Washington Nationals’ Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo play down altercation - MLB Update
The signs of uneasiness are visible after the Washington Nationals’ losing-streak extends to four games and their decline begins. General Manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson have been heard expressing disapproval of some of the actions taken by
the team in the recent past.
Although the exact nature of the disagreement is not known yet, the issue of shutting down ace Stephen Strasburg is likely to be the part of the arguments. However, the spat has been trivialised by the GM and the manager. They say it was a routine and has
nothing to do with their relations.
The incident is significant in light of the fact that the Nationals have struggled in the last couple of games. Along with the offence, their starters have also been mediocre with some of them leaking runs. Instead of making up for the poor run-support by
the hitters they have cost defeats. Therefore the discussion in the management will possibly have entailed the inability of some of the batters to perform consistently.
Likely combination of the starters in rotation will also have been talked about.
However, what intrigues the reporters is the fact that both manager and GM erupted in a fury at each other in the room for some time and then immediately they settled down and started talking normally. Therefore the curiosity to know what actually triggered
the discussion has built up.
Meanwhile, Johnson has praised Rizzo saying he knows what is best for the team and that he has communicated to him what he considered appropriate for the club.
"It's normal business as usual," Johnson said. "I admire Mike because he can get it right out. I kind of keep it in. He gets it out and it's over with. I wish I could do that. The points are well taken."
Similarly Rizzo has also stepped in to shun the impression that the relations between him and Johnson are sour.
"Davey and I talk after every game," Rizzo said. "We talk about the goods and the bads of each and every game, and this was just probably I was a little too emotional. We're both pretty passionate, and I was a little frustrated."
As both have now clarified their positions, the Nationals will be looking to forget about the incident and focus on playing games.
Tags: