I sincerely hope so. I hated Riggleman when he managed the Cubs but gave him the benefit of the doubt when he was replacing Acta yet we could do better. Not buying out Riggleman will play second cousin to the potential of losing Dunn but it is the early frontrunner for my pick for the front office gaffe of 2011.
I know you can argue a manager has little impact on a season but I hate his predicable choices and think it matters more than I can quantify.
I've been shocked with what's going on with Bobby Valentine. Here I was hoping he might replace Riggleman when he was still our interim manager. Then we have all these openings this season, an unbelievably high amount, and Valentine is almost certain to remain in broadcasting come opening day. Unless we sign Lee and some other FAs, let's face it, 2011 is already a likely lost cause. Even more considering we are essentially guaranteed to lose Dunn at this point. So barring an absurdly ridiculous amount of success next season, I almost hope to see us fail horribly if the alternative is another 65-70 win season. Clear out Riggleman, by the All-Star break, and sign Valentine. Then we don't have to worry about Riggleman's stupidity hurting the team in 2012 when we might have a legitimate shot at contention depending on Rizzo making the right moves.
I would definitely be upset if Riggleman is our manager going into 2012, because I believe he has a high risk of losing an extra 5-8 games by pulling boneheaded moves, and that might be the difference between a wild card spot in 2012 and another losing season. I still have hope that we see Valentine leading this club at some point, as I have since Acta was fired. But unfortunately, our owners are the Lerners. And while I'm not on the LAC bandwagon that many are, they clearly have shown that they aren't interested and don't believe in paying anything for managerial positions. Obviously, given Valentine is still unemployed, no club wi that attitude will get him. He's either asking for the moon and the stars, or else his time in Japan has rendered him either totally obnoxious and unemployable, or his baseball IQ has dropped. There's no reason he's not been hired outside those.
Regardless of my hopes for Valentine, we could hire nearly anyone qualified and they would be better than Riggleman. He makes horrible moves at times, at other times is ridiculously predictable, etc. etc. etc. His managing of the Nyjer Morgan clown show in September further showed me evidence he cannot control a clubhouse and manage players properly. So I sincerely hope that not only do we have Harper longer than Giggles the Clown, but that when Harper comes up, Riggleman won't be his manager. I'm not sure if that's likely or not at this point. Next season will definitely be the defining year of Riggleman's career. If he fails, he'll never manage in the Major's again. If he guides the team to 70 wins or above, we are probably stuck with him for 2012, which I believe impacts the likelihood we have the contending year so many believe significantly, and not for the better.
