Mexxed Missages About The Washington Nationals' GM Job:
Asked by MASN Announcer Debbi Taylor what "winning" the tough Stephen Strasburg negotiations meant for the "Acting" DC GM Mike Rizzo's candidacy for the permanent position with Washington, Nationals' team President Stan Kasten first responded:
Stan Kasten:
"Well first of all, I don't know what you mean by winning, we just gave away the most money that was ever given to any draft pick, I don't know how that's a win, except that we got the player we wanted...so...Mike ran point on this. He did a superb job..."
"That's it?" Debbi Taylor probed.
Stan Kasten:
"Yeah, I mean. I don't have anything to say for tonight. You know, ever since March, when we needed Mike to step in, he's done a great job with every assignment he's been given, and this was no exception..."
Then, during tonight's game, a 4-3 Nationals' loss the visiting Colorado Rockies, I got a Tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, which read:
"The Nats not only are talking to several GM candidates, but one that would be the manager and have a key front office role."
But? Earlier today, Mr. Kasten appeared on 1050 ESPNRadio's Michael Kay Show where he spoke to the host about the process of getting Stephen Strasburg signed to a record-setting deal and what it meant to the franchise, and then Mr. Kay asked a final question:
Michael Kay:
"Obviously Mike Rizzo is really respected throughout baseball, but you have not made a definitive decision yet on who's going to be your GM, when do you think that's going to happen?"
Mr. Kasten's response:
"I think we should have something to say about that very soon, obviously we had a lot of work to get done this summer, and, the work was getting done really well because we had someone we like and respect as much as Mike in this seat. Uh, we're going to now turn our attention to that, I can't tell you exactly when we'll make an announcement about a decision but I hope it's sooner rather than later."
So you can understand why some Nationals' fans were surprised when they read the title of Yahoo!Sports.com's Gordon Edes' story, "Walking papers for Nats GM?" For Mike Rizzo? That GM? Mr. Edes, citing "multiple sources" claims in the article 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 major league source" Mr. Edes writes "insisted" that the move, "...could happen in the next 24 hours."
Mr. Edes quotes Stan Kasten from an email exchange where the Nationals' team President responded simply, "I am no help on the GM subject?"
What is going on here?
?'s For The DC Faithful...(After The JUMP):
I've been collecting everything I've read, every article, tweet, rumor, claim, anything to do with the Nationals, Mike Rizzo, and their search for a full time GM. Here's the last updated version:
?'s For The DC Faithful...
• Did anyone else think it sounded like Rizzo was in after the MASN conversation?
• Will Mike Rizzo be promoted maybe? Instead of fired?
• How about this paragraph from Mr. Edes' post:
"The Nationals have made no announcements during the course of their GM search. Kasten is known to have interviewed Rays VP Gerry Hunsicker, who decided not to pursue the job, and contacted former Twins GM Terry Ryan, who was not interested. He also gave multiple interviews to Theo Epstein’s assistant GM in Boston, Jed Hoyer, believed to be another finalist for the job. A name floated in some circles was former Mets GM Steve Phillips, but he told associates he had no interest because of his job at ESPN."
• Steve Phillips?
• What Does Rizzo Have To Do? Who Should We Believe?