The Nationals, who on Friday announced that Dusty Baker will not return as manager, have "eliminated the margin for error in their managerial selection process," according to Chelsea Janes of the WASHINGTON POST. Fits for the position "will be difficult." And any potential hire will have to "decide whether he wants to take a chance on what is the winningest hub of baseball volatility over the last half-decade." The Nationals have "fostered no sense of managerial stability," having won "four division titles in six seasons with three different managers." Team ownership has "shown no willingness to extend their managers’ contracts despite strong performance." Among industry insiders, the Nationals have a "reputation for placing little value on the managerial position." In addition, GM & President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo’s contract is up after the '18 season, and his "future with the team will likely depend on his willingness to continue existing in the unpredictable framework given him by the Nationals’ owners." Also, RF Bryce Harper seems "likely to depart" for free agency after '18 (WASHINGTON POST, 10/22). In DC, Barry Svrluga wrote Nationals ownership "doesn’t value" the manager position. The Lerners "can’t be called 'cheap' ... because their payroll is competitive and they have allowed Rizzo and his front-office staff to pursue the pieces necessary at the trade deadline." But "listen to people who work for them, now and in the past, and it’s clear: On the fringes, they will pay for only the bare minimum." And in their view, the manager "lies on the fringes." Rizzo will be hiring his "fifth manager, entering his 10th season" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/21).
LASTING IMPACT: The WASHINGTON POST's Janes noted Baker’s "outspokenness about his contract and money rubbed some in the front office the wrong way." Earlier this season, Baker said that he "felt he was underpaid compared to other winning, veteran managers." Rizzo said that money "was not the problem." Sources confirmed that Baker "did not negotiate this week at all." No Nationals manager has "lasted three full seasons," but with several other teams still looking for managers, the Nationals "likely will have to bid -- in length of deal and terms -- for the big names" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/21). In DC, Thom Loverro writes, "You can’t overestimate the damage done to the Nationals’ standing within the baseball industry by the Lerners’ handling of Baker." It will "damage the organization moving forward trying to find their seventh manager since they took over ownership of the team" in '06. Rizzo is all that "stands between credibility and chaos for this organization." If the Lerners have a "hope of salvaging any part of their reputation, they need to give Rizzo a lengthy contract extension now -- a serious three-to-five year deal, and not the short-time commitments they have made to him" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/23).
POOR FORM: ESPN.com's Howard Bryant wrote the Nationals are a "bad organization with bad owners." The team has been in DC for 13 seasons. It has had six managers, seven if you count the "hiring and rescinding of the offer" to Bud Black. This is how the Nationals "view the managerial position." Bryant: "It isn't important, not worth paying for, and it's certainly not deserving of the credit or respect for the 192 games the team won under Baker" (ESPN.com, 10/20). SI.com's Jon Tayler wrote the Nationals’ "dismissal of Baker feels like an unfair move and an unforced error" for a team that seems to "reject organizational stability like a bad organ transplant." If any other organization had "pulled the plug, this move might be questioned, but it wouldn’t seem out of line." But the Nationals "haven’t earned that benefit of the doubt" (SI.com, 10/20). USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale wrote under the header, "In Firing Dusty Baker, Nationals' Gutless Arrogance On Display." Nationals manager is the "worst job in baseball." They "hire you, only to fire you." Baker stayed in DC for "nine days after the final playoff game" and finally went home to California only to be "awakened with a phone call Friday morning in Sacramento." The Nationals "didn't have the guts to fire him to his face, so they waited for him to leave town" (USATODAY.com, 10/20).
TWITTER REAX TO FIRING: Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted, "Rizzo told me in August there was no reason that Baker should not be back in 2018." DC-based WJFK-FM's Grant Paulsen: "Baker did a good job with #Nationals. He's a good guy & a good manager. But is he the guy to get them to a WS? #Nats did right thing." Former ESPN personality Britt McHenry: "Not sure how much managerial difference it makes when bats aren't swinging in the playoffs." TV One's Roland Martin: "Baker leads the @Nationals to the postseason in both of his seasons and they don't sign him to a new contract? Y'all deserve to lose."
