Screw you Mike Rizzo

[DPMOmaha]

Hey, theres nothing we can do, were stuck with what we've got unless someone is willing to make a silly trade for kearns/NJ.

I say, if NJ stays healthy this year and we keep him the entire year, we just sign him for 2 more years, we did that with Belly and Young, mine as well do it with someone actually doing something worth a darn, so far. We dont really have a first baseman that is actually ready, I dunno just how I feel.


Anyway, a Tyler Clippard Call up is definitely mandatory

I agree with most of this.  It's way to early to get anything of value for NJ, if you can't get a fair deal for him, I'd just as soon keep him here for a couple more years where he could be an important piece to us contending rather than to someone else contending. 

I don't think Clippard is too far away from getting the call.  Rivera needs to do more of what he did yesterday. 

All in all, I think this is a rush to judgement.  I'd sure hate it if my boss gave my final grade two months onto a new job.  Rizzo's still learning how to be the GM, he'll get there, he's getting there.  A full season, GM meetings and off-season of him as GM will be a better indicator of how well he will do at this job.  Sometimes you have to make a bigger mess while cleaning up the original one.

[raleighnat]

I sure don't understand the Rizzo bashing.  I mean, the guy can't materialize relievers.  He has what he has to work with.  Other than bringing up Clippard, what can he actually make happen instantly to change the dynamic?  When the bullpen was sucking earlier, he did a complete overhaul with what he had in the system.  It didn't pan out and I have no doubt that he'll make changes again if things don't stabilize.  Clearly a good long-term trade would be great, but you can't panic trade or someone will eat your lunch.  Good grief...give the guy some time.  This isn't a team he assembled.

His job #1 job is to draft and sign Strasburg, draft the best player at #10 and get him signed and then have one hell of a draft with picks 3 and on.  Job 2 is to continually improve his current club without sacrificing the future.  Lets give him a chance.

[The Chief]

I sure don't understand the Rizzo bashing.  I mean, the guy can't materialize relievers.  He has what he has to work with.  Other than bringing up Clippard, what can he actually make happen instantly to change the dynamic?  When the bullpen was sucking earlier, he did a complete overhaul with what he had in the system.  It didn't pan out and I have no doubt that he'll make changes again if things don't stabilize.  Clearly a good long-term trade would be great, but you can't panic trade or someone will eat your lunch.  Good grief...give the guy some time.  This isn't a team he assembled.

His job #1 job is to draft and sign Strasburg, draft the best player at #10 and get him signed and then have one hell of a draft with picks 3 and on.  Job 2 is to continually improve his current club without sacrificing the future.  Lets give him a chance.

I don't think there's much bashing going on, just sportsfan screaming at the top of his lungs to avenge Jim Bowden

[sportsfan882]

Syracuse's bullpen is better than ours'. enough said.

[tomterp]

Other than bringing up Clippard, what can he actually make happen instantly to change the dynamic? 

Somehow, grabbing Logan Kensing and sending down Bergmann just doesn't strike me as a good move.  Sending down Rivera the first time was overdue, but bringing him back two days later made zero sense.  True, we have little depth in the minors, but Bergmann and Clippard represent underutilized resources.

[The Chief]

I forgot about Bergmann.  I'd have to agree there, he deserved a much longer look.

[PANatsFan]

Somehow, grabbing Logan Kensing and sending down Bergmann just doesn't strike me as a good move.  Sending down Rivera the first time was overdue, but bringing him back two days later made zero sense.  True, we have little depth in the minors, but Bergmann and Clippard represent underutilized resources.

His second demotion was bizarre as well. Something is going on between Rizzo and these bullpen guys.

[Obed_Marsh]

Rizzo has two standards in my book. Sign Stephen Strasburg and not get freaked by Boras and play for the division next year when he isn't late to party and claiming Bowden's sloppy seconds. Bonus points for firing Manny the second he has a better option.

i have ZERO experience with managing a baseball team but suspect he's stuck with Bowden's budget forecasts till next season and has to tighten the screws to meet his numbers.

[R-Zim#11]

Mark Zuckerman hit the nail on the head in the Times:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/04/nationals-insider-no-relief-on-the-horizon/

One month in, it doesn't take much brainpower to figure out what has plagued the Washington Nationals most in 2009. Take away some wretched relief pitching, and the Nationals could be described as adequate instead of downright hideous.

It's not a stretch. Washington already has managed to lose five games in which it either led or was tied entering the ninth inning, a staggering number of collapses for this early juncture of the season.

Those bullpen meltdowns have drawn the ire of fans, the media, front office members, coaches, the manager and anyone else who has caught even a glimpse of this team. All are aghast at how the Nationals' relief corps could be so bad.

But everyone should have seen this coming.

What was Washington's biggest area of concern heading into spring training? The bullpen. "That's going to be the toughest challenge," manager Manny Acta said way back on Feb. 15.

Remember how many relievers were guaranteed jobs at the time? Two: Joel Hanrahan and Saul Rivera. Everything else was up for grabs, and Hanrahan - though handed the closer's job - didn't exactly have much of a track record in the role.

Acta, though, had no choice but to hand those two right-handers jobs, given what else he had to work with. The Nationals' other relief options at that point were the likes of Garrett Mock, Steven Shell, Gary Glover, Mike Hinckley, Jesus Colome, Ryan Wagner, Wil Ledezma and others with little pedigree.

The blame for that, as far as plenty of members of the Nationals organization are concerned, goes to former general manager Jim Bowden. It was Bowden who failed to acquire any major league relievers during the offseason - after losing his top three bullpen arms of 2008.

It's easy to forget just how good the Washington bullpen was for most of the franchise's first four years in town. With Chad Cordero closing and Jon Rauch and Luis Ayala setting him up, this team had one of the most reliable relief corps in baseball.

"I'm finding out right now how tough life is without them," Acta said this past weekend.

All three are gone, and the reasons for their departures were legitimate. Cordero blew out his shoulder and still isn't back pitching. Rauch was one of the organization's few tradeable commodities and was sent to Arizona for Emilio Bonifacio, who later was dealt to Florida for Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham. Ayala was ineffective and a malcontent, leading to his trade to the New York Mets for Anderson Hernandez.

Most members of the Nationals organization don't fault Bowden for making those moves, but plenty don't understand why the ex-GM didn't make more of an effort to restock his bullpen during the winter.

Mike Rizzo inherited the mess when Bowden resigned March 1 and wasted little time trying to remedy the problem. All but one player he has acquired since taking over as acting GM have been relief pitchers: Joe Beimel, Julian Tavarez, Kip Wells, Ron Villone and Mike MacDougal (the latter two at Class AAA Syracuse). Catcher Josh Bard is the lone exception.

Aside from Beimel, those were patchwork moves, journeyman veterans who could help hold the bullpen together when younger teammates faltered. Which is precisely what has happened.

Few expect those new members of the committee of closers to thrive in the next five months. And the likelihood of a significant addition to the group via trade is slim at this point.

Which means the Nationals, for better or worse, are going to have to make do with the bullpen they have. They can complain, fret and question how this came to be, but they can't do anything now but look forward and hope this glaring offseason oversight doesn't destroy an entire season.

[The Chief]

they can't do anything now but look forward and hope this glaring offseason oversight doesn't destroy an entire season.

I think it's too late for that.

[R-Zim#11]

I think it's too late for that.

Here is the thing I find interesting:

All off-season -- no relief pitchers were signed. Bowden has been known for pumping up current players well beyond their actual value. I assume he did the same with the relief corps. Rizzo on the other hand sees that danger -- however either no one listens, Bowden's ego squelches any complaints, or he just doesn't say anything -- most likely do to the latter.

March 1, Bowden "resigns." Approx, March 4, Rizzo takes over. 13 days later Rizzo signs Joe Beimel to a $2 mil contract. Stories of Bowden low-balling Beimel all off-season surface...Beimel is our only reliable reliever...

It looks to me that this mess is SQUARELY on the shoulders of Bowden...I think people need to cut Rizzo some slack and give him a chance to fix this mess...

[The Chief]

I don't think the "Rizzo hate" is nearly as prominent as you or some others think.  I think it's just sportsfan screaming at the top of his lungs, and the rest of us are simply questioning Rizzo's moves (or lack thereof) up to this point, but know that it's too soon to say for sure how much of this disaster is really his fault.

[hammondsnats]

I don't think there's much bashing going on, just sportsfan screaming at the top of his lungs to avenge Jim Bowden

lolllllllll how did i miss this gem? 

I used to be somewhat of a supporter of Bowden.  I thought he was going to be a good fit here for a while, but his antics got played out and his moves were questionable.  Don't get me started about all the off the field issues and his reputation around the league. 

I would just like Rizzo to get the full-time job or someone.  I know it's just a title, but it's a joke we don't have a full-time GM yet.

[DPMOmaha]

I think it's too late for that.

But if the team keeps up the offensive pace, they will be able to go to relievers in the offseason and say, "we'll put up the runs.  We need you to pitch.  That's what seperating us from being bad to being good, come be apart of it."  Hopefully the players out there who are available will respond to that. 

[DPMOmaha]

I would just like Rizzo to get the full-time job or someone.  I know it's just a title, but it's a joke we don't have a full-time GM yet.

I've mentioned it a couple of times recently but I remember reading somewhere that they likely wouldn't name an official GM until after the draft.  They didn't want that to be the first "official" responsiblity of an incoming GM.  I can't find where I saw that, naturally.  I also think Kasten will name Rizzo the permanant GM, but I think he wants to do his due-dilligence first, which is a wise thing to do.  I don't think Rizzo has screwed anything up yet, or maybe he just hasn't had enough time yet, I don't know, but I think come the All-Star break, he'll have the gig.

[R-Zim#11]

But if the team keeps up the offensive pace, they will be able to go to relievers in the offseason and say, "we'll put up the runs.  We need you to pitch.  That's what seperating us from being bad to being good, come be apart of it."  Hopefully the players out there who are available will respond to that. 

And with the potential rotation coming up of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Martis, Lannan...
The more I think about it the more I HATE Jim Bowden for not doing a Fah-King thing to the Bullpen!!!

[DPMOmaha]

My question from Boz's chat.  Sorta answered the question.

Midwest Nats Fan: Any timetable for naming the new GM for the Nats? I'm assuming Rizzo is still the front-runner. If that's still the case, why hasn't he been named officially yet?

Tom Boswell: Rizzo looks like the logical choice __and a good one. Don't see a reason to wait, especiallysince you'd think the Nats would want to say to their No. 1 and No. 10 picks, "This is our GM. He'll be here for a while."

I'm going to be very interested to see what Rizzo does with Kearns and Nick Johnson. Do you play them all season, get value for the $8.5M and $5M you are playing them, then let them go free agent and get picks back for them as (perhaps) Type A fee agents? Do you try to trade them before the trae deadline? Do you try to resign one of them for the future? (I doubt that.) Do you say "We need a reliever NOW" and make an under-pressure trade immediately. (You're not going to get a closer for eitherof them. And maybe not even a setup mnan, right now. A lot of bullpens all over MLB are on fire right now.)

It certainly looks like the Nats are likely to have Dunn at 1st next year, Willingham (whom they like a lot) in LF, Dukes in RF (yes, he's better-than-Milledge in CF, but that doesn't mean he's good) and a battlefor CF between Maxwell, Milledge and (maybe) Bernadina. Without the contracts of Young ($5.5M), Kearns, Johnson, Cordero and others, that's how the Nats can resign Ryan Z and Strasburg and get a FA this winter.

[The Chief]

Can't say I'm a fan of that outfield plan.

The way Nick is playing, I would actually consider signing him again for a year or two.  If he stays healthy of course.  That said, if we could swing a trade involving him for a good reliever, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I don't know why we're hanging on to Willingham.  Must have a good aura

[DPMOmaha]

Can't say I'm a fan of that outfield plan.

The way Nick is playing, I would actually consider signing him again for a year or two.  If he stays healthy of course.  That said, if we could swing a trade involving him for a good reliever, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I don't know why we're hanging on to Willingham.  Must have a good aura

My thoughts as well.

[PANatsFan]

Maxwell may be our best all around outfielder. Manny says it all the time. He needs to be playing in the big leagues ASAP. Willingham we can just non-tender.

[sportsfan882]

Maxwell stinks in the Minors. reminiscent of Flores.

looks bad in AAA, but excels in the Big leagues.

[PANatsFan]

Maxwell stinks in the Minors. reminiscent of Flores.

looks bad in AAA, but excels in the Big leagues.

Saw him play with Vermont. No stinking. He gets hurt a lot though.

[sportsfan882]

.234/.310/.344 so far in Cuse this year (64 ABs). 5 BBs to 27 Ks.

[JMW IV]

Quote from: The Chief on Yesterday at 09:08:46 PM
 just sportsfan screaming at the top of his lungs to avenge Jim Bowden

yeah, that's basically the entire purpose of this thread.

and don't forget that Bowden is the one who subjected us to Daniel Cabrera.  nice going, Jim.

*waits for SF to give an excuse that exonerates Jimbo for THAT one*

[sportsfan882]

yeah, that's basically the entire purpose of this thread.

and don't forget that Bowden is the one who subjected us to Daniel Cabrera.  nice going, Jim.

*waits for SF to give an excuse that exonerates Jimbo for THAT one*

it was a poor signing but he was just trying to see if D-Crab could finally put it together. obviously the answer was a resounding NO.

Now the onus is on Rizzo to get this bum off the team. show some balls