The excitement of seeing youngsters get called up has quickly been abated. Why? Well, because the guys I want to see play aren’t really going to play. Let’s start with Detwiler. He’s near his innings limit, so they aren’t going to use him as a starter. Instead, he’ll be coming out of the bullpen. This is fine, I guess. I understand the innings limit thing, so I won’t complain about management doing the wrong thing, I just was hoping to see him start. So be it.
Ian Desmond, on the other hand, is slated to come off the bench. This is the real disappointment. It’s all in the WaPo NaJo. But basically if Guzman can play, he’ll start. I assume that means at SS, which sucks for those of us that actually want to see Desmond play. And, in the words of Onyx, “bu-bu-bu-bu-wait it get’s worse.” Riggleman goes on to say:
If his [Guzman’s] foot flares up on him that will be an opportunity to get Desmond in there, but we also have Gonzalez and Orr who will be playing up the middle. I love to see young players play, but I don’t ever want to take away the opportunity from the veterans who have been here all year… and disregard their efforts all year by planting them on the bench. Like I said, the at bats might be inconsistent.
Huh? First of all, to call Gonzalez a veteran is stretching the definition of the word. The guy has a total of 144 games for his entire career. I wouldn’t call that a vet who deserves anything. Gonzalez is batting .250/.285/.350, so putting him on the bench should probably be considered regarding his efforts all year, not disregarding them. As for Pete Orr, well, he’s definitely more of a veteran. He’s played in 330 games in the majors dating back to 2005. So I see where Riggleman is going, except, wait for it… ORR HAS ONLY PLAYED IN 10 GAMES THIS YEAR WITH THE NATS!!!one!!one1!!
Riggleman actually makes zippy sense in what he is saying. Neither Gonzalez or Orr (oar? ore?) can be considered “veterans” that have “been here all year.” They are each one or the other, neither is both. It’s clear, if it wasn’t clear before, that all Riggleman is trying to do is win. Normally this is a good thing, like back in the mid-90s when he left the Yankees, Ruben Sierra said the same thing about Joe Torre. Sierra looked like an idiot because Torre actually did win. And if this was April, I’d say good for Riggleman, the botttom line is winning.
But this team should be trying to figure out how to win next year, because this year is over. Winning now is about Riggleman keeping his job and the team feeling pride in what they’ve done (not lose 100? 106? 108?). Meanwhile, if he thinks that his best chance of winning is by throwing Alberto Gonzalez or Pete Orr out there every day, I think he probably won’t have the job next year anyway.