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

Check Out Last Night's Game Report HERE.

This Morning's Headline:

• A Day In The Life Of DC GM Mike Rizzo:

8/18/09 - 10:53 pm EST - 

Yahoo!Sports.com's Gordon Edes posted a story last night entitled, "Walking papers for Nats GM", in which Mr. Edes claimed that "multiple sources insisted" that:

"...the Nationals are on the verge of announcing that Arizona Diamondbacks vice president Jerry DiPoto is about to be named Nationals GM, replacing Rizzo, who has been interim GM since replacing Jim Bowden earlier this season."

One of Mr. Edes' sources even "insisted" that the move to bring Mr. DiPoto to DC, "...could happen in the next 24 hours."

8/19/09 - 2:14 am EST - 

MLB.com's Bill Ladson, citing Mr. Edes' Yahoo!Sports.com column, posted a story at the Nationals' official site early in the morning entitled, "Rizzo may be out as Nats' Acting GM", wherein Mr. Ladson repeated the claims made by Mr. Edes' "multiple sources" but reported that Mr. Rizzo had given no indication during recent meetings with the press that any sort of move was imminent. Mr. Ladson had attempted to contact both candidates for the Nationals' GM job, but neither Mr. Rizzo nor Mr. DiPoto was available for comment. 

(Cont. After The JUMP)...

8/19/09 - 10:07 am EST - 

In a post at ESPN.com's Rumor Central entitled, "DiPoto rumor false", the anonymous author notes that some people have been saying that Mike Rizzo is on his way out, and links to Mr. Edes' Yahoo!Sports.com story while warning readers, "...don't buy it," because "sources" told ESPN.com's Keith Law, "...it's not true."

8/19/09 - 10:53 am EST - 

Less than an hour later, however, CBS Sports.com's Danny Knobler posts an article entitled, "DiPoto expected to be Nats' new GM". Mr. Knobler" in which he announces that, "The Nationals appear to have chosen Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto as their new general manager," and Mr. Knobler even writes of how Mr. DiPoto, the vice president of player personnel for the Arizona Diamondbacks, "...has told friends in Arizona that he plans to accept the job, which opened when Jim Bowden resigned under pressure this spring."

8/19/09 - 2:21 pm EST - 

Washington Post writer Chico Harlan posts a story on the Post's Nationals Journal entitled, "More on the GM Situation", linking to several of the articles above and reporting that the people he's spoken to at Nationals Park, "...believe the DiPoto rumor to be untrue." Mr. Harlan, citing a "source with knowledge of the general manager search" then writes that this person, "...went so far as to call the DiPoto report patently false," hinting that, "...(Mike) Rizzo would get the job soon."

8/19/09 - 9:39 pm EST - 

Just before the Washington Nationals lost the second straight game at home to the visiting Colorado Rockies, MLB.com's Bill Ladson posted a story at his blog entitled, "Rizzo to be named general manager of the Nationals". In the article, Mr. Ladson reported that his own "baseball source" was stating that in spite of the rumors, "The Nationals made the decision Rizzo was their man a couple of days ago." Soon after Mr. Ladson published his story, Washington Post writer Chico Harlan writes on the Post's Nationals journal, in a story entitled, "Rizzo Will Be Named As Permanent GM On Thursday", that while Mr. Rizzo had always been considered one of three candidates along with Jerry DiPoto and the Red Sox' Asst. GM Jed Hoyer:

"Events of the last week -- most notably Rizzo's negotiations with No. 1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg -- changed everything, and ultimately convinced team president Stan Kasten that the best candidate to run his team was the guy who's been running it all season."

Washington Times' writer Mark Zuckerman, checked in as well with a Chatter post entitled, "Rizzo gets the permanent GM job", where Mr. Zuckerman wrote that with the Strasburg conference scheduled for Friday:

"...it seemed unlikely the organization would make an announcement about its GM search until the weekend at the earliest.

 

But the decision having been made by ownership, the Nationals elected to give Rizzo his day in the sun tomorrow and then introduce his most significant signing the following day."

?'s For The DC Faithful...

• In hindsight, what do you make of all the rumors?

• Is Mike Rizzo the right man for the job?

• Are they selling $1 tickets to the game after Mike Rizzo's press conference?

• Did all the rumors force the Nationals' hand and make them name Mr. Rizzo before they planned?

• Was this simply, as I speculated, the Nationals carrying out the necessary process of interviewing prospective candidates for the job before they could officially select Mr. Rizzo?

• Will Mike Rizzo retain Jim Riggleman as the Nationals' Manager?