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Riggleman quits as Nationals manager

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  • #1

    Riggleman quits as Nationals manager

    Updated Jun 23, 2011 4:48 PM ET



    In a shocking development in the nation's capital, Jim Riggleman quit Thursday as manager of the Washington Nationals.



    The Nationals beat the the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on Thursday, completing a three-game sweep. They have won 11 of their previous 12 games.



    Riggleman reportedly was upset that the Nationals were not going to pick up the option on his contract.



    "Jim told me pregame today that if we wouldn't pick up his [contract] option that he wouldn't get on the team bus today," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said at a news conference after Thursday's game.



    Riggleman's surprise announcement came as the Nationals have surged to 38-37.



    "Jim is a good baseball man," his agent, Burton Rocks, said. "He will manage again. And he will win. The Nationals should have picked up his option sooner rather than later. It rewards a job well done and promotes team chemistry."

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  • #2
    On the eve of a weekend series against the Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned Thursday over a contract dispute.

    The Nationals moved above .500 (38-37) after beating Seattle 1-0 on Thursday, but general manager Mike Rizzo said Riggleman was unhappy because the team had shown no inclination to pick up an option year on his contract.

    Riggleman wanted a conversation about his contract status, but Rizzo said this was not the time.

    "I just feel it's like saying, 'You're not the guy," Riggleman told reporters after the game. "I just wanted the option picked up, but I wanted a conversation when we got to Chicago. Mike said, 'We're not going to do that.'


    "I'll never do a one-year deal again. I thought after 10 years, I felt I had the right to a longer leash. I love it here, and I'll miss it."

    The team will name an interim manager Friday before the Nationals face the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

    "We were very taken aback by it and very surprised by it," Rizzo said of Riggleman's ultimatum that he wouldn't board the bus to Chicago if his contract wasn't extended.

    Riggleman, who had a 374-419 record managing the Chicago Cubs from 1995-99, was in his third season in Washington.

    The Nationals have won 11 of 12 and are above .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2005.

    "We should be celebrating going to Chicago," Rizzo said. "I'm disappointed that this is a distraction, that this is not thinking of the team first, that it is thinking of personal goals, thinking of personal things firsts. That's probably what disappoints me the most."

    Riggleman is the second manager to resign this week. Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez quit Sunday.



    http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,7884506.story

    Comment

    • #3
      Hope the Nats go on a 15 games skid now. Give the guy an extra year. Geezus

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      • #4
        good for you Riggs........ come back to the Cubs.....i hope the Nats lose 80 in a row.........
        jordanrules..................

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