Riggleman’s moves pays dividends for Nationals

A manager looks good only if he has the best players. In other words, players win ballgames, not the manager. Still, a manager can win 30 games for his ballclub by making right moves.

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman made couple of decisions that helped the Nationals be in a position to win late in the game. He used his setup guy and his closer in a tie game, and then, he took Drew Storen out for Sean Burnett to get an one-out save.

Both decisions paid off for Riggleman. Tyler Clippard and Storen kept the game tied at 2, and when the Nationals took a 3-2 lead in the tenth inning, Burnett finished the game with an one-out save after the Nationals closer got the first two outs of that inning.

It was clear Riggleman was going to go for the win with his best guys on the mound.  The Nationals needed it in light of the Phillies sweeping them. They couldn’t afford to have a long losing streak, which would put the team below .500 even more.

If Riggleman lost with his best guys on the mound, he can say he tried to win by using them. No one would quibble with his decision.

It was a smart move to make. Most times, managers don’t use their setup guy and a closer to go pitch twice in a tie game. They will use them only once, and that’s it. Sometimes, they don’t use a closer in a tie game until their team is leading.

If the game is tied late, managers should be using their setup guy and the closer. Those guys give the team a chance to win the game late by keeping this a tied game. With middle relievers, it’s hard to tell if they can get it done. They are better off building a bridge to the setup guy and the closer when a team is leading.

It’s amazing how managers fail to use their best guys late. Fortunately, Riggleman decided not to do that.

Clippard showed why he continues to be valuable as a setup guy. He works fast, and he throws strikes. The Marlins found out what he can do when he struck six of them out in two innings.

With the Nationals failing to break the tie, Riggleman went with his closer in Storen.

Storen kept the Marlins at bay by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.  He sweated it out in the end when Mike Stanton almost hit the ball out of the park. It looked like a game-ending home run would happen until the ball landed at Jerry Hairston Jr’s mitt.

Now, Riggleman hoped the team can make him look good by scoring a run. They did just that by finding a way to score that game-winning run in the tenth inning.

If the Nationals could not get a run home, Riggleman would use Storen out for another inning.

It was a gutsy call if he kept him in a tie game. It showed he didn’t want his middle relievers in this situation. He felt the best guy should have been there.

Instead, Storen was going for the save. After an easy ninth inning, he ran into some trouble in the tenth inning.

He gave up couple of hits to start the inning, and a base hit would have given the Marlins a victory. He was able to get two outs, even though he received a gift by the home plate umpire, who gave him a strikeout to Wes Helms when it should have been a ball.

With that, Riggleman took his closer out and insert Burnett in. It was an interesting decision on his part. In this spot, Storen was the best guy to get the last out. He is good enough to get it done.

Fortunately, the manager did not leave himself to first-guessing or second-guessing when Chris Coghlan flied out meekly to end the game. Burnett earned his fourth save.

It took lot of guts for Riggleman to make this decision. Most times, managers let closers finish the job. No one would blame him either. Even when closer struggles to get the last out for a save, the manager give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, they don’t want to hurt the ego of the closer.

The manager decided to be proactive in getting a fresh arm to get the last out. That’s what a good manager does. He figures what’s going on in a game, and he uses the situation to help a player be in a position to be successful. That was his reasoning to put Burnett in.

There’s something to be said about managers. Decision making plays a role in winning games and championships. They are not just sitting there by looking good in their uniform. They observe what’s going on, and they use their gut to make moves to win a ballgame.

If it works, they are a genius. If it doesn’t, they get ripped by armchair quarterbacks.

Win or lose, Riggleman shouldn’t be wearing a dunce hat. He made decisions that made sense. Fortunately for him, guys made him look good by getting outs. The team made him a genius by breaking up the tie in the end.

Last night’s game was Managing 101 of winning a ballgame, and that’s where a manager shows his value to a team.