and I want them to stay consistent.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808178]Quite an interesting exchange via press conference b/w Rizzo and Riggle

Riggle: I'm too old to be disrespected

Rizzo: Guess someone doesn't believe in putting team first

I think the team's "success" is more a reflection of the work Rizzo has done than Riggleman, and I think Riggleman basically took advantage-as well as he should-of the winning streak to ask for his option.

Short term Riggleman abruptly re-signing is kinda chaotic for a team on a hot streak, though. It's not like this was a power struggle b/w the two. Not that I know of at least. I mean I don't think Rizzo was telling the Lerners either he goes or I go.[/quote]

Interesting indeed. I wonder who the next long term skipper will be? With guys like Strasburg, Harper, Ramos, Werth, Zimmerman, etc, I would think the Nats are actually a pretty sexy job for the next several years.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=GMScud;808191]Interesting indeed. I wonder who the next long term skipper will be? With guys like Strasburg, Harper, Ramos, Werth, Zimmerman, etc, I would think the Nats are actually a pretty sexy job for the next several years.[/quote]

Well McLaren will manager tomorrow and apparently they're looking at Davey Johnson for the rest of the season

After this season? Not sure. If Ozzie and the White Sox part ways would you go after him?

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808194]Well McLaren will manager tomorrow and apparently they're looking at Davey Johnson for the rest of the season

After this season? Not sure. [B]If Ozzie and the White Sox part ways would you go after him?[/B][/quote]

Eeesh. That's a tough one. Ozzie is a firecracker. He's done a lot of winning, but he's done his fair share of losing, too.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808154]This is unbelievable. 11-1 in their last 12 games and they let Riggleman resign?!

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/riggleman-quits-at-nationals-manager/2011/06/23/AGPDlnhH_blog.html]Riggleman quits as Nationals manager - Nationals Journal - The Washington Post[/url]

At some point, someone else will post in this thread[/quote]

A raw move by Riggleman....rare will you see a manager just quit in the middle of a season. It's a move that will not bode well on his resume in the event he ever has aspirations of managing again. Events leading up to his decision must have reached the boiling point. He had the Nats playing their best Baseball at this time of the year since they came here.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=Longtimefan;808201]A raw move by Riggleman....rare will you see a manager just quit in the middle of a season. It's a move that will not bode well on his resume in the event he ever has aspirations of managing again. Events leading up to his decision must have reached the boiling point. He had the Nats playing their best Baseball at this time of the year since they came here.[/quote]

Yeah. It's one thing to be unhappy about your deal, it's another to make an ultimatum just before gametime

As for Ozzie Guillen...I don't know, I just don't know

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808202]Yeah. It's one thing to be unhappy about your deal, it's another to make an ultimatum just before gametime

As for Ozzie Guillen...I don't know, I just don't know[/quote]

Yeah that's my issue. It was bush.

As for ozzis I don't feel like he is a good fit. This is still a young team and they're gonna need steady level-headed leadership. Hard to say that is ozzies approach.,

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

True, plus Guillen is more likely headed to the Marlins.

I'm sure Bobby Valentine's name will be brought up too

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

What they need is another grind it out quiet type guy. They're increasingly willing to try and put talent on the field and they have a good nucleus of young talent...they don't need a big name guy to come in and mess with the talent just playing and growing. They definitely don't need a guy who'll be bigger than the team or anything. Not sure who I think the answer is...a Davey Johnson is a big name but he doesn't strike me as too big a personality...and he knows what the heck he is doing. But is he willing to ride a young team and let it grow and not get into a win-now type mode? They're almost better off just working to find a new guy and give him a shot. Too bad we're not 5 years down the road where they could just hire Pudge.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808194]Well McLaren will manager tomorrow and apparently they're looking at Davey Johnson for the rest of the season

After this season? Not sure. If Ozzie and the White Sox part ways would you go after him?[/quote]

Would like to see Davey Johnson have the opportunity. He was the best manager the Orioles have had since Earl Weaver, I'm just not so sure about how well his style will mesh with the young Nationals. He is a winner.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Looks things are getting finalized with Davey Johnson

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/davey-johnson-appears-likely-to-be-washington-nationals-next-manager/2011/06/24/AGv67kjH_story.html]Davey Johnson appears likely to be Washington Nationals’ next manager - The Washington Post[/url]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

And McLaren's been ejected tonight. I think maybe ArtMonkDrillz is managing the team now

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Trent Jewett in for McLaren...might as well be AMD

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808336]And McLaren's been ejected tonight. I think maybe ArtMonkDrillz is managing the team now[/quote]

That call by the HPU was...... just something I've never seen happen before in baseball.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Real quick, gotta get out there for the bottom of the 9th, my Yahoo fantasy baseball status for the past 2 days actually says I'm taking over the Nats, so maybe you're on to something.

Plus, at the game last Friday I bought an Espinosa jersey and within 5 minutes a random guy told me I looked just like Danny. So I've got that going for me...

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Luckily didn't come back to haunt us. Let's see if we can get another shutout tonight

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Also, the fat guy in the Wisconsin t-shirt (go figure) was just flashing the shocker sign to the cameras. It made me vomit.

That call early was ridiculous. Why is the 1st base ump even on the field if his judgement can't be trusted?

And crap.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Get AMD out of here. Dude can't manage and post at the same time

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[url=http://dc.sbnation.com/washington-nationals/2011/6/23/2240045/jim-riggleman-resign-washington-nationals-manager]Davey Johnson Replaces Jim Riggleman As Manager Of Nationals - SB Nation DC[/url]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

I like the Johnson hire. It does several things. First it shows everyone, players and fans alike that they believe the team is good enough to be given the opportunity to have a quality coach lead them. Johnson isn't being brought in as a care-taker just to keep the seat warm until the team comes together (like Riggleman basically was). Second, he's good. He isn't a hard-ass who'll lose the team and he can handle a rotation as well as anybody. If they can stay on the same path and keep Johnson in the fold they've upgraded their managerial position a lot.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=FRPLG;808395]I like the Johnson hire. It does several things. First it shows everyone, players and fans alike that they believe the team is good enough to be given the opportunity to have a quality coach lead them. Johnson isn't being brought in as a care-taker just to keep the seat warm until the team comes together (like Riggleman basically was). Second, he's good. He isn't a hard-ass who'll lose the team and he can handle a rotation as well as anybody. If they can stay on the same path and keep Johnson in the fold they've upgraded their managerial position a lot.[/quote]Good points. I also like that he's been associated with the team for the last season or two, so it's not like he's a total unknown to these guys (like, say, Bobby Valentine might have been) coming in off the street with his own ideas and methods. Obviously any new manager is going to bring about some changes, but I like that he's at least from within the organization.
Also, I heard on the radio or somewhere that he has a similar style to Riggleman, whatever that means, so again, I think this will make the transition easier. Couple that with the fact that he has a proven track record and I'm pretty happy with this one.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Not a big Nats follower, although I live 10 friggin' minutes from the ballpark. But do you guys think there's much, if any, falloff between Riggleman and Johnson?

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=FRPLG;808395]I like the Johnson hire. It does several things. First it shows everyone, players and fans alike that they believe the team is good enough to be given the opportunity to have a quality coach lead them. Johnson isn't being brought in as a care-taker just to keep the seat warm until the team comes together (like Riggleman basically was). Second, he's good. He isn't a hard-ass who'll lose the team and he can handle a rotation as well as anybody. If they can stay on the same path and keep Johnson in the fold they've upgraded their managerial position a lot.[/quote]

"He knows the game, he knows our players, he knows our fans, he knows the Washington, DC area, and he knows exactly what we need to be doing to build the Nationals into a contender."

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/for-davey-johnson-the-time-was-right-to-manage-again/2011/06/26/AGAQWImH_story.html]For Davey Johnson, the time was right to manage again - The Washington Post[/url]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=12thMan;808426]Not a big Nats follower, although I live 10 friggin' minutes from the ballpark. But do you guys think there's much, if any, falloff between Riggleman and Johnson?[/quote]

In what sense? In terms of quality...hell to the no. Johnson is a far better manager in a general sense. We need to remember that Riggleman up until he had taken the Nats job had been an abject failure as a manager. He was regarded as one of the worst managers in the game. But since this team wasn't a team that was in any position to compete regularly he wasn't brought in to manage as much as to watch over and make sure they the younger players had a good environment in which to gain experience. There's little doubt that Rigs was right in teh sense that he wasn't the long term answer at manager. Hence the rolling one-year deals.

Now that the team has shown some cohesion and competitiveness they need to be managed in a competitive way. The question is whether DJ's style will work straight away or whether it will take some time for the players and him to adapt to each other, if ever.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Riggleman was perhaps best known as the guy who ran Kerry Wood's arm into the ground. Hence so much trepidation last year when Strasburg kept pitching

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=FRPLG;808457]In what sense? In terms of quality...hell to the no. Johnson is a far better manager in a general sense. We need to remember that Riggleman up until he had taken the Nats job had been an abject failure as a manager. He was regarded as one of the worst managers in the game. But since this team wasn't a team that was in any position to compete regularly he wasn't brought in to manage as much as to watch over and make sure they the younger players had a good environment in which to gain experience. There's little doubt that Rigs was right in teh sense that he wasn't the long term answer at manager. Hence the rolling one-year deals.

Now that the team has shown some cohesion and competitiveness they need to be managed in a competitive way. The question is whether DJ's style will work straight away or whether it will take some time for the players and him to adapt to each other, if ever.[/quote]

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/nationals-gm-mike-rizzo-needs-davey-johnson-hire-to-work/2011/06/25/AGqdgAlH_story.html]Nationals GM Mike Rizzo needs Davey Johnson hire to work - The Washington Post[/url]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;808471]Riggleman was perhaps best known as the guy who ran Kerry Wood's arm into the ground. Hence so much trepidation last year when Strasburg kept pitching[/quote]

Yeah Rigs is actually a major factor in the history of baseball. The current trend of intently protecting the pitchers' arms is in large part due to his mismanagement of Wood and the chilling effect it has had on the role of work-horse pitching in the majors. Woods is the poster child for teams now when they develop young pitchers..as to what not to do.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/nats-tv-ratings-still-climbing/2011/06/23/AGQJkLnH_blog.html]Nats TV ratings still climbing - DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post[/url]

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Well the bullpen finally collapsed last night. Shame to see, but hopefully it's just a bump in the road.

Meanwhile, Cliff Lee has been ridiculous this month for the Phillies

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/kevin-kennedy-says-riggleman-had-lost-the-nats-clubhouse/2011/06/30/AGSHKZsH_blog.html#pagebreak]Kevin Kennedy says Riggleman had lost the Nats clubhouse - DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post[/url]

If that is true, that makes me feel better about the timing of Riggleman leaving. The Davey Johnson era hasn't gotten off to a good start since getting swept by the Angels but they are still only 1 game under .500. I hope this slump is just temporary.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Anybody been watching the Nats lately? I was able to catch the endings of both their walkoffs against the Phillies yesterday and Friday night. First Ryan Zimm hitting a walkoff grand slam after rallying in the bottom of the ninth and then yesterday walking off after Brad Lidge plunked Johnny Gomes with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th? There's no greater justice than seeing stupid Philly fans waste all their money to take a nice little roadtrip down to our ballpark to see the Nats end the Phillies road series winning streak. They had a good game against us in the middle of the series but I'll take it as I'd rather have two walkoffs and one bad game than to have a good game and two ones where you lose via walkoff.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

Yeah and a strong performance by Detwiler tonight.

Re: Official Nationals and Orioles 2011 Thread
 

[quote=SmootSmack;825930]Yeah and a strong performance by Detwiler tonight.[/quote]

Yeah I watched tonight's game as well. Strong performance by Detwiler, H. Rod had a shaky performance getting that third out in the 7th, but a quick 8th and 9th by Mattheus and Storen was good as well.

And it was really nice to see Jayson Werth hit the 3 run homer in the fourth, I'm not nearly as down on him as other members of the fanbases are. He had an excellent at bat against Madson on Friday night to start the rally and I think he's setting himself up for a strong finish. It's always nice to see a game where there's not much suspense at the end, and that's what tonight's game was.