The Washington Nationals are a game over .500, having just swept the Seattle Mariners. This is the latest in the season they’ve been over .500 since 2005, and it took a streak of 11 wins in 12 games to get there.
With that in mind, this comes as a total shock, from MLB.com’s William Ladson:
I just learned that Jim Riggleman has resigned as manager of the #Nats.
When a manager resigns from a team that’s going well, the first inclination is to assume there is some sort of personal reason for doing so. According to Ken Rosenthal, though, the reasons are very much business related:
Riggleman apparently upset that option had not been picked up, upset over way he was treated by Nationals.
Wow. The 58-year-old Riggleman took over as the Nationals skipper in the middle of the 2009 season, taking over for Manny Acta. He had previously managed the Padres, Cubs, and Mariners since 1992.