How the Nationals ended up with Dusty Baker as manager and not Bud Black

Nationals president and general manager Mike Rizzo indicated today that reports last week naming Bud Black as the team's next manager were premature and incorrect.

"That was wrong," Rizzo said. "We started off with nine candidates that we interviewed. Throughout the process, we went painstakingly through each candidate. We finally called back seven of them telling that they weren't in consideration for the job and whittled down to our two finalists with Bud and Dusty (Baker), and ultimately at the end of the day decided to go with Dusty."

Rizzo said that contract talks with Black didn't fall apart because of money or terms.

"Bud Black was one of the finalists," Rizzo said. "We definitely had financial parameters discussed with him and Dusty at the same time."

However, Rizzo did allude to potential issues during contract discussions.

"Sometimes, in the negotiating process, it tells you a lot about the people that you're negotiating with," Rizzo said. "As we discussed baseball in the interview process and parameters in the financial process, we came to the conclusion that Dusty Baker was the perfect guy for us."

Rizzo said that he makes the final decision as team president and general manager, but that the call to hire Baker was unanimous.

"At the end of the day, it did not come down to money," Rizzo said. "It did not come down to terms. It came down to who were we - meaning the general manager/president of the team and the ownership - most comfortable with."

Meanwhile, Baker said he was disappointed when reports surfaced that Black had been hired last Wednesday night. He headed off to Santa Cruz, Calif., to promote his new book, "Kiss the Sky."

"I was a little bewildered as to why no one had told me that I didn't get the job," Baker said. "And now I know why: because they hadn't made up their mind. You know how things leak out. You guys know that, right? And I don't know where it came from and Mike didn't know where it came from."

Baker said he received a "touching" call from Nationals managing principal owner Theodore M. Lerner giving him some reassuring news.

"He had told me that I was not out of the running and I had a good chance of getting the job," Baker said.

Rizzo attempted to clarify the confusing situation with Black and Baker.

"Dusty, in our mind, was never out of it," Rizzo said. "We kept in contact with him specifically through our assistant general manager, Bob Miller, who had a relationship with him with the Cincinnati Reds for years. They know each other extremely well. They were in constant contact with each other. Bob was giving the message that I wanted to give to Dusty, and that we are still interested and don't close the book on us."

However, as it played out, the Nationals' next chapter with Baker as manager officially began today. Hopefully, the plot becomes less juicy.