Center Field Gate

Same As The Old Boss: Jim Riggleman has been hired as the manager of the Washington Nationals, according to information coming both from the team and from baseball sources. The official announcement is expected to be made sometime on Thursday during a press conference at Nationals Park. The final decision apparently came down to a choice between former Mets manager Bobby Valentine and Riggleman, but what is surprising is the news that the Nats considered several other candidates, including St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. The other names in the running included Tim Foley, Bo Porter and Bob Melvin. An early candidate, Don Mattingly, took himself out of the running for the job.

The news of Riggleman’s hiring brought mixed reviews from the Nats blogosphere. Nationals Inquisition criticized the decision: ”This move will do little to nothing to change the losing culture of the team. I can hardly be excited by putting the team in the hands of a guy who in a whole ‘decade’ of his managerial career has only had two seasons over .500,” NI’s writer noted. FJB was also critical: “So for all practical purposes, it was Fizzleman from the start. Oh well. At least we don’t have to feel conflicted when it comes time to call for his head. And I give him a year. If he survives in this death march of a job longer than Manny did, then he’ll really have achieved something.” Nationals Pride, on the other hand, greeted the news by outlining the series of steps that brought Riggleman the job — a so called triple play that included signing Stephen Strasburg and hiring Mike Rizzo. Nationals Fan Boy Looser, on the other hand, was positive:  ”If the braintrust says this is the right move, I’m on board. In Mike We Trust has been the motto since Mike Rizzo was named GM and it will remain that way until he gives me reason to no longer feel that way.”

It’s impossible to read into the Lerner-Kasten-Rizzo calculation, but there were a number of factors that probably weighed in on the final decision — and that undoubtedly cut against the hiring of Valentine. The first, and most important, is that Riggleman is a known quantity. Lerner, Kasten and Rizzo know Riggleman and work well with him, while Valentine’s “fit” was an unknown. Riggleman’s 33-42 record as the Nats’ skipper for 2009 is hardly a reason to keep him on, but his ability to get along with the front office (despite the team’s struggles), had to be viewed as a plus. Then too, hiring Valentine would have made “Bobby Ball” the focus of the media: a negative for a guy like the low profile and low key Kasten, who consistently urges reporters to focus on the ballplayers. The last thing the Nats need is a volatile skipper. Say what you will about Riggleman, at least he’s steady. Finally, there is a sense of impermanence about Bobby V, who might well have viewed the Nats job as a stepping stone into something bigger – including a final triumphant stint in the Big Apple. If it’s anything the Nats need it’s predictability. Riggleman gives them that.

And there’s this. Jim Riggleman knows this team and knows the game. He wants to succeed and he wants to do it in Washington. He’s not a big name, not a public figure, not a controversial or outspoken celebrity. He’s the anti-Valentine. Sure, he’s not Broadway, but the Nats don’t need Broadway. This is a decision that makes sense.

While the AL champion has not yet been decided, the crowning of the Phillies as N.L. champs sets up a classic I-95 tussle with the Yankees — or maybe it’s the Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed series. Despite the dominance of the Phillies in every aspect of their series with the suddenly sputtering Dodgers, the Ashburns would be decided underdogs in the match-up against the The Evil Empire, whose front line pitching of Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte would match-up well against Utley, Howard, Werth and Ibanez. And while the Phillies’ bullpen outclassed the Broxtons, they’d have a tougher time with the middle of the Yanks order. “We’re gonna get it,” Phuzzie manager Charlie Manuel says. We can forgive the over-confidence:  anything can happen in a seven game series and the Phillies are hardly pushovers. Even if they will be (and it’s still a pretty big maybe) facing the class of baseball.

It didn’t use to be this way. For over seven decades the Phillies were the pushovers of the National League — only one step ahead of our very own Washington Senators. As our pals over at Real Dirty Mets Blog point out, the Phils were once the doormats of the league: “From 1918-1948 they were above .500 once. 78-76 in 1932, finishing 4th. In an 8-team league, that was the only time in 31 years they finished above 5th place.” Before winning it all in 1980, the Phillies had appeared in the postseason twice — and lost both times. The Phillies might not have been “first in war, first in peace and last in the National League,” but they were next-to-last; the only thing they had to show for their efforts were a bunch of gamers who entered the hall: Richie Ashburn, Jim Bunning, Jimmie Foxx and Robin Roberts. Not a bad crew, but near-beer when compared to the Dodgers, Giants, and even the Cubs. Even when the Phillies were good they were bad. Baseball fans who know the game well scoff at the Mets collapse of 2007: the ‘64 Phillies led the league by 6.5 and blew it in seven games. They were “the pholding Phillies.” It took them until 1980 to win their first series — a record of futility unmatched even by the North Side Drama Queens, who dominated the game in the early part of the century. It took Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt to turn it around, though it would be another twenty-eight years before the Phillies took another championship.

These are not grandpa’s Phillies. The turn in the franchise is not simply the result of lots of money (their 2009 opening day payroll was a whopping $113 million), or a strong fan base (third in all of baseball), but a reflection of one of baseball’s best front offices. Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro (Jr.) never stopped building: the 2009 version of the Phils is his handiwork. He added a key piece in the off-season (Raul Ibanez) and two starters that will be the backbone of the staff in the series: Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. Even so, it might not be enough. While the Phillies would be favored to humble the Belinskis, it’s doubtful Lee could pitch as well in two games against the Yankees as he did against the Dodgers. And could we really expect Pedro to match his seven inning NLCS effort? Then too, there’s the Phillies bullpen. Scoured clean during the regular season (they were simply awful, and in chaos, in the late going), Brad Lidge was once again Brad Lidge in the Trolley series, keeping the ball away from their best hitters. He would have to do that again, and then some, against the Jeters. Bottom line? In any match-up against the Bombers, the Phillies would have to be Rocky Balboa to win. But it would be exciting.

It’s Not A Motorcycle Sweetie, It’s A Chopper: Mark Lerner just bubbles over about the great progress the Nats have made over the last season, identifying the hiring of Mike Rizzo as one of the five great things that has happened to the team. Agreed. But the real question here (never asked in the on line interview) is whether the owners are willing to shell out what it will take to bring ballplayers to the club. The Nats payroll for 2009 was at $60 million, a little more than half of what the Phillies paid . . . The Lerners should know better than to complain about the media. They can’t win: and it’s hard to argue with columnists who roll their eyes at the obvious penny pinching. The Lerner family says they operate the Nationals as a public trust and are committed to the city. They should be celebrated for that: but the midseason argument that the Lerners have given back never really sounded right. Is that why they bought the team? To be good citizens?

The report of the day has Don Mattingly being interviewed for the Nats managerial job. “You listen to everyone,” Mattingly said about taking a job with a team that is rebuilding. “I’m flattered there’s some organizations out there that think I’m capable of it, or at least talked to me about it. You get to know them, they get to know you, and you see where it goes from there.” Mattingly knows the game and has been angling for a top dugout job since he left baseball. He was the reputed successor to Joe Torre in New York and was angered by the hiring of Joe Girardi. But the knock on Mattingly has nothing to do with his willingness to manage a last place team. The question is: does a last place team really need a guy who’s never been a manager — or wouldn’t the Nats be better off with someone with a few more years under their belt. No matter his experience, Mattingly would be an experiment: and the Nats have had enough of those.