Obviously, the big story on Thursday is that, minutes after watching his team reach a better-than-.500 record by sweeping the Mariners, Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman resigned, citing a contract dispute. Riggleman wanted the Nationals to make a commitment to him and pick up his 2012 option, while the Nationals didn't want to do so just yet.
VIDEO: Jim Riggleman Discusses His Resignation From Nationals
Now, we have some video of Riggleman discussing his decision with the press. Courtesy of MLB.com:
Riggleman explains that he wasn’t demanding that the Nationals pick up his option. He just wanted to have a conversation about it with general manager Mike Rizzo, and Rizzo kept declining. It would appear that Rizzo’s latest refusal to discuss Riggleman’s contract was the last straw. Riggleman had come close to resigning before, and today he finally went through with it.
Riggleman, for his part, certainly seems comfortable with his decision and confident that he did the right thing, even if this means he’s unlikely to find another job later on. He just didn’t enjoy working with such uncertainty hanging over his head, and whether or not that would be true for everyone, it was true for Riggleman, so he bailed. Now it’s on the Nationals to find a replacement in the middle of a surprisingly successful season, with the best candidates being John McLaren and Bo Porter.
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