Washington Nationals News: Respected Dusty Baker no consolation prize for Nats
By Pablo Roa
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Richard Justice writes a great column about how Dusty Baker should not be considered a consolation price for the Nationals.
After the team’s contract negotiations with Bud Black fell through and they introduced Baker as their manager, many fans — especially on social media — claimed that the Nationals were settling for their second choice and that they had missed out on a prime candidate in Black. But, as Justice writes in his article, there’s not much logic in that argument.
While it’s true that the team’s first managerial pick was Black, Baker is as accomplished as any manager in baseball. He brings a wealth of experience as a player and even more as a manager, and for a team that desperately needed an experienced manager that can bring a winning culture to the clubhouse, Baker is as good a choice as any.
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Also in today’s Daily, Scott Allen of the Washington Post discusses some interesting comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden. According to Bowden, the fiasco with Baker and Black was not the first time he’s seen the Lerner family balk on a managerial candidate because of financial concerns. The Nationals front office wanted to hire Joe Girardi as manager after the 2006 season but were not willing to pay him “what was fair.” The team ultimately hired Manny Acta.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Respected Baker no consolation prize for Nats
All that matters is that the Washington Nationals ended up with a manager who is one of baseball’s most respected, decent and accomplished men of the past half century. In terms of stature, credibility and experience, Dusty Baker takes a back seat to no one. In the end, everything else is just noise.
Now, about Bud Black. Sometimes, we might be better off not knowing how the sausage is made. The Nats narrowed their decision to Black or Baker. There was no wrong answer. Read full article here.
Jim Bowden says Lerner family wouldn’t pay for Joe Girardi, so Nats got Manny Acta instead
(Scott Allen, Washington Post)
Jim Bowden wasn’t surprised to learn that the Nationals’ negotiations with managerial candidate Bud Black apparently fell apart after the Lerner family’s initial contract offer left the former San Diego Padres manager “deeply offended.”
On Tuesday’s episode of “Inside Pitch” with Jim Joyce on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio, Bowden said the Lerner family did a similar thing when Bowden was the general manager of the Nationals and searching for a replacement for Frank Robinson after the 2006 season. Read full article here.