Loverro: Rizzo's choice feels right - for now

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By Thom Loverro

The most important decision a general manager in baseball can make is choosing a manager.

That's the kind of decision someone who aspires to be a GM thinks of when he dreams of running a baseball team.

Somehow I doubt Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo used to think to himself, "When I become a general manager someday, the guy I am going to hire is Jim Riggleman."

But that's who Rizzo hired. Riggleman isn't the dream candidate for this nightmare of a franchise. The hiring simply might be explained this way: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

And maybe it is a good idea, but the decision still has a white-flag feel to it.

It feels like the Nationals are saying this to their dwindling fan base: We're hiring a baseball lifer with a losing record because we really aren't going anywhere the next couple of years. So why spend the money to hire a manager with a better record?

That is the harsh reality for this franchise - and the reason Riggleman is a good idea at the time. He is a decent man who won't embarrass the organization, a baseball man who can be trusted not to mess up the development of young players.

Riggleman was hired as the bench coach for Manny Acta last season and took over as interim manager when Acta was fired at the All-Star break. He owns a losing record for his career with a 555-694 mark in stops in San Diego, Chicago with the Cubs and Seattle.

But it takes a good manager to last more than 1,000 games in the major leagues, and maybe Riggleman will turn out to be Rizzo's dream choice.