Interchangeable Parts... or Not

See, this is what pisses me off the most.

I was up trying to take a dump or something in the 5th inning when Craig Stammen was due to hit. All he had done was come in with the bases loaded and nobody out and bail Marquis out. With the bullpen already stretched thin this week and Strasburg up tomorrow, one would think that Riggleman would try to get three innings from Stammen. Especially since Stammen is one of the few pitchers in the NL who can be trusted to swing a bat.

Instead, Riggleman through the white towel for Sunday as well and gave Justin Maxwell a charity swing. It is very difficult to watch uninformed decisions being made at the highest level. Anyone who has watched batting practice knows Stammen is a good all-around athlete with more than a little pop. Given a fair complement of plate appearances, he may not duplicate Zimmerman's numbers, but it is fairly safe to say the following this season:

Craig Stammen is a better hitter than Nyjer Morgan;
Craig Stammen is a better hitter than Wil Nieves;
Craig Stammen is a better hitter than Willie Harris;
Craig Stammen is a comparable, if not better hitter than both Pudge and Alberto Gonzalez;
and finally,
Craig Stammen is a much, much better hitter than Justin Maxwell.

Instead, since Riggleman thinks that his roster is full of interchangeable parts, where Willie Harris = Mike... err, Michael Morse, and John Lannan = Craig Stammen. He sees P and and thinks that designation defines the player's skill set more than the player himself. Just like the disaster sending Guzman out to right field, Riggleman saw that middle infielders like Morse and Desmond play acceptably out there and figured a "32" (I don't trust those birth certificates anymore) year old career shortstop would be just fine. Everyone who had ever watched Guzman play knew that even second or third would be a stretch for him, and the outfield, was, at best, a wild gamble. Justin Maxwell getting on base (walk) against an average pitcher is a stretch, but with Kennedy throwing strikes as well as he was last night, it was a wild gamble to think Maxwell would get on against him. Just frustrating as hell, and fortunately, I was reenacting Marquis' second inning in the bathroom when it happened, so I didn't have the chance to raise hell down in 116.

Oh yeah, about that Jason Marquis...

The Sum of All Fears

You can imagine my heart sinking when I found this turd in my inbox.

Once again, my point is this: how does this improve the on-field management situation from the previous three (or five) seasons? It doesn't. Riggleman has a history of taking contenders and riding them into the ground. His managing highlight is winning a tie-breaker to sneak into the playoffs, only to be swept within a few hours. I curse the Atlanta Braves for rolling over the last week of this season. A four win downswing and instead of courting the cute, spry junior who would probably be smokin' hot without the glasses for the prom, the Nats going after Riggleman would be settling for the knocked up skanky senior that that gave her last three boyfriends crabs. Hey guys, the crabs are still there!!

My guess is that this decision came down to money. The Nats knew they could get away saving a million dollars by staying within the organization. It is damn near impossible to put a worse product on the field (though Riggleman will dare to prove me wrong), and the Nats obviously see this next two-year period as a bridge to respectability, allowing their draft bounty to mature. The Nats will not compete under Riggleman, and after 2011 they will go after a baseball mind to push them up in the standings. There is no reason to bring in a big name or a young visionary when the goal is ninety losses. So what is they make it to eighty-seven? Is it worth an extra two million dollar commitment? Of course not.

Happy 57th birthday Jim... you got the job. The bar is set low, so please do not trip over it.