Matt Williams: "Who wouldn't want to be back and take another run at it?"

What has been a trying second season as manager of the Washington Nationals is coming to a crashing end for Matt Williams. Just count the shambles of the past week.

Last Wednesday night, Williams was forced to deal with his closer Jonathan Papelbon beaning Orioles star Manny Machado. Then Saturday, the Nationals realized their failures this season when the Mets clinched the National League East. Unbelievably, Sunday afternoon brought a new low when Papelbon attacked Bryce Harper in the dugout. And Williams spent most of Monday explaining why he sent Papelbon back to the mound after the veteran reliever choked the Nationals' prized young slugger.

Williams was still answering questions about the melee when he made his normal weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan FM's The Sports Junkies this morning.

Show host Eric Bickel inquired again as to what Harper could've done differently during the altercation to avoid punishment from the Nationals for his involvement.

"I don't know," Williams told 106.7 FM The Fan. "I don't know what he could've done differently. The fact of the matter is that's an organizational decision. I don't know. There's no good that comes out of anything like that, right? So a skirmish is something we don't want. That type of behavior is unacceptable. What could he have done differently? I don't know.

"But he was involved and the organization decided to do that. So it's over. It's done. We have a season to finish and Bryce will have a fantastic career. I think he's on the verge of something very special here. And we want to honor that at this point."

Williams was asked whether he thinks Papelbon will still be with the Nationals in 2016.

"That's not my decision right now," Williams told The Fan. "He's under contract and I know that everybody involved will look at all of this over the winter and make a decision in that regard. But at this point, I can't answer and I don't have an opinion because we just don't know. But I know that Jonathan, he's under contract for next year."

Following a 96-win NL East championship season last year that resulted in Williams winning the NL's Manager of the Year Award, the Nationals picked up the option on his contract for 2016. Whether Williams will actually manage the Nats in 2016 will likely be determined when the skipper meets with general manager Mike Rizzo, possibly as early as Monday.

"I can't let anything else enter my brain or the coaches can't let anything else enter their brains because we have games to play and we want to win those games," Williams told The Fan. "So at the end of the season, decisions will be made and we'll go from there. But right now, I don't know and I don't want to know really. It's not a concern of mine right now because we got a game tonight and a game tomorrow."

"But you're human," Bickel said to Williams. "Do you want to be back and tackle this again with this group?"

"Of course ... Of course I do," Williams responded. "I love this game. It's given me everything I have professionally in my life. And we have a good team. Yeah, we've dealt with a lot of injuries - a lot of things that have gone off the rails this year. But yeah, of course. Of course I do. I love doing what I do.

"I love being part of this organization. They're a fantastic organization and everybody from the top down is supportive in every way of everybody. It's a good situation. It didn't happen well for us this year. But you know what? Who wouldn't want to be back and take another run at it? I certainly do and I know all of our coaches do."