Last year was supposed to be a season of waiting for the Nationals — waiting for Stephen Strasburg to recover and waiting for Bryce Harper to mature. But that’s not exactly what happened. The Nationals played constantly compelling baseball, and by the end of the season observers were wondering — hey, are the Nats actually half-decent?

Yesterday we presented five of the Nationals’ top stories in 2011. Below are the remaining five. Feel free to provide your own list in the comments. Thanks for reading all year long.

5. Davey Johnson named manager

Johnson sputtered at the start once he took over for Jim Riggleman, but ultimately he won over the clubhouse and won his share of games. General Manager Mike Rizzo adores Johnson, and players did to. It was a no-brainer, then, that he’ll start 2012 as the manager of the most talented Nationals team since baseball returned.

(John McDonnell)

Best-case in 2012: In charge from spring training, Johnson can mold his bench and bullpen exactly as he sees fit. He continues to help hitters out of slumps. His wisdom, built over years and not drained a bit by his 11-year layoff from the majors, helps him push every correct button.

Worst case in 2012: Johnson was sharp for his full 2011 tenure. But over the course of a full season, it turns out that 11 years away from the game has an effect. A perfect relationship begins to sour.

4. Bryce Harper’s first professional season

He was dominant at Hagerstown, got hurt in Harrisburg and was excellent at the Arizona Fall League. More so, he gave a glimpse of what to expect once he gets to Washington. Harper blew a kiss to the pitcher after he hit a home run; showed up at the Futures Game in a rented Astin Martin; earned an ejection by screaming in an umpire’s face; joyously tossed his helmet in the air after he hit a walkoff home run; tweeted his support of the Yankees during the playoffs; and named his puppy, a Christmas gift, Swag. And the show is just getting started.

Best-case in 2012: Harper gets about a month of seasoning in Class AAA, thereby delaying his free agency one extra season. By mid-May, Harper has so thoroughly obliterated pitching in the International League that it would be a charade to keep him there any longer. They promote him May 14, the start of a seven-game homestand against the Padres, Pirates and Orioles. His stats, at 19 and the youngest player in the majors, he strikes out a lot but becomes an adequate middle-of-the-order bat, hitting .265/.331/.510 over the final two months of the season.

Worst case in 2012: The unexpected happens – Harper, for the first time, does not find a way to be the best player on the field. The advanced approach he finds at Class AAA stifles him, and his adjustment takes months, not weeks. He finally snaps out of a long slump, but not until August. The Nationals make him a September call-up, and he struggles for a month in the majors. He’s still 20 and still looks like a future star, but there is more doubt and the Nationals’ plans for him are delayed.

(Jed Jacobsohn – GETTY IMAGES)

3. Nationals trade for Gio Gonzalez

Last week, the Nationals made one of the biggest transactions in their brief history by trading four prospects for Gio Gonzalez. Losing the combination of Derek Norris, A.J. Cole, Brad Peacock and Tommy Milone may someday haunt the Nationals. But Gonzalez gives the Nats one of the most desirable rotations in baseball – Strasburg, Zimmermann and Gonzalez are all 26 or younger and all under control for at least four years.

Best-case in 2012: The addition of Gonzalez makes the Nationals a real, live contender for the first time since baseball returned. Gonzalez, like many pitchers his age, fixes any lingering control problems and, now in the National League, his ERA actually drops to 3.03 over 215 innings. The Nationals ride an electric trio of young arms to playoff contention, and the future looks even brighter.

Worst case in 2012: Taken out of Oakland’s cavernous ballpark, Gonzalez loses confidence and, worse, his already high walk rate – 4.1 per nine innings over the past two years – shoots up. He still pitches 180 innings, but Gonzalez wins just 10 games as Peacock settles in as a solid No. 3 starter in Oakland and Cole dominates Class AA in the second half.

2. Jim Riggleman quits

It had little impact on the Nationals in the long term, since Riggleman likely would not have been the Nationals’ 2012 manager no matter how 2011 turned out. But Riggleman’s stunning resignation still ranks this high on sheer shock value. It was the craziest story of the Nationals’ season, maybe of the entire baseball year, and it led to Johnson’s return to the dugout.

Best-case in 2012: Riggleman, now managing the Reds’ Class AA team, finds happiness in Pensacola and, by 2012, is back in the majors as a bench coach.

Worst case in 2012: Riggleman deeply misses his old job and finds nothing but regret in the minors. Teams remain scared off by his departure from the Nationals, and a good baseball man spends the rest of his career in the minors.

1. Stephen Strasburg returns

The best night of the Nationals season came in a loss. It didn’t matter much what happened Sept. 6 after Strasburg left the mound following five two-hit, no-walk, four-strikeout shutout innings against the Dodgers. Strasburg had returned with a new style, dialing back his fastball in exchange for enhanced command. He seemed to already have perfected it on the final day of the season, when he struck out 10 Marlins in six innings.

Best-case in 2012: Strasburg dominates like it’s 2010 all over again. The extensive shoulder strengthening Strasburg’s rehab allowed will protect him from any significant injury to his shoulder, which would be even more devastating than Tommy John surgery. The Nationals space out Strasburg’s starts as they realize they have a shot to make the postseason, and he still has enough innings left in his arm to start the first playoff game in Nationals history.

Worst case in 2012: Strasburg struggles as he adjusts to throwing his fastball a tick or two slower, and without that extreme velocity his other pitches suffer. He is merely quite good as opposed to great, and he tires sooner than expected and throws about 140 innings instead of 160.

There is, of course, a worse case than that. But it feels too cruel to even mention it.

Honorable mention: Nyjer Morgan traded to Milwaukee; Ryan Zimmerman misses two months; Tyler Clippard makes the all-star team; Drew Storen saves 43 games; Ivan Rodriguez steps aside; Livan Hernandez throws his likely last game with the Nats; Chien-Ming Wang returns, re-signs; Adam LaRoche signs, has season-ending shoulder surgery.

WASHINGTON (AP)—Former major league catcher Randy Knorr is being promoted
from minor league manager to major league bench coach by the Washington
Nationals.

Knorr replaces Pat Corrales, who became Washington’s bench coach when Davey
Johnson took over as manager after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned during last
season.

Otherwise, the Nationals announced Thursday that Johnson’s staff will stay
the same in 2012: hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty,
third base coach Bo Porter, first base coach Trent Jewett and bullpen coach Jim
Lett.

Knorr retired as a player in 2004. He is 384-380 as a manager in the minors,
including at Triple-A Syracuse in 2011. He was the Nationals’ bullpen coach for
part of the 2006 season and all of 2009.

Davey Johnson will be back as manager of the Washington Nationals in 2012.

The Nationals announced Monday that they’re picking up Johnson’s managerial option.

He took over as Washington’s manager in June, after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned. The Nationals went 40-43 under Johnson and finished 80-81, in third place in the NL East.

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said Monday “it became obvious that the Nationals would be best served” if the 68-year-old Johnson continued in the role.

The Nationals are the fifth major league club managed by Johnson, who won World Series titles as a player and a skipper. He was the 1997 AL Manager of the Year with the Baltimore Orioles.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Monday morning, the Nationals officially named Johnson their manager for the 2012 season, exercising an option in his contract and continuing a tenure that began last season amid upheaval and led to perhaps the most promising stretch since baseball returned to Washington.

General Manager Mike Rizzo called bringing Johnson back, a move long expected, an “easy decision.” Players uniformly supported the return of Johnson, 68, who will be the oldest manager in baseball.

“It really feels great,” Johnson said. “It’s such a great organization, such a great bunch of kids. We didn’t come close to the ceiling this year. I really feel like I’m kind of their father figure. I think they respect me, and I feel like I’m the guy to steer them along their path.”

Johnson moved from a front-office role to the dugout last season on June 27, four days after Jim Riggleman’s abrupt resignation. He went 40-43, including a 14-4 finishing kick that built uncommonly high expectations for 2012. He gained the trust and support of players, most of whom had met Johnson while he worked in his front-office position.

“If you have someone struggling, he’s going to stick with him,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “He puts the lineup up every day, and that’s going to be the lineup. We respect him for giving us our space, and because of that we’re going to play hard for him.”

Rizzo interviewed multiple candidates to become the Nationals’ manager in 2012, including third base coach Bo Porter. But there was never a question who would remain in charge. Rizzo feels a distinct comfort with Johnson, whom he hired as a special assistant the day he became the Nationals’ interim general manager in 2009.

This June, when Riggleman suddenly quit, Rizzo thought first of Johnson, who had last managed in the majors in 2000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the night of June 23, after Riggleman resigned, Rizzo had dinner with Johnson at a Washington hotel.

“The only question I had about Davey taking over was, did he want to do it?” Rizzo said. “Was his energy level and his focus going to be there?”

And so, the basis of Johnson’s appointment for 2012 arrived well before the opportunity arose, all the way back in last spring training. Johnson arrived last February with more energy than he had felt in years, largely because of an ablation doctors at the Mayo Clinic performed on his heart over the winter. He pounded groundballs and moved briskly from field to field.

“He had an energy about him,” Rizzo said. “I thought to myself, ‘Davey is really into it and really fired up for the season.’ ”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Davey Johnson will be back as manager of the Washington Nationals in 2012.

The Nationals announced Monday that they’re picking up Johnson’s managerial option.

He took over as Washington’s manager in June, after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned. The Nationals went 40-43 under Johnson and finished 80-81, in third place in the NL East.

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said Monday “it became obvious that the Nationals would be best served” if the 68-year-old Johnson continued in the role.

The Nationals are the fifth major league club managed by Johnson, who won World Series titles as a player and a skipper. He was the 1997 AL Manager of the Year with the Baltimore Orioles.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Davey Johnson will be back as manager of the Washington Nationals in 2012.

The Nationals announced Monday that they’re picking up Johnson’s managerial option.

He took over as Washington’s manager in June, after Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned. The Nationals went 40-43 under Johnson and finished 80-81, in third place in the NL East.

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said Monday “it became obvious that the Nationals would be best served” if the 68-year-old Johnson continued in the role.

The Nationals are the fifth major league club managed by Johnson, who won World Series titles as a player and a skipper. He was the 1997 AL Manager of the Year with the Baltimore Orioles.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read More: Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants

At last the bizarre saga of former Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman appears to have reached its conclusion. Late Thursday, reports surfaced that the 58-year old had joined the world champion San Francisco Giants’ staff as a special assignment scout.

Riggleman was hired as acting manager of the Nationals on July 12th, 2009 following the midseason firing of Manny Acta. He initially led the team through two extremely rough years in which Washington finished at the basement of the NL East. However, guided by his shrewd management style, the Nationals surprised many pundits by hovering near the .500 mark for much of the first half of the 2011-2012 MLB season.

Following a torrid stretch in which Washington won 11 of 12 games, Riggleman asked team management to have a conversation about his contract option for the 2012 season that had not yet been picked up. After being told that the option would not be discussed, the manager infamously offered his immediate resignation.

Riggleman finished his time in Washington with a 140-172 record. He has a career record of 662-824, with stops in San Diego, Chicago (NL), and Seattle.

For more on the San Fransico Giants, visit McCovey Chronicles. For more on the Washington Nationals, visit Federal Baseball.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—The San Francisco Giants are talking to former Washington
Nationals manager Jim Riggleman about a scouting job.

Riggleman was in San Diego to meet with Giants general manager Brian Sabean
and manager Bruce Bochy after Thursday night’s series opener against the San
Diego Padres.

Riggleman abruptly resigned as Nationals manager on June 23, telling the
team he wanted his contract option picked up for next season, or he would quit.

Bochy was Riggleman’s third base coach with the Padres in 1993-94 and was
promoted to manager after Riggleman left to take the Chicago Cubs’ job.

`’They’ve been kind enough to talk to me about doing some part-time stuff
and see where that leads,” Riggleman said. `’Boch called me when all this
happened and said that he had been talking to Brian, and to just lay back for a
little while and see if we could figure out a time to talk.”

Both sides stressed that Riggleman wasn’t officially on board yet..

`’I look forward to sitting down with Riggs and Brian and talking,” Bochy
said. `’It could be doing some scouting, it could be looking at our minor
leagues, basically some consulting, too. We’ll find out tonight after we sit
down and see what makes sense.”

Riggleman said he doesn’t regret the way he left the Nationals.

`’I’m a little out of sorts about the whole thing,” he said. `’I made my
bed, I’ll sleep in it. It would take me a long time to go into all the details,
but basically I felt it was the right thing to do and I’ll have to stick by
that.”

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks looked ready to add to their 17 comeback wins.

This time, they couldn’t pull it off.

Left-hander Joe Paterson walked Rick Ankiel with two out and the bases loaded in the 11th inning, then yielded a grand slam to Mike Morse in a 9-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Paterson had scoreless outings in 23 of his 24 previous appearances.

“There were a lot of opportunities that were missed,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “Guys played hard, they didn’t give in. It was a great ballgame, we just didn’t come out on top.”

Gibson and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman were among four ejections, and Washington was hit by a pitch four times, including second baseman Danny Espinosa twice. The Nationals also blew a 4-0 lead.

“You’ve got to overcome difficult situations,” Riggleman said. “Great at-bat by Ankiel, that was the key. That Paterson is tough on left-handers.”

The Diamondbacks scored three times in the ninth inning to tie it at 4, but the Nationals bounced back in the 11th to earn a split in the four-game series.

Pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston Jr. led off with a single to center against Paterson (0-1). Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann then hit for reliever Sean Burnett (1-2) and moved Hairston to second with a sacrifice. Roger Bernadina reached on a high chopper and Jayson Werth walked with two out to get to Ankiel, who walked on five pitches.

“I just had to throw strikes to Ankiel and didn’t do that,” Paterson said.

Morse added his second career grand slam, a drive to center for his eighth homer of the season.

Burnett pitched 1 2-3 innings to get the win and Henry Rodriguez retired the Diamondbacks in order in the bottom half of the 11th.

Arizona had won 18 of 22 to surge into contention in the NL West and looked primed for another dramatic victory before the disastrous final inning.

The Diamondbacks got to Nationals closer Drew Storen for three runs in the ninth inning. They put their first three batters on before Juan Miranda walked to force in a run. Melvin Mora hit a sacrifice fly off Todd Coffey and pinch-hitter Xavier Nady tied it with a run-scoring fielder’s choice.

Wilson Ramos hit a three-run homer in the eighth for the Nationals, who finished with 11 hits. Werth also had a sacrifice fly in the third.

Arizona’s Kelly Johnson hit a solo shot off the foul pole in left in the bottom of the eighth.

The ejections became a footnote after the late-inning drama.

Werth, hit twice previously in the four-game series, was drilled in the arm in the fifth inning, above the same elbow that was struck Thursday night and caused him to miss Friday’s game. Home plate umpire Rob Drake issued a warning to Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy.

“If you look at the whole game, we are not throwing at him,” Gibson said. “We are trying to throw him tight. We don’t want him to get his arms out. Espinosa the same way. I will show you the scouting report if you don’t believe me.”

When Kennedy threw too far inside and hit Morse two batters later, Drake allowed the pitcher to remain in the game. That brought Riggleman out of the dugout to have a word with Drake, but he said he was only lauding the umpire for his judgment.

“Once we give warnings, if we deem it’s intentional then there are ejections. The rest of it will be in our report to the league,” crew chief Gary Darling said, making clear Drake didn’t feel Morse was hit intentionally.

Nationals starter Jason Marquis was working on a shutout in the sixth when he hit Justin Upton in the lower back with a pitch. Drake tossed Marquis and Riggleman.

Upton was hit with pitches four times in the series.

“I don’t necessarily think there was intent, everybody is trying to win the ballgame but at some point the pitcher has to hit his spot,” Upton said. “Getting hit three times in three days is pretty ridiculous. I am not mad about it, it’s a part of the game.”

Said Riggleman: “I can promise you we did not one time have any intent to hit Upton. I feel terrible he got hit four times. Clearly we feel that when there was an open base, they took some shots at Werth. … We’re not throwing at anybody. We’re trying to win the game.”

Drake ejected Diamondbacks reliever Esmerling Vasquez after he plunked Espinosa with one out and a runner on in the eighth. Gibson also was tossed.

“None of it was offensive to me. It was a very intense baseball game today,” Gibson said. “It was entertaining, it was well-played and unfortunately someone had to lose, and unfortunately it was us.”

Ramos greeted Aaron Heilman with a home run to left field, and the catcher took his time circling the bases amid boos from the crowd at Chase Field. Riggleman said Ramos was slowed by a leg injury.

“He gutted it out to stay in the game,” Riggleman said.

NOTES: Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman was scheduled to make a rehabilitation appearance with Class-A Hagerstown. Zimmerman has missed 52 games since being placed on the 15-day disabled list April 12 with a left abdominal injury … Werth made a leaping

catch against the fence in right-field foul territory in the bottom of the fifth to retire Miranda.

The Arizona Diamondbacks looked ready to add to their 17 comeback wins.

This time, they couldn’t pull it off.

Left-hander Joe Paterson walked Rick Ankiel with two out and the bases loaded in the 11th inning, then yielded a grand slam to Mike Morse in a 9-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Paterson had scoreless outings in 23 of his 24 previous appearances.

“There were a lot of opportunities that were missed,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “Guys played hard, they didn’t give in. It was a great ballgame, we just didn’t come out on top.”

Gibson and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman were among four ejections, and Washington was hit by a pitch four times, including second baseman Danny Espinosa twice. The Nationals also blew a 4-0 lead.

“You’ve got to overcome difficult situations,” Riggleman said. “Great at-bat by Ankiel, that was the key. That Paterson is tough on left-handers.”

The Diamondbacks scored three times in the ninth inning to tie it at 4, but the Nationals bounced back in the 11th to earn a split in the four-game series.

Pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston Jr. led off with a single to center against Paterson (0-1). Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann then hit for reliever Sean Burnett (1-2) and moved Hairston to second with a sacrifice. Roger Bernadina reached on a high chopper and Jayson Werth walked with two out to get to Ankiel, who walked on five pitches.

“I just had to throw strikes to Ankiel and didn’t do that,” Paterson said.

Morse added his second career grand slam, a drive to center for his eighth homer of the season.

Burnett pitched 1 2-3 innings to get the win and Henry Rodriguez retired the Diamondbacks in order in the bottom half of the 11th.

Arizona had won 18 of 22 to surge into contention in the NL West and looked primed for another dramatic victory before the disastrous final inning.

The Diamondbacks got to Nationals closer Drew Storen for three runs in the ninth inning. They put their first three batters on before Juan Miranda walked to force in a run. Melvin Mora hit a sacrifice fly off Todd Coffey and pinch-hitter Xavier Nady tied it with a run-scoring fielder’s choice.

Wilson Ramos hit a three-run homer in the eighth for the Nationals, who finished with 11 hits. Werth also had a sacrifice fly in the third.

Arizona’s Kelly Johnson hit a solo shot off the foul pole in left in the bottom of the eighth.

The ejections became a footnote after the late-inning drama.

Werth, hit twice previously in the four-game series, was drilled in the arm in the fifth inning, above the same elbow that was struck Thursday night and caused him to miss Friday’s game. Home plate umpire Rob Drake issued a warning to Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy.

“If you look at the whole game, we are not throwing at him,” Gibson said. “We are trying to throw him tight. We don’t want him to get his arms out. Espinosa the same way. I will show you the scouting report if you don’t believe me.”

When Kennedy threw too far inside and hit Morse two batters later, Drake allowed the pitcher to remain in the game. That brought Riggleman out of the dugout to have a word with Drake, but he said he was only lauding the umpire for his judgment.

“Once we give warnings, if we deem it’s intentional then there are ejections. The rest of it will be in our report to the league,” crew chief Gary Darling said, making clear Drake didn’t feel Morse was hit intentionally.

Nationals starter Jason Marquis was working on a shutout in the sixth when he hit Justin Upton in the lower back with a pitch. Drake tossed Marquis and Riggleman.

Upton was hit with pitches four times in the series.

“I don’t necessarily think there was intent, everybody is trying to win the ballgame but at some point the pitcher has to hit his spot,” Upton said. “Getting hit three times in three days is pretty ridiculous. I am not mad about it, it’s a part of the game.”

Said Riggleman: “I can promise you we did not one time have any intent to hit Upton. I feel terrible he got hit four times. Clearly we feel that when there was an open base, they took some shots at Werth. … We’re not throwing at anybody. We’re trying to win the game.”

Drake ejected Diamondbacks reliever Esmerling Vasquez after he plunked Espinosa with one out and a runner on in the eighth. Gibson also was tossed.

“None of it was offensive to me. It was a very intense baseball game today,” Gibson said. “It was entertaining, it was well-played and unfortunately someone had to lose, and unfortunately it was us.”

Ramos greeted Aaron Heilman with a home run to left field, and the catcher took his time circling the bases amid boos from the crowd at Chase Field. Riggleman said Ramos was slowed by a leg injury.

“He gutted it out to stay in the game,” Riggleman said.

NOTES: Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman was scheduled to make a rehabilitation appearance with Class-A Hagerstown. Zimmerman has missed 52 games since being placed on the 15-day disabled list April 12 with a left abdominal injury … Werth made a leaping catch against the fence in right-field foul territory in the bottom of the fifth to retire Miranda.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jason Marquis was ejected
from Sunday’s game in the bottom of the sixth inning for hitting
the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Justin Upton with a pitch.

It marked the fourth time Upton has been hit with pitches in the
four-game series and came after home plate umpire Rob Drake warned
Arizona starter Ian Kennedy after he hit the Nationals’ Jayson
Werth in the left upper arm with a pitch in the top of the
fifth.

Kennedy hit Washington’s Mike Morse two batters after Werth but
was not ejected. That got manager Jim Riggleman out of the dugout
to argue, and Riggleman was tossed when he came out to protest
Marquis being ejected.

Werth has been hit three times in the series and missed Friday’s
game due to elbow pain.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Andrew Kinback

– Nationals editor

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May 31, 2011 – Happy day-after Memorial Day, Washington Nationals fans. Yesterday, America sat back, grabbed a few brews, lit up the grill, turned on the Indianapolis 500 and honored those U.S. Service members who died while in military service to the country. It was a beautiful day, and the Kinback Family Memorial Day was spent at the water park, grilling some killer steaks and partaking in the most sacred of Memorial Day traditions: watching that great cinematic masterpiece of Road House starring Patrick Swayze.

The lion-hearted tale of a man who is hired to tame a slaughterhouse of a bar and turn it into some 80′s discotech out in the middle of nowhere while kung-fu fighting off the evil, corrupt forces of the Jasper, Missouri aristocracy is one for the ages and one of those myths you can apply to most things in your everyday life. The Nationals are no different. If you find this a strange way to start a column on Nationals baseball, bare with me. I’ll get there.

One of my favorite movie lines of all time come from this film. It’s delivered by the character named Tinker, the fat, CAT-hat-wearing thug with red suspenders that uses one of the last lines of the film to finally reach immortality. He said, “A polar bear fell on me.” To avoid spoiling the movie for those who have not experienced the greatness of Roadhouse, I won’t spoil the context in which he said the line, because there is no context to spoil. A polar bear really did fall on him. Sitting there on the couch with the kids at my knee and my arm around my wife, I just had to laugh at such a ridiculous line. “A polar bear fell on me.” How many people can actually claim this?

I thought it about awhile and could think of two people: The Big Tink and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. The image of a polar bear falling on someone is in itself in insane, but the idea that a man has worked his whole life at something and the pinnacle of his life’s work is to have a polar bear fall on him? Cosmic comedy. 

Jim Riggleman’s managing career has followed a similar path. He spent years developing himself into a baseball machine in hopes of one day reaching the top of the sport. He started in 1974 as a player being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. His playing career peaked in 1977 with the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. He got his first managing job in 1983 and his first Major League managing beat with the San Diego Padres in 1992. He was the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1995, the Seattle Mariners in 2008 and took over the Washington Nationals’ job in 2009. As it stands now, it looks like 2011 will be the time when the polar bear will finally fall on him and probably end his time in Washington.

Would it be so hard to believe? It is still only May, but already the Nationals season has begun to spin out of control. Players are frustrated and speaking out with cryptic messages that point fingers. His designing of a lineup is questionable, his handling of pitchers and bullpens is confusing, his double switches are annoying and his constant insistence that this team is better than this is aggravating. His contract is up at the end of the season, with the team allowed to pick it up for another season, but they have made no movement to do so as of yet. From 2009 to 2010, the team improved by 10 games, but is this enough to retain a manager who has failed at inspiring and guiding his team?

It would not all be his fault. This is where the polar bear comes in. Imagine getting hired to do a job as a plumber, and told instead of using a wrench to unscrew the pipes, you had to use potpourri-colored rooster kitchen mits. You wouldn’t have the proper tools for success and you’d look absurd doing it. That exactly describes Jim Riggleman with the Nationals right now. General Manager Mike Rizzo and the front office have not supplied Riggleman with adequate players, and Riggleman can’t be blamed for that. You got to work with what you got, even if that means Matt Stairs. Look out, Riggleman! Polar Bear!

An argument some make is it theoretically takes two to three years for a manager’s style and plan to gel and stick on an organization, and Riggleman’s methods haven’t really firmed up. It is bad to switch managers because of the young guys? Rick Ankiel, Alex Cora, Jerry Hairston Jr., Doug Slaten, Adam LaRoche? Stairs? To only name a few, but do these sound like guys going to be around for a whole lot longer? A new manager has more than enough time to make his own imprint, with important and improved tools in guys like Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, before this team is even ready to contend.

I feel bad for Riggleman, I really do. He is a good man and he wasn’t the one who set up the team as it is. But when frustration builds, the team sinks into the hole and the polar bears come down, unfortunately it is the manager who usually feels the pain

Read More: Jerry Hairston Jr. (SS – WAS), Alex Cora (2B – WAS), Adam LaRoche (1B – WAS), Doug Slaten (P – WAS), Matt Stairs (RF – WAS), Rick Ankiel (CF – WAS), Stephen Strasburg (P – WAS), Bryce Harper (CF – WAS), San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers

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Read More: Jerry Hairston Jr. (SS – WAS), Ryan Zimmerman (3B – WAS), Washington Nationals

You’ll remember that Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman underwent successful surgery on his abdomen in early May. The operation was expected to knock Zimmerman out for roughly six weeks. Within one day, he was walking on a treadmill. Within two weeks, he was jogging. And now, Jim Riggleman says that Zimmerman has resumed baseball activities:

Currently in Florida, Zimmerman has only just begun swinging a bat, Riggleman said, but he’s running, taking batting practice off a tee, playing soft toss and fielding groundballs. The Nationals have anticipated a mid-June return for Zimmerman, and that remains the case.

So Zimmerman is right on schedule, and though the Nationals don’t have a minor-league rehab plan for him yet, that shouldn’t be far away. Zimmerman is getting close.

Obviously, he’ll be a big boost when he returns to the lineup. While the Nationals are 21-28 and not really playing for anything, seeing Ryan Zimmerman every day is a heck of a lot better than seeing Jerry Hairston Jr. every day. Nothing against Jerry Hairston Jr., but he is to Ryan Zimmerman the way gala apples are to cameo apples. In this analogy, cameo apples are way superior to gala apples. Ewww. Gala apples.

WASHINGTON — After the Washington Nationals lost their fifth straight game on Wednesday, Jayson Werth told reporters in Milwaukee “Things need to change.”

Werth wasn’t specific about the changes. The Nationals are season-worst seven games under .500 and batting just .229.

On Friday afternoon before the Nationals began a series with San Diego, manager Jim Riggleman said he met with Werth, who last December signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with Washington.

Riggleman said it was a good meeting and he didn’t feel Werth was calling him out.

“I guess the short answer is no,” Riggleman said.

“We’ve got to start winning ballgames,” Riggleman said. “The losing that’s taken place here the (last) couple of years — that’s got to change. We’ve got to change some things — what we do — how we play.”

Riggleman, who was named interim manager on July 14, 2009, and was given the job after the 2009 season, said he had a positive conversation with Werth, though he declined to go into specifics.

“He used the word ‘frustrating.’ He’s been around a lot of winning — and we’re not winning right now,” Riggleman said. “Other players are frustrated, and Jayson’s becoming one of the voices of the ballclub.”

Werth, who played in the postseason the last four seasons with Philadelphia, was not available for pregame comment, and through a club spokesman, said he’d meet with the press after the game.

The Nationals are missing two key hitters, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, on the 15-day disabled list following surgery May 3 to repair a torn abdominal muscle, and Adam LaRoche, who was put on the DL this week with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

LaRoche hopes to avoid shoulder surgery with a few weeks of rest and exercises.

“Whether that’s wishful thinking or not — time will tell,” LaRoche said.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

Updated May 27, 2011 7:26 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP)

After the Washington Nationals lost their fifth straight game on Wednesday, Jayson Werth told reporters in Milwaukee ”Things need to change.”

Werth wasn’t specific about the changes. The Nationals are season-worst seven games under .500 and batting just .229.

On Friday afternoon before the Nationals began a series with San Diego, manager Jim Riggleman said he met with Werth, who last December signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with Washington.

Riggleman said it was a good meeting and he didn’t feel Werth was calling him out.

”I guess the short answer is no,” Riggleman said.

”We’ve got to start winning ballgames,” Riggleman said. ”The losing that’s taken place here the (last) couple of years – that’s got to change. We’ve got to change some things – what we do – how we play.”

Riggleman, who was named interim manager on July 14, 2009, and was given the job after the 2009 season, said he had a positive conversation with Werth, though he declined to go into specifics.

”He used the word ‘frustrating.’ He’s been around a lot of winning – and we’re not winning right now,” Riggleman said. ”Other players are frustrated, and Jayson’s becoming one of the voices of the ballclub.”

Werth, who played in the postseason the last four seasons with Philadelphia, was not available for pregame comment, and through a club spokesman, said he’d meet with the press after the game.

The Nationals are missing two key hitters, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, on the 15-day disabled list following surgery May 3 to repair a torn abdominal muscle, and Adam LaRoche, who was put on the DL this week with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

LaRoche hopes to avoid shoulder surgery with a few weeks of rest and exercises.

”Whether that’s wishful thinking or not – time will tell,” LaRoche said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the Washington Nationals lost their fifth straight game on Wednesday, Jayson Werth told reporters in Milwaukee “Things need to change.”

Werth wasn’t specific about the changes. The Nationals are season-worst seven games under .500 and batting just .229.

On Friday afternoon before the Nationals began a series with San Diego, manager Jim Riggleman said he met with Werth, who last December signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with Washington.

Riggleman said it was a good meeting and he didn’t feel Werth was calling him out.

“I guess the short answer is no,” Riggleman said.

“We’ve got to start winning ballgames,” Riggleman said. “The losing that’s taken place here the (last) couple of years – that’s got to change. We’ve got to change some things – what we do – how we play.”

Riggleman, who was named interim manager on July 14, 2009, and was given the job after the 2009 season, said he had a positive conversation with Werth, though he declined to go into specifics.

“He used the word ‘frustrating.’ He’s been around a lot of winning – and we’re not winning right now,” Riggleman said. “Other players are frustrated, and Jayson’s becoming one of the voices of the ballclub.”

Werth, who played in the postseason the last four seasons with Philadelphia, was not available for pregame comment, and through a club spokesman, said he’d meet with the press after the game.

The Nationals are missing two key hitters, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, on the 15-day disabled list following surgery May 3 to repair a torn abdominal muscle, and Adam LaRoche, who was put on the DL this week with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

LaRoche hopes to avoid shoulder surgery with a few weeks of rest and exercises.

“Whether that’s wishful thinking or not – time will tell,” LaRoche said.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

MILWAUKEE — While the Washington Nationals have gone about losing six of their first seven games on this road trip, they’ve done it with a lack of timely hitting, wasted starting pitching and overall offensive ineffectiveness.

But Tuesday night’s 7-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers featured none of that. The Nationals got the big hits, they supported their starter — who performed well enough to warrant a win — and they built a three-run lead to hand over to a bullpen that generally has been sensational.

In the end, watching their relievers surrender four runs in the seventh and eighth innings was just another new avenue for the Nationals to take en route to a loss.

“It’s gut-wrenching,” said reliever Tyler Clippard, who issued a walk that was followed by Rickie Weeks’ home run in the seventh to cut the Nationals’ lead to 6-5.

The breaking point for a bullpen and a team that had lost just one game when leading after seven innings would come in the eighth. Sean Burnett retired Prince Fielder on a groundout to third, and the game was turned over to Henry Rodriguez.

It was just the second time the Nationals‘ flame-throwing, but occasionally wild, right-hander was trusted with a lead — and the first time that lead was less than seven runs. But he’d garnered enough of manager Jim Riggleman’s trust with four straight scoreless outings (seven strikeouts, no walks) to earn the appearance. Closer Drew Storen, who threw 25 pitches in Monday’s 11-3 loss, sat idly in a quiet bullpen as Rodriguez sandwiched a single and a walk around a strikeout of Mark Kotsay.

Storen still was sitting when Jonathan Lucroy sent a flare to right field that scored both runners, and the Nationals were on their way to their fourth straight defeat.

“Rodriguez has been outstanding as of late, so to tell you the truth, I thought it was pretty obvious,” Riggleman said of the decision not to turn to Storen. “It’s always tempting, but he threw 25 pitches [Monday] night, and I felt good with Rodriguez in there. It was a flare hit. It happens. That flare hit could have happened off Storen.”

As the Nationals quietly absorbed another loss and former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke awaiting them Wednesday afternoon, most were hard-pressed to come up with something they’d have done differently.

“Sometimes it happens in baseball,” said Nationals starter Livan Hernandez, who allowed three earned runs in six innings and was a tough-luck loser for the third straight start.

“We’re not going to be perfect every time. This is baseball, and in baseball [you have to] finish 27 outs.”

But through the first 19 outs, the Nationals looked as though they might finally cruise to a victory — one that would have been just their second in the past eight days. They saw Michael Morse hit his first career grand slam, a ball crushed into the second deck in left. Ian Desmond and Livan Hernandez added RBI hits to chase left-hander Chris Narveson after just 3 1/3 innings.

And they loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth off Milwaukee’s John Axford, but Morse, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, flied out to right.

“It stings,” Riggleman said. “But [Monday] night’s stung, too. They all sting. The game was played right. You’ve got a powerful young pitcher on the mound that’s throwing the heck out of the ball, and you get beat with a flare hit. What are you going to do?”

© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

MILWAUKEE — Outfielder Rick Ankiel was back with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, taking up residence as a healthy player on the roster for the first time since he sprained his right wrist making a diving play at Nationals Park on May 2.

He was back after an 18-day stay on the disabled list, but he wasn’t back in his usual starting spot in center field.

Instead, with the Nationals facing a left-handed pitcher Tuesday night in Milwaukee, and needing Michael Morse at first base in Adam LaRoche’s absence, manager Jim Riggleman was forced to play shortstop Brian Bixler in left field. Roger Bernadina, who was called up to replace Ankiel on May 7, has become too valuable as a leadoff hitter to be taken out of the lineup.

“The leadoff spot is the key,” Riggleman said. “We know Ankiel’s a good center fielder but at this point, I feel very good about the way both [Ankiel and Bernadina] have played center field.”

Morse being thrust into action at first base leaves the Nationals with a predicament in the outfield. Instead of being able to sub Ankiel, Bernadina or Nix out and sub Morse in when a left-hander is on the mound, Washington is left scrambling some what.

With Ankiel (.235), Nix (.194) and Bernadina (.237) carrying lackluster career averages against left-handers entering Tuesday, Bernadina got the start in center. But with Nix’s left foot ailing, right-handed Bixler was instead called on in left field.

Bixler has played just one career major league game in left field, and it wasn’t as a starter. He was getting time there occasionally at Triple-A before he was called up to the Nationals on April 23, but his experience is limited. Still, with a .250 career average against left-handers, he was the best option Tuesday night.

“He’s such a good athlete,” Riggleman said. “He might be the fastest guy on the team with the exception of Bernadina. I’m comfortable [with him in left] but I haven’t seen him play that much so I’m just kind of putting the foot speed and the athleticism out there.”

The Nationals plan to ease Ankiel back in after the long layoff — but they’re also evaluating what they have in Bernadina, and Nix has been the team’s best hitter to this point. It’d be tough for Ankiel to take at-bats away from either, especially as another left-hander, but that’s part of the juggling the Nationals will have to do.

“We made a point when Rick got hurt to not just put [Bernadina] out there to really let’s take a look and see what’s happening out there because we’ve got to make some calls on Bernadina down the road,” Riggleman said.

Ankiel, who would certainly be given the advantage when it comes to his arm in the outfield, may also see some time at first base, despite not having played there competitively since — by his estimate — high school. He has, however, taken grounders there in the offseason. If he can fill in at first adequately, it would free up Morse to be the right-handed outfielder the Nationals are lacking.

“We’ll look at just trying to keep them all sharp and take advantage of a hot hand here and there and see where it goes,” Riggleman said.

© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Read More: Jason Marquis (P – WAS), Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals

During Friday night’s Washington Nationals 17-5 trouncing of the Baltimore Orioles it seemed Natstown was spiraled into a strange euphoria as the team finally broke lose of the shackles of a bad offensive cold spell that plagued the team for two straight games. Everyone in the organization seemed surprised and happy, everyone except Nationals starter Jason Marquis.

Though Marquis has been the Nationals strongest starter this year, Manager Jim Riggleman made the decision at the end of the fourth-inning that he would pull Marquis in favor of reliever Henry Rodriguez. Marquis had not been sharp, giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out only two and walking three. In a one run game, Riggleman made his decision and informed Marquis of it as he came back into the dugout.

What followed was a passionate and angry Marquis following Riggleman down the Nationals dugout lobbying to stay in the game. A couple of times Riggleman tried to diffuse the situation by slapping him on the back and talking with him, but Marquis would not have it. Marquis was ultimately pulled only pitching four-innings with no chance to get the win and on top of that he was pulled just before the Nationals game deciding inning where they opened the flood gates. Nationals.com:

“I thought Jason was struggling through it and I made the decision to take him out of the one-run game,” Riggleman said. “Had I known we were going to score six, maybe I would let him go out there. He was going to go one more inning at most. I just knew if somebody got on, I was going to take him out.”

The Nationals scored six runs in the top of the fifth-inning and Rodriguez eventually earned the win.

Though Marquis was angry, he does not see this as an ongoing issue. He insists he got caught in the heat of the moment and just wanted to be out there with his teammates.

“I want to be out on the field, battling out there with my teammates,” Marquis said. “It’s a one-game thing. So I’m going to go out there, do my work like I always do, prepare for the fifth day, take that ball and be ready to get a W.”

Video of Marquis’ tirade can be viewed here.