The Washington Post
Baseball
THOMAS BOSWELL
Chance to Manage Again Hits Home
BOSWELL, From D1
long ago until could count them on your fingers. Right now, as far as I can determine, the only man now wearing a major league uniform — in any capacity, manager or coach —who grew up in the Washington area, attended games here as far back as Griffith Stadium and spent his childhood and youth loving the Senators is Jim Riggleman. Now, in a season of
mortifications and misery for the Nationals, Riggleman is suddenly the manager of Washington’s team. True, interim only. Perhaps this is just a sweet 75-game interlude, like his 90 games as interim manager of the Mariners last season. Or maybe this will become a mini-fairy tale. Either way, what are the odds? “This is my home. I still have family here,” said Riggleman who grew up in Rockville and went to Richard Montgomery High before graduating from nearby Frostburg State. “I grew up watching Fred Valentine and Danny O’Connell.” O’Connell was one of the original, atrocious expansion Senators in ’61. In 591 at-bats that year, he hit one home run. The next year, in 268 at-bats, he got much better — two homers. So, he retired. O’Connell wasn’t a hero to many, just a few Washington kids —including Riggleman, who was 8 and 9 years old then, the age when baseball grabs you and sometimes never lets go. “We had the Senators. We loved the Senators. But we didn’t win enough, we didn’t support ’em enough and we lost ’em,” Riggleman said. “All those years when Washington didn’t have a team, I always said, ‘You’ve got to have baseball in the nation’s capital.’ So I was thrilled when a team came back.” The word to note here is, of course, “we.” So, a managing job that might be a nightmare for some is actually a dream for Riggleman. He’s also probably good news for the Nats. The 56-year-old isn’t the one who created this Natinals mess. No one on earth should expect him to transform it. But Riggleman is more than a stopgap. He’s one of only 80 men since 1900 who’ve managed in the majors for at least 10 seasons. In baseball, longevity is a measure of trust and esteem, as well as, sometimes, old-shoe comfort. Riggleman has taken a (Cubs) team to the playoffs, something that neither Frank Robinson (in 16 seasons) nor Branch Rickey (10) ever did. Whatever happens in the last 75 games of this season, if the Nats think Riggleman is their problem, they’re nuts.
On the other hand, let’s face facts and not get mushy. Sometimes you find unsettling stats you were not looking for. Of those 80 managers with 10 seasons, I’ve interviewed the majority (41) and Riggleman has the worst career winning percentage of any (.445). In the last two days, many have jumped to the conclusion that since Riggleman replaced Acta, he must be dramatically different either as a manager or in personality type. He isn’t. In fact, he’s very much like Acta, but with the intensity during games and the accountability afterward turned up just a notch or two. He’s a more experienced, less-touchy-feely but still empathetic version of Manny. He
The Riggleman Era Begins for Nationals
NATIONALS, From Page D1
61 of 87 games. He got fired. About an hour after the move, acting general manager Mike Rizzo called Riggle- man: Did he want the interim manag- er’s job? “Absolutely,” Riggleman said.
So yesterday, Riggleman, one day before the Nationals begin the second half of the season, appeared at Na- tionals Park, spoke to his players, con- ducted a workout and began the hum- ble task of leading a floundering team toward respectability. Though Wash- ington’s first-half maladies cost Acta his job, an even-handed managing ap- proach was not among the casualties. Riggleman plays by a similar philoso- phy — though he’ll kick when need- ed. A self-described softy now begin- ning his fourth managing job, and sec- ond on an interim basis, Riggleman said, “I have no problem if you miss a ball, but if you don’t chase it after you miss it there’s a problem.” Now 221
⁄2 games out of first place,
BY MARK GAIL — THE WASHINGTON POST
Jim Riggleman was not about to shut the door on a chance at managing again, even if it’s for just 75 games.
won’t hand out self-help books or ask about family all the time. And he might actually chew you out. “The last couple of days I’ve been hearing that I’m ‘fiery.’ I feel like I’m a bit of a softy. I think I’m kind of easy,” said Riggleman who, in five years running the Cubs sometimes heard that he was “wasn’t getting on ’em enough.” “If they are not playing well, I understand. The game is difficult,” he said. “But if they don’t play hard, then that irks me. [In the past] if a player hasn’t been respectful of the game, the uniform, the fans, then I have had a few [incidents] in the dugout over the years and the camera always catches that. “If you miss it, chase it.” Perhaps the Nationals’ biggest organizational issue right now, and it is a potentially huge one, is the gradual insidious growth of a culture of defeat. Riggleman is acutely aware of it. “Agonize over the losses. Losing should hurt and winning is hard,” he said. “Sometimes, players can [come to] accept losing. But that is unacceptable.”
The mere fact that the current Nats enjoy each other so much, despite a horrendous 26-61 record, is closer to a condemnation than a compliment. No good manager, even on a “building” team, can afford a clubhouse that’s both under-performing and comfortable. Is a losing mentality already entrenched, less than two seasons after the nationally maligned ’07 team fought to the last day of the season to avoid 90 losses and stuck out its chest after finishing ahead of eight teams? As the losses have become mountainous since then, some players, including Ryan Zimmerman, have worried. How much can you lose, and for how long, without becoming losers? That’s why the few green shoots of hope in recent months that the Lerners will spend enough money to build a credible team have been scrutinized so closely. So far,
Law Offices
ALLAN P. FEIGELSON, P.A.
Laurel Lakes Executive Park 8337 Cherry Lane
Twitter at the Park
Going to a Nationals game during the homestand that starts tonight? The Post could use your help. We’re collecting and displaying Twitter posts from fans at the stadium today through July 26. We’re hoping the tweets give readers a feel for the entire stadium experience. If you want to help and are on Twitter, post one or more messages from the game with a “#natswp” hashtag, followed by a space and your section number. For example: “A guy in our section caught Zimmerman’s foul ball with his soda cup #natswp 230” or “The line for pizza behind our section is really long #natswp 412.” Throughout the homestand, the tweets will be displayed on the Web at washingtonpost.com/sports. The commentary may also help us write a piece on the overall atmosphere and fan experience at Nationals Park.
Questions or comments? Send them via Twitter to @PostSports.
NATIONALS’ NEXT THREE
Today
Time Opp. Nats
7:05 Cubs
Lannan
Pitchers Opp.
Pitchers TV
(6-6, 3.70) Harden
(5-6, 5.47) MASN
Tom.
7:05
Cubs Olsen
(2-4, 6.03)
Zambrano (5-4, 3.53)
MASN Cubs
Zimmermann (3-4, 4.50)
Lilly
(9-6, 3.18) MASN
ALL GAMES ON WFED (1500 AND 820 AM)
Saturday
7:05
Laurel, Maryland 20707 301-362-2900
SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE’S SALE OF IMPROVED REAL PROPERTY
KNOWN AS
3831 SAINT BARNABAS ROAD #204 SUITLAND, MD 20746
JULY 31, 2009 AT 1:00 PM
By virtue of a power of sale contained in a Deed of Trust from REGINA PIERCE, dated January 9, 2007 and recorded in the Land Records of PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Maryland, at Liber 27717, Folio 557, default having occurred under the terms thereof, the Substitute Trustee will sell at public auction, at 14735 MAIN ST, DUVAL WING ENTRANCE, UPPER MARLBORO, MD 20772.All that FEE SIMPLE lot of ground and the improvements thereon, situated in PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY and being more fully described in the aforesaid Deed of Trust.
THE PROPERTY IS IMPROVED BY A DWELLING. THE PRINCIPAL BALANCE OF $75,958.00.
The sale is subject to post-sale review of the status of the loan and that if any agreement to cancel the sale was entered into by the lender and borrower prior to the sale then the sale is void and the purchaser’s deposit shall be refunded without interest. Purchaser must obtain possession and assumes risk of loss or damage to the property from the date of the auction forward.
The property will be sold in an “as is” condition, without express or implied warranty as to the nature and description of the improvements as contained herein, and subject to conditions restrictions and agreements of record affecting the same, if any, and with no warranty of any kind.
TERMS OF SALE:A deposit of $8,000.00 by cash, certified check or cashier’s check will be required of the purchaser, if other than the noteholder, at time and place of sale. Balance of the purchase price to be paid in cash within ten days of final ratification of sale by the Circuit Court for PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Maryland, time being of the essence. If the purchaser defaults, in addition to other available remedies, the deposit will be forfeited and the property may be resold at the purchaser’s risk and expense. Interest to be paid on the unpaid purchase money, at the rate of 3.490 %, per annum, from date of sale to date funds are received in the office of the Substitute Trustee. In the event settlement is delayed for any reason, there shall be no abatement of interest. Taxes, ground rent, if any, water, condominium fees and/or homeowners association dues, if any, all public charges/assessments payable on an annual basis, including sanitary and/or metropolitan district charges, if applicable, to be adjusted for the current year to date of sale and assumed thereafter by the purchaser. If applicable, condominium and/ or homeowner association dues and assessments that may become due after the time of sale will be the responsibility of the purchaser. Cost of all documentary stamps, transfer taxes and settlement expenses shall be borne by the purchaser. Purchaser must obtain possession and assumes the risk of loss or damage to the property from the date of sale forward. Purchaser agrees to pay $295.00 at settlement to the seller’s attorney, for review of the settlement documents. If the Substitute Trustee is unable to convey good and marketable title, the purchaser’s sole remedy in law and equity shall be limited to a refund of the deposit. (File # 09085)
Allan P. Feigelson, Esquire Substitute Trustee
everything’s been a bargain: a 40-homer slugger for $10 million a year or an all-star third baseman for $9 million per. Will this franchise ever sign a check that stings?
Riggleman, in his 75-game
hometown trial, will have to cope with the hand he has. “You manage what you have,” he says. “But the most important part of managing is what happens in the clubhouse. There’s an aura about a club. We played Tommy Lasorda’s Dodger teams and we’d say, ‘How can they beat us?’ But they believed that they could.” Right now, the Nats believe that they “can’t” as deeply as any team you’ll see. It curses them with the body language, especially in close games, of 97-pound weaklings expecting sand to be kicked in their faces. Just as, in golf, bad putting “works its way back through the bag,” so atrocious
relief pitching and bad defense seems to work its way back through the whole Nationals game. Improve one, improve the other? As dusk settled at Nationals
Park, Riggleman put his team through a long workout with plenty of infield drills. As a churlish counterpoint, center field was full of brownish blotches after a rock concert Saturday. Before tomorrow’s game, the Nats say they will paint it green. Like their new revenue stream. For one day at least, Riggleman
deserves to imagine the best possible future, not focus of such “Natinalsness” that strongly resembles the “Senatoritis” of his youth.
“These fans here have treated us
well. If this were Boston, New York or Philly, it would get ugly,” the manager said. “Let’s return some of that and get enthusiasm for baseball back in Washington.”
16 games back of fourth, the Nation- als have 75 games remaining. But for a fresh start, this is Riggleman’s dream job. He grew up in Rockville. His stepfather, Bill Hardister, took young Jim to Griffith Stadium, where they rooted for the Senators. Riggle- man still remembers the names. Fred Valentine. Danny O’Connell. Even when the Senators lost, and they usu- ally did, they stuck around to watch Frank Howard’s final at-bat. Eventually, Riggleman’s own base- ball career took off — he got drafted, stalled in the minors, took a 10-year tour as a minor league manager — but all the while, he kept his eye on Washington. He always lamented that America’s capital lacked a team. When it got one, he thought that “it would be nice some day to work for the Washington ballclub.” Riggleman’s mother, who turns 80 next month, has a saying. “Timing is everything — that’s what she always says,” Riggleman’s older brother, Mick, said yesterday. For Riggleman, timing has often
worked in strange ways. His first managing job, with the Padres, coin- cided with a mass fire sale. Goodbye, Fred McGriff. Goodbye, Gary Shef- field. Riggleman’s 1993 team, stripped of all marquee players but Tony Gwynn, lost 101 games. A year later, Riggleman was gone, too. But timing works both ways: Riggleman
got another chance with the Cubs, where he saw some great things. Ker- ry Wood’s 20-strikeout game. Sammy Sosa’s 66-homer season. Scorecards commemorating both hang in Riggle- man’s offseason home in Madeira Beach, Fla. When the Cubs fired Rig- gleman in 1999, his career record was 486-598. But the manager kept get- ting more chances. Last year, with Seattle, he started as the bench coach. Then, the Mari- ners fired their manager. Riggleman took over — as an interim — but he boosted Seattle’s record, requested the release of an underperforming veteran and pulled players from games for mental lapses. “As the bench coach, he was very,
very quiet,” said José Vidro, who was cut about 11
⁄2 months into Riggle-
man’s managerial tenure. “But as manager, I remember him going around to every locker, every player, trying to motivate everybody. Just to say, ‘Keep your head up,’ and that’s something you appreciate.” Riggleman is a man of ritual and routine. He runs between five and six miles every morning. He likes his cof- fee and newspaper. Though he has spent his career among book-worthy characters — Sosa, Sheffield — he lets others assume the foreground. “Jim, he carries his cards a little closer to the vest,” Mick said. Weeks ago, Riggleman first heard rumors that Washington would fire Acta and promote him to interim manager. When those reports first hit, Riggleman — in the St. Peters- burg, Fla., area as the Nationals played Tampa Bay — was with his son, Jon, 26. “He had no clue what was going on,” Jon said. “He couldn’t even comment on it. He hadn’t heard anything And I know he respects Manny a lot.” A month later, Acta was fired. Rig- gleman received a temporary job with a team close to the town where he grew up — a perfect job, so long as he can avoid the endpoint.
“Managing at the major league lev- el is the ultimate,” Riggleman said. “It’s what I love to do. Would I like to get something more long-term? All managers would like to have the club from spring training and get it started from spring training and run with it. I would have done that in 2000 if I didn’t lose so much in ’99. Ultimately you’ve got to win some ballgames and create your longevity.”
S
Thursday, July 16, 2009 D5
300 E. Joppa Road • Hampton Plaza - Suite 1103 Baltimore, MD 21286
410-769-9797 • www.hwestauctions.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66