In a truly bizarre move, the Nationals announced over their team twitter account that manager Jim Riggleman resigned this afternoon, almost immediately after the Nationals’ 1-0 win over the Mariners. Their third win in a row. Their 11th win in 12 games. A win that put the Washington Nationals, who have never finished a season above .500, at 38-37.
Apparently, before the game Riggleman told GM Mike Rizzo that he was unhappy with his contract situation and that if Rizzo couldn’t fix it before the end of the game, he was going to quit. Clearly, Rizzo didn’t take action and now he’s out a manager. It’s hard to see what exactly about the situation was bugging Riggleman, though. When the Nats elevated him from interim manager after the 2009 season, he got a two-year deal with an option for 2012. In his first full year of the deal, the Nats lost 93 games, but they picked up his option early this season anyway. It would be one thing if his status for 2012 was up in the air, but it’s not.
As near as I can tell, the Nats haven’t even named an interim manager, though third base coach Bo Porter, who was interviewed for several openings over the winter, and bench coach John McLaren, who managed Seattle after Mike Hargrove resigned in 2007, would seem to be logical choices.
