Old School .vs. New School Managers

[viper]

This is an observation/opinion more than a fantasy thought but it does have fantasy implications.

As a Nats follower, I have seen a significant upheaval in managers this past few weeks. Riggleman was more of a small ball manager trying to manufacture runs. The Nats feature a bunch for woeful average/OBP hitters but do have moderate pop throughout the lineup. Platooning, steals, and taking the extra base were a major part of the philosophy. Riggleman then made an all-in call of Rizzo/Lerner and the bluff was called.

Enter Davey Johnson.

Johnson seems to be old school in somewhat of an Earl Weaver mold. He disdains sacrifices as he want to give away no outs. He appears to favor veterans - shown by playing Stairs as a DH in Los Angeles. He has commented he wants more power on his bench and less utility type players. He also like a fixed lined and is indicating he will play Nix against LHP. To date nix is 2 for 19 against lefties and is batting over .300 against right handed pitcher. He is truly a platoon candidate if you ever saw one. Back in Davey's day, platooning wasn't thought very highly of but then back then SP went nine inning routinely. My gut feeling is that Davey will also curtail the SB portion of the running game although the 1st-to-3rd portion will stay.

The operative word in "old school" is old. The game has changed but it doesn't seem the Davey likes the new way and will install the old ways. Unlike his Orioles when he played and other teams when he managed, this Nats team is lacking in many places. Hitting overall is lost art in Washington. I feel some of his ideas are counter to what the Nats need to do this season. Maybe in 2-3 years it won't be but in 2011 it is.

There is one area I think Davey has correct albeit I am in a minority among my friends. He seems not to like what he sees in Ian Desmond. Desmond has improved his fielding but then when you lead the majors in errors by a SS, it is hard to deteriorate. He is stealing with a great percentage of success but will Davey slow this back? What Davey seems to worry about is Desmond's habit a swinging wildly at "out of the strike zone" pitches. This is Ian's modus opperandi. Right now, he has no alternative to Desmond but I think he would like to try one. In a year or two, I can see Espinoso at SS with Anthony Rendon at 2B.

[Todd Zola]

FWIW, back when he was managing previous, Johnson was one of the first guys to actually use statistical analysis. So honestly, I don't think the old school really applies. He was tutored by Earl Weaver who was famous for "waiting for the 3-run homer." Today. that is more of the proverbial Moneyball philosophy, not giving away outs.

The Nix situation is not so much platoon (the Orioles famously used a platoon of Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein), but Johnson knowing Nix has never been afforded the chance to hit lefties regularly and he wants to see if he can handle them. Last season he was 5-16 against southpaws, the season previous, 5-32.

[da_big_kid_94]

Davey is shaking out whatever he needs to shake out. This is a team that has a roster spot for Wily Mo Pena! What Nix may or may not have done against lefties in the past isn't relevant - because he hasn't done it for Davey. Within 3 days of Riggleman's resignation, Davey was signed for 2.5 years - that's not a coincidence. One of the biggest views i see repeatedly is that some people assume that the new manager will use players in the same roles as his predecessor did. They don't take into account that's the reason why he IS his predecessor.

We may have to give Davey up to a month to see what his tendencies are, since his leash is nowhere near as short as Riggleman's was. I would assume some of the roles will stay the same - but I'll bet there are several players (Bernadina, Ankiel, Nix, etc.) who are auditioning for 2012 roster spots right now. And, it's not so much a stretch to figure that if Davey was signed for that long within 72 hours after Riggleman quit, that Anthony Rendon suddenly makes a lot of sense and that Ian Desmond may have to pick up his game a bit.

[Todd Zola]

Something else to at least keep in mind is Johnson has been managing International ball for the past several season, heading up Team USA in the WBC.

I think Kid is right, he is taking inventory.

Rendon is going to be interesting to follow. Remember when the big question was what the Rangers were going to do with two stud third baseman, Blalock and Teixeira?

[viper]

Davey signed for 2½ years but they were not all for managing. It may very well come to be but he was signed to finish this year as manager and for additional 2 years within the Nationals organization. I cannot remember what the position was called but it may have been what he had been doing the last couple of years. Davey is supposed to be closely involved with Rizzo for the eventual new manager. It may very well be Johnson but the Nats did not go through all the managerial search requirements of MLB so they could be sign Davey to a longer term contract.

The initial report was that Davey signed for 2½ years but that report was incorrect. What seems to be clear within my part of the world is that Riggleman was right and he was not going to be part of the Nationals future.