There is a culture of losing that surrounds Nationals Park. Some would argue it has hung around the franchise like a black cloud since its days as the Montreal Expos, who were left destitute under Major League Baseball ownership and finally shipped to the District in 2005.
The manager has just been fired. Manny Acta’s replacement, Jim Riggleman, has been pinned with the interim tag. The team’s general manager, Mike Rizzo, has been listed as “acting” GM since taking over for Jim Bowden in March. That leaves the entire front office structure built on a house of cards — a scenario that leaves even unflappable team president Stan Kasten ill at ease.
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“I’m very uncomfortable with that. I’ve strived my whole career for value, stability and consistency and I want to get there,” Kasten said at a news conference on Monday at Nationals Park. “We’re not there yet. I think we’re working toward that. Sometimes we encounter these unfortunate, unforeseen bumps in the road. We need to bring some stability here.”
Those interim and acting tags will likely not be removed until the end of the season — if at all. But for now, Rizzo is in the midst of trade talks with teams throughout baseball as the Nats look to add prospects and young players to the organization’s pipeline. Then there are the contract negotiations with top draft pick Stephen Strasburg and his advisor, Scott Boras, which must be completed by Aug. 17.
Riggleman, meanwhile, will at least be given an opportunity to earn the manager’s job on a permanent basis. But even that depends on an improved second-half performance and on how things shake out at the front-office levels above his head. For now, uncertainty rules and everyone is being evaluated — from young starting pitchers like Jordan Zimmermann and John Lannan to Riggleman to Rizzo.
“I really don’t think that,” Kasten said when asked if his organization is now starting its rebuilding process over. “Let’s not gloss over it. It’s hard to amass a core of young future starters. That took us time. … So the last three years haven’t been a waste because we used that time to assemble the pieces that are now starting to materialize as big parts of our future.”
