The Nationals agreed to a two-year contract extension with President of Baseball Operations & GM Mike Rizzo through the '20 season, and team Principal Owner Mark Lerner said it was "just a matter of finding time in the day to talk and get something done." Lerner, speaking before Thursday's home opener, said, "He's the architect of this team. We have a great organization and a great team on the field every year and it's something to be proud of and he deserved an extension." Rizzo said he "thought it was important for the team not to have this as a distraction" this season. MASN's Johnny Holliday said of Rizzo, "All of baseball looks at him as being in that upper tier of general managers." MASN's Ray Knight: "My hat's off to the Lerners for making the decision now, getting it off the burner and making it happen because it can distract you" ("Nats Xtra," MASN, 4/5). MLB Network's Chris Russo said, "He’s done a heck of a job. ... He gets the team to the postseason, he's made good moves and everything else, so the Nationals know what they're doing.” MLB Net's Jon Morosi: “One of the best GMs in the game. He’s built a sustainable winner there in Washington, which I believe is going to be good for years to come” (“High Heat,” MLB Network, 4/5).
LUCKY TO HAVE HIM: In DC, Thom Loverro writes the Nationals before Rizzo took over as interim GM in '09 were "dead and buried, coming off a 102-loss inaugural season at Nationals Park." Loverro: "You have to know how bad this organization was when [Rizzo] took over." Rizzo "dug and dug until he built a baseball organization that has become one of the best in the game." That it took until now, Rizzo's final contract year, for him to receive an extension is "absurd, but it should serve as evidence of what the owners of this team are capable of, left to their own devices." Rizzo "rightfully demanded a certain level of respect." The Lerners "couldn't let Rizzo's job security linger all season," but they "didn't exactly pave a smooth path, either" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/6). Also in DC, Jerry Brewer writes Rizzo's extension came "too many months late for the Lerner family to avoid another round of warranted ... criticism, but at least this tale won't end with another mystified employee enduring a lame-duck season." No one with "any sense would have wanted to see Rizzo ... trudge away after the season without a new deal." But the fact that it is only a two-year deal "almost guarantees this uneasy dance will resume." That is "just how the Lerners operate." They "may never make long commitments and give top-market compensation to employees who don't play the game." Rizzo should "never be allowed to leave" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/6).
