Perhaps the
only positive aspect to yesterday’s little Papelbon-Harper scuffle in the
Washington Nationals’ dugout is that it diverted attention from the club’s
deeper problems. These are best demonstrated by a column in yesterday’s Washington Post, in which several Nats players anonymously stab their manager
in the back with a week still left to go in the season.
Regardless
of the job Matt Williams has done as manager -- and it's been far from perfect
-- what does this say about the character of the team and its “veteran leaders”?
If you’re unhappy about your boss, there are plenty of professional ways of
dealing with the situation. This is clearly not one of them, and is the sort of
thing that damages the organization both with the fans and in the eyes of
quality players or other staff that the team might like to add.
Matt should
take the high road and resign right after the season, apologizing for the
team's failures and his contributions to them, and thanking Rizzo and Harper
for their support. He should be thankful to be out of such a toxic environment.
Rizzo
(assuming he still has a job after his inspired addition of Papelbon at the
trade deadline) should then convene a meeting of the gutless wonders and let
them pick their own manager for next season. That way, if they tank again the
way they did for both Davey and Matt, they will have no one to blame but
themselves.
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