Photo by MissChatter on Flickr
By Richard Holwill
The Nats will open the season tomorrow in Chicago with a swagger that says “we can make the playoffs.” They’ve got “attitude,” which the marketers are calling “Nattidue,” a slogan coming to a tee-shirt near you. Attitude is great, but have they really got game?
Thomas Boswell, the Washington Post curmudgeon-in-chief, predicted that the Nats will be in a World Series in the next five years. In that Boswell has bitterly complained about the way the Lerners are building the team, his current enthusiasm deserves particular note.
So how good are the Nationals? General Manager Mike Rizzo is very upbeat. When I told him that I had lost one partner in my season ticket package and had a few extra seats, he put it this way: “Hold on to the seats for August and September. They will be hot items by then.” So, he is predicting that they will be contenders, not necessarily champions but contenders who will be fun to watch.
Clearly, this is Rizzo’s team. He is a former scout and the son of a scout. He found quick-young players for the infield, guys with big bats on the corners and in the outfield, pitchers who threw hard and experienced hitters in reserve. Most critically, Rizzo wants team players and that selfish players can destroy the chemistry that can make an average team into a contender and a contender into a champion.
Rizzo also understands what he needs in a manager. He told me that “anyone can manage a game and call in the right- or left-handed relief pitcher.” The important thing, he said “is to manage people.” He didn’t say it but it sounded like he was describing a manager with characteristics that are the opposite of Jim Riggleman, who started the 2011 season for the Nats but threw his toys out of the crib and quit half-way through the season.
The “people person” that Rizzo has as manager is 69-year-old Davey Johnson who coached the Mets to a World Series title, the Reds and Orioles to division titles and the O’s to one AL Championship title. Rizzo describes Johnson as someone who can deliver bad news in a way that bucks a player up, not grind him down. “The players love him,” Rizzo said.
Spring training is not about a win-loss record. It is about preparing for the regular season and locking in the players that will fill out the squad. It is about defining player value. Rizzo built a solid team without breaking the bank. The Nats have the lowest payroll in the NL East, estimated at $88.5 million by Baseball-Reference.Com, an authoritative site for baseball statistics. It is also lower than 18 of 30 teams that are paying more to field teams but up substantially from the $60 million figure that the Nats paid in 2009.
“The Game” is really about player value. If Rizzo has gotten good value from the team that he has assembled, it will show in the regular season. Yes. There are still some holes to fill but, at this point, the Nats have headroom under the salary cap to fill those holes when the right players become available and when the current starters are free agents ready to negotiate new contracts.
Last year, I was satisfied with 81 wins, which, but for one rained-out game, was a .500 season. This year, the Nats could be flirting with 90 wins, which is what they will need to secure a Wild-Card slot in the playoffs.
If the Nats are contenders in September, the hero won’t be on the field. The hero will be hanging out in the stands, cheering with the rest of us. The hero will be Mike Rizzo.