FBb on MASN: Washington Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo And Organization Depth; Redundancy

[ed. note - "Every Friday morning throughout this season, hopefully, if they'll continue to have me, I'll be writing a post over at MASNSports.com, "... as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest," writers to their site. All opinions expressed are my own... A sample follows... You can read the entire post HERE or through the link included below."]:

"[Anthony Rendon], who had a .505 OBP over three collegiate seasons at Rice and more walks than strikeouts in each of his three seasons of college ball, left the team with a good impression and no doubt inspired confidence in the Nats should they need to turn to him again. His plan this spring, when he knew he wouldn't make the team was to make the Nats brass remember him when he was gone. He accomplished that goal in spring training and in his first eight-game stint in the majors.

Organizational depth. Redundancy. Since he took over as GM, Rizzo has rebuilt the organization from the bottom up. It was all part of Rizzo's plan.

"'He's the best GM I've ever had,' [Davey] Johnson told reporters last week, 'In a lot of respects. I like, No.1, that he's smart. He also played second base. He's been a scout. He surrounds himself with intelligent people. Everything that he's done has had a lot of reasoning behind it.

"'I think, you know, from ownership, GM and all that, to really be a successful organization it has to start at the top. And I mean, I'm going above Rizzo. The Lerners have been outstanding owners and they hired a great man in Mike Rizzo. He's a great evaluator of talent. He understands all the nuances of a baseball season. He understands insurance at positions and pitching. He understands really all the things that you really need to be aware of and he does that within a budget. Which is outstanding.'"

• You can read the entire post over at MASNSports.com's Nationals Buzz.