Mis-managing a World Series Contender

It’s no secret the Nationals have been a major disappointment this season.  At no point preseason did anyone expect the New York Mets to achieve a divisional crown.  Hindsight is 20/20.

What is also 20/20 is how baseball managers are evaluated.  While there are odds that must be considered, fans consider managers purely on whether (you’ve heard this before) “they press the right buttons.”  For example, a manager who takes out his starter, only to have the reliever give up a game-tying homer, usually is assailed for not sticking with his guy.  If the homer had come off the starter, however, the manager looks too eager to bring out the hook.

Matt Williams has experienced that a lot this season, especially as the season progressed.  Sympathy abounds for the guy, who never was able to get it right (for sure when it comes to the bullpen), but Williams was most frustrating in his postgame attitude.  Always a polite guy, Williams never showed any of the fire that fans observe from Joe Girardi in New York, Joe Maddon in Chicago, or Ozzie Guillen of the mid-2000s White Sox.  After his team blew a massive lead against the Mets, Williams discussed how his job was to “support” the players in the locker room.  Admittedly, he needs to do that, but at some point a little irritation should creep into your voice when describing how four relievers threw 30 balls out of 55 pitches in one inning.

That there was none in that exact moment submarined my confidence in Williams.  Clearly he has some acumen, only one year removed from an NL Manager of the Year award.  Motivating grown men also can’t be easy.  Blowing a huge lead in that moment, however, demands a “supportive” tongue-lashing.  Kind of like Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks does in Miracle during a lackluster effort against Sweden.  Anyone envision Williams doing something like that?

Today’s nonsense is further proof that Williams needs a new job.  After Jonathan Papelbon escalated a scuffle with Bryce Harper, he was sent out to pitch the 9^th inning.  When asked about why he let Pap go out there, the response was “he’s our closer.”

Yup, he is.  He also just went after your best player, and made initial physical contact.  Are you seriously telling fans that you will bench Harper for not running hard enough (as happened last year), but you won’t send a guy to the showers for starting a needless and unnecessary fistfight with your franchise’s foundational player?

(Brief aside: Papelbon should be released tomorrow.  His resume is impressive.  His attitude is not.  The Nats have given up 12.5 games in the standings since trading for him.  While that’s not entirely his fault, his on-field performance isn’t worth the headache.  If Huston Street had done this type of thing to Mike Trout, I doubt the Angels would have let him pitch the rest of the game.  To his credit, Papelbon did say afterwards that he was wrong to fight with Harper.  Nice sentiment from a headcase.)

Williams seems to have no sense of when to encourage and when to criticize.  That he seems unwilling or unable to protect the top player in the locker room is the nail in the coffin.  Fire him, and do it soon.