A Q-and-A with Jim Riggleman
Good morning, Nats fans. Hope you're enjoying your holiday. I caught up with Nationals manager Jim Riggleman a few minutes ago to discuss a number of the topics you've been asking about in the last few days. Here's a transcript of my interview with him, interrupted only by his coffee-and-breakfast order at a fast-food place:
Q: You guys have had a chance to add a few pieces to the team so far. How are you feeling about the offseason as a whole?
A: I feel real good, I think. I'm really proud of our guys the way they competed last year under some tough circumstances. That was great. I'm appreciative of the efforts those players gave. Many of them are back with us, and the additions we made give us an opportunity to move forward. We're a little more solid in a few areas. Every addition (general manager) Mike (Rizzo) has made to the ballclub could end up being a real plus. It's easy to say at this point, but we addressed what our needs were, and Mike has addressed those needs down to the final one. I know he's still looking to add some things to the club, but we identified three major needs: catching, starting pitching and the bullpen. He did all three of those things. As a manager, I can't be anything but happy.
Q: With the bullpen, you've added some guys who have experience closing - (Matt) Capps, (Brian) Bruney and (Eddie) Guardado. Does one of them go into camp with an edge on the closer's job, or is it an open competition there?
A: It's a little bit of both. If there was a game tomorrow and we had the lead in the 9th inning and the previous pitcher was done for the day, I'd probably have confidence we could go a few different ways. I'd probably start with Capps and go from there. I think it's really a good situation to have a few guys that are comfortable pitching in the 9th inning. There are times you're facing a ballclub such as the Phillies, where they've got a strong left-handed lineup, that it might be (Sean) Burnett or Guardado, and then maybe you give it to Capps or Bruney or whoever's freshest. I'm not going to be too caught up in that. All I want is to make sure we get the outs.
Q: There's been a lot of talk about the middle infield situation, particularly about you guys adding another piece at second base. Are you happy with what you've got there going into spring training?
A: I'm happy with (Cristian) Guzman and (Ian) Desmond, with (Alberto) Gonzalez's ability to play both sides. If Mike adds another piece there, that will be welcome. If Mike adds another player, I think it will be someone he feels an upgrade for us defensively. That was issue for us in general last year, and I certainly understand trying to add somebody. If it's not conducive to what we're trying to do there payroll-wise, if we had to trade a piece of our ballclub that we didn't want to part with, I'm probably happier staying with what we have.
Q: Have you had a chance to talk to Guzman much lately about the possibility of switching to second base?
A: No, those discussions took place in September. Any follow-up I've had has been physical, medical, with regard to his recovery from his (shoulder) surgery. We were not able to do anything with him to get him acclimated to second base in September or October. It would all just be talk at this point anyway. We just want to get on the field and work. Cristian is aware it could go either way. He could be our second baseman, or he could be our shortstop, and he'll help us no matter which way it is. (Changing positions) could be a necessity, if there are any physical limitations due to his arm, but we don't think there are going to be. One thing I'd like to add - a point that was mentioned recently, and I think it's a good one - Cristian had some issues going on with bunions. To Cristian's credit, he never really said anything about it. He just played through it. It was brought to my attention late in the season that he was really sore, that he could use a day or two off based on these bunions. I just felt like at that point, 'Yeah, that would hurt (to play with those).' I did not make the connection that maybe this has been something that's going on all year that has affected his range. That's something we've got to look at, too, that whatever treatment he's had may allow him to be more comfortable. I admire him for playing through what could be a painful situation.
Q: He seems like a guy who isn't going to say anything about an injury until it gets to a point where he can't play anymore. Is that how he typically handles it?
A: Definitely. I think we've got a lot of guys like that. Late in the season, you realize Adam Dunn was playing with some tenderness in his hand or wrist, (Ryan) Zimmerman played through a lot of nagging aches and pains. But they felt an obligation to do it, and you've got to admire it.
Q: With Dunn, is there anything he's doing now to get ready to play first base every day, or does that have to wait until you get to Viera?
A: I've talked to Adam a couple times. He's going through his offseason conditioning, working hard. Anything we do with Adam in terms of his work will be in the flow of spring training. Spring training is long, and we've got plenty of time to get the work in. He'll get plenty. He made a lot of strides at first last year.
Q: Elijah Dukes - it's obviously been a difficult offseason for him with the death of his father. How is he handling that, and how's he feeling physically?
A: I've talked to Elijah a couple times. That's a tough blow. I think the best thing for Elijah is to get going in spring training and be occupied in that right with the game. The offseason has been a lot of turmoil there. Physically, he's feeling very well. That's big. He's a big strong guy, and we need to put him out there everyday. How the death of his father will affect him on the field, only time will tell.
Q: He goes in as the guy in right field, based on what you've got -
A: Definitely.
Q: Do you think he's ready to put together a full season? We haven't seen that from him yet because of the injuries.
A: I don't think there's any reason he can't, but again, that's all talk at this point. (Hitting coach) Rick Eckstein continued to work with him and make progress at the plate. He did some pretty good things. Any player who's his age, they're working toward the prime of their career, age-wise. He's going to be hitting his stride.
Q: This is your first chance to run a camp as a manager in quite a while, and put it together the way you want it to look. What kinds of things will you stress once you get there?
A: It's going to be pretty much like any other camp. We're not going to reinvent the game. It will be full of everything the other clubs do: Basics, fundamentals, batting practice, ground balls, first-and-third defense. You try to stress the attention to detail, teach everything as if nobody knows anything and give the players the respect of being good baseball people. We hope to make this group a team. We go in as a group and hope to end spring training as a team. It's a lot of basics, not a lot different from any other club.
Q: You spent a lot of time drilling fundamentals with early work when you took over as the interim manager last season. Do you see this camp as an extension of that?
A: Yeah, we'll try to continue that. I don't want to overstress or continue to repeat the point too much, but the situation last year, we really wanted to be doing that all along. I became the manager, but when I was a coach (under Manny Acta), we wanted to be doing a lot of that work all along. It was kind of a strange year weather-wise. We wanted to do it, but field was so wet so many days. And then the weather would get good, but we'd be on the road, where you can't get that defensive work early. It wasn't any particular brainchild of mine. It was stuff we knew we needed to do, thing that you have to weigh into it is, it was a change that was going to happen anyway. I happened to be the manager, and as I institute that pregame work, make the change in our schedule, some people are going to be saying, 'Why are we doing this?' Players have to buy into it. They've got to trust you that this is needed. To their credit, they did buy in. They did the work, and got better.
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Categories (click for archive)Ben Goessling | Nationals News |
I don't buy that "we wanted to work on defense when Manny was the manager, but weather was a problem and the field was always wet" excuse. It's about the most laughable thing I've heard in regards to last season.
what, did the weather instantly clear up, the moment Riggleman took over?
I know Riggles wants to be classy and not denigrate the former manager, but c'mon son.
Thanks for the Interview Ben....Not sure why you let him continue to give the same old Acta lines. You yourself have said that Acta did not stress work on Fundamentals in Spring Training. My question would have been to Riggs....what did Acta do in camp that caused such a gap in basics in May and what will he do differently in Camp to make sure the team is never in the situation like last year when they are in the middle of a MLB season with Single fundamentals and hoping for good Spring weather in April and May to try to fix it.
"what, did the weather instantly clear up, the moment Riggleman took over?"
Actually, it pretty much did. In May and June, it seemed like almost every game of my 20-game plan was beset with rain issues, but after the All Star Break that was no longer true.
"A: I've talked to Adam a couple times." --- So, unlike Odalis, he does pick up his phone...
"He's going through his offseason conditioning, working hard." ----- same as he has done every year of his career without any noticeable improvement in Defense...
"Anything we do with Adam in terms of his work will be in the flow of spring training."---- So basically, it's impossible for Adam or the Nats to improve their defense in the off-season and any fundamental improvement will need to occur during ST.
"Spring training is long, and we've got plenty of time to get the work in. He'll get plenty. He made a lot of strides at first last year." ---- or more precisely, he didn't regress at first base when compared to his OF defense metrics.
As a fan, I recognize I have a stilted view on what is expected of players. Would you say that a ball club pays a professional ballplayer to perform and improve his craft year round or is their some type of understanding that off-season is a players personal time -like an extended vacation, and that the club shouldn't expect a player to do anything beyond "stay in shape", or at least not ballon like Dameat.
Why couldn't Dunn have worked out with K. Hernandez, E Murray or some other 1B fielding expert during the off-season? What would be the downside to this approach? Sure, ST is long and if the weather is nice, everyone gets extra ground balls and drills, but this approach is the same as every other ball player and effectively maintains your ability (vs. competition). When there is a glaring weakness, why wouldn't the Club, Player and Coach take steps to address it in the off-season?
I can only hope that this is being done behind the scenes and that the parties prefer it not to go public in order to minimize expectations/pressure on Dunn to perform better.
Long winded again..but thanks for asking Rigs the question and I look forward to hearing details around ST drills/defense performance for Dunn.
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One technicality as it relate to players getting paid and how the offseason is viewed: Players are payed for six months of the year, so when Dunn makes $12 million this season, it will come in the form of $2 million a month for six months. Now, does that mean the offseason is an extended vacation? No, and I don't think players treat it as such. But I suppose it's a little like teaching; you stand to gain from using your summers as a way to get better at your job, but the nature of the work is such that you need a little time to recharge, too, and it's up to you how you spend your time.
Ben
I agree with you Gus. Never get a straight answer out of Rigglemen on this issue. If Sprint Training is Long enough and plenty of time to get the work in that is needed.....THEN what was the reason last two years teams came out of Spring Training looking like they had not been exposed to fundamentals and why is Rigglemen blaming the weather in April and May for work that should have been done in Feb and March?
I wonder if Tony LaRussa would tell Pujols what his off season should be like and I wonder if Pujols' off season is any different from Dunn's.
People were talking about six months to play 162 games plus 1 month plus of spring training. The body needs a break, right.
Berndaddy,
I have no problem with that as long as Dunn gets into camp early and they work get the work done in Florida. Last year I was in FL when Dunn got back from WBC and he was not pushed all in the field that two weeks. He did not play 1B in Spring games and when I was watching he took a few softly hit ground balls and walked away. That is not going to do it. He gave up as many runs as he produced with that approach to defense. I trust Riggleman will get him ready done based on the focus Riggs pushed last year.
Why Riggleman insists on a revisionist history of last spring under Acta I will never understand; it just makes him look clueless and simply minded the results were so clear to see. Pitchers knew what to do with bunt plays. Infielders knew the signs. Outfielders were throwing to the right bases for the most part (not Dukes). Riggleman's simpleton act will get old sooner than later.
Berndaddy,
If Albert Pujols (or any other player) was hurting his club by performing poorly in one glaring aspect of his game (which in theory could be improved through repitition and improved mechanics), I would imagine that the club, mgr. and player would all take an active interest in ensuring progress is made during off-season.
How much additional WAR value is generated if Dunn is able to play average defense at first base? Others can grind the stats, but he was something like negative 10-15 WAR defensively. It's like free money/wins if Dunn and Club can crack the code for making this 6Ft 6 highly coordinated player (unlike D Cab) an average defender at first.
It appears Dunn has played and practiced OF most of his life (which opens up another series of questions), so perhaps he could make serious improvement if he had the will and the team provided the guidance and instructions. Most important factor in that equation is the players will. I seem to remember reading about Jeter and how hard he worked last off season to regain his "range" through various drills and flexibilty exercises and apparently that paid off both defensively and even offensively last season.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Dunn and his personality from what I can gather. However, I can't fathom a true professional not taking steps to improve their performance in off-season, both from a personal standpoint as well as team standpoint. Dunn's defense was an eyesore last year particularly in OF. If F Robby were still around, it might have brought tears to his eyes again having to see Dunn in OF. Dunn, to his credit, didn't appear to let his poor defense weigh on him and he was very willing to shift positions mid season to 1B.
If he plays average defense, that generates quite a few more wins for the Nats. This could be low hanging fruit if player and team are motivated sufficiently and wouldn't require any new trades or FA signings.
I get the recharge batteries arguement but what other occupation requires/expects 5 months of rest to accomplish a "recharge"?
Anyway, this discussion is moot as it appears the real work will be done in ST. If that's the case, I guess we all need to hope for a dry Spring in Florida and perhaps bringing in a few more fiesty/driven/focused players like Morgan, Hudson, Harris might also increase output from practices.
Ben,
We are going to need your eyes and ears in early spring training to see if things are going to change are not this April with respect to defense and fundementals. This team has led the NL in errors for two straight years. They like to say the right things but we don't need more Stock Quotes from Riggleman or like last year when Chico just sat a dinner with Grissom, Cedeno and let them fool him into believing Milledge was greatly improved in the OF and with his maturity and work ethic without putting any effort into finding out if it was true of not. If you don't see it yourself don't report what Stan wants use to hear please.
Hey Ben..
I tried to add your blog here to my Google Reader, but instead I was given a generic MASN feed that had a bunch of Ravens stuff in it. Is there any way to isolate your blog and only subscribe to that? I honestly don't care about the Ravens, and I am not at all interested in what Phil Wood has to say.
only reason I come here is to read your Blog, and I'd like to subscribe to it specifically in RSS.
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I haven't found a specific RSS feed other than the MASN feed. But you're obviously following me on Twitter (@masnNATS), and all of my posts will be linked there. If we develop sport-specific or author-specific feeds at some point, I'll let you know, and I'll see what I can find out on that front.
Ben
Ben,
Maybe it is good thing Dukes did not go back to Licey. Did we ever get a definitive translation from the Licey published reports about Dukes. It was unclear if he was not accepted back after he left them in Nov. or if Dukes decided he did not want to go back. The translation I saw indicated that Licey would not want Dukes back.
In any case, if Offerman was Dukes's manager that does not sound like a good environment to develop Dukes in.....As I recall New Nats DR point man was also Licey GM who hired Offerman.....does not sound like the Nats have this whole DR stuff fixed yet. What have you heard about the DR progress to date?