Washington Nationals: Top 5 Stories Of 2009. No. 2...Mike Rizzo Becomes Washington Nationals' Full-Time GM.

2Mike Rizzo Named Full-Time GM.

• 10:15 pm EST, Tuesday August 18, 2009. Yahoo!Sports.com's Gordon Edes writes, in a story entitled, "Walking papers for Nats GM", that, "multiple sources insisted" the Washington Nationals were about to name the Arizona Diamondbacks' vice president Jerry Dipoto to replace "Acting" GM Mike Rizzo as the Nationals' 3rd General Manager in five years in the nation's capital. 

• Twelve hours later, 10:07 am EST, Wednesday August 19, 2009. ESPN.com's Keith Law cites his own sources in an article entitled, "DiPoto rumor false", telling readers to relax, "...don't buy it...it's not true," Mike Rizzo is not out as the Nationals' GM. Less than an hour later, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler notes, in an article entitled, "DiPoto expected to be Nats' new GM", that the, "The Nationals appear to have chosen Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto as their new general manager," and according to Mr. Knobler's sources, Mr. DiPoto,"...has told friends in Arizona that he plans to accept the job."

(cont.)...

• 2:21 pm EST, Wednesday August 19, 2009. Washington Post writer Chico Harlan arrives at Nationals Park where the people he speaks to tell him they, "...believe the DiPoto rumor to be untrue." In fact, one source, "...went so far as to call the DiPoto report patently false," Mr Harlan wrote, with the source hinting that, "...(Mike) Rizzo would get the job soon,":

"The decision has already been made," the source said, "and the best I can tell you -- what's been written is 100-percent wrong."

• 9:39 pm EST, Wednesday, August 19, 2009. The Washington Nationals announce that "Acting" GM Mike Rizzo has been named the team's full-time General Manager. MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes in a blog post that, "The Nationals made the decision Rizzo was their man a couple of days ago."

• 12:30-1:00 pm EST, Sunday, August 23, 2009. The next weekend at the Nationals Blogger Day in DC, GM Mike Rizzo talks about what it was like to live through the previous Wednesday's rumors:

"Wednesday was, uh, not as good as Monday (when Washington signed Stephen Strasburg)...The information, the mis-information...was unfortunate, but, uh, it didn't effect me nearly as much as the people who knew me and were rooting for me, cause I knew on Tuesday that I had the job. The Wednesday stories were at first, it was a little comical, and then as the day drew on and it seem to kind of snowball into more of a for sure thing that I wasn't going to get the job, and uh, you know, family members and friends were a little more vocal in their displeasure..."

The RZO LINKS:

• Washington Post - Nationals Journal - "Q&A With Mike Rizzo" - Chico Harlan.

"So, here's the full let's-begin-the-offseason Q&A with GM Mike Rizzo. If you want the microwave version, here goes: 1) Rizzo seems to want a veteran baseball guy as his next manager. 2) He doesn't believe Bryce Harper is the surefire..."

• Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo Talks To The Natosphere At Nationals Park. Pt. 2 - Federal Baseball

"Q: Free agency this winter? For pitching?

"Mike Rizzo: Yeah I think that, we've said, we've got four rookies in the rotation right now and one second-year guy, we've always felt that, uh, i've always felt that even a veteran pitcher at the top of the rotation, it doesn't have to be a #1 quality starting pitcher, but it has to be uh, a guy that we're going to look at in the winter, will be a veteran type of guy that can mentor the younger pitchers, and take on some innings, a guy that's a workhorse and that works well with the younger players to get everybody a little bit down another slot in the rotation, everybody get comfortable, a little more comfortable..."

• Sources, Rumors and Tweets All Wrong: Washington Nationals To Name Mike Rizzo GM!!! - Federal Baseball

"A Day In The Life Of DC GM Mike Rizzo..."