I disagree. Veterans like Zimmerman, Dunn, and Willingham have cushy jobs locked up for next year. Guzman has never, ever been challenged for a job and knows the team is hesitant to move him anywhere in the lineup or even off the field. And for those guys, the last month is just to go through the motions and get to October. They're playing for, at the most, statistics. We have younger guys who have a chance to push the veterans for jobs but Riggleman is more concerned about being fair to all the other teams we play.
For the most part, players like Gonzalez, Bard, Nieves, etc just flat-out suck and I can't really blame them for that.
The being fair to other clubs is the only thing a manager in Riggleman's situation can say. If he said that the Nats should only play the kids then the vets would revolt. By using the we have to play our best players he keeps the vets happy and hasn't degraded the youngsters by saying they are not ready or good enough. Riggleman (stay or go) can't win in this bad a situation.
