Hw was right about Boswell however

I think the biggest irony of all is the fact that Riggleman quit a third of the way through his last season over the team's unwillingness to extend his contract and now the team turns to Davey Johnson, who quit on the Orioles for the same reason with a full season still left on his contract.
Spin it all you care to spin it, Angelos-haters.... but the inescapable truth is that Johnson quit on the Orioles organization, quit on his Oriole players, quit on his Oriole fans, and quit on the City of Baltimore when he still had an entire year left on his already lucrative contract.
You want to talk about someone who was looking out for himself, talk about Johnson.
He's a first class jerk in my opinion, and if Washington thinks they had money disputes with Riggleman, just wait 'til they win a few games with Johnson and he tries to hold them hostage like he tried to do with Angelos.
It's no mere coincidence that "Johnson" is a euphemism for what a pin does to a baloon.

Although I don't follow the Nationals that closely, it seems to me both Riggleman and the team could actually be headed for a win-win situation. Riggleman apparently already knew his option was not going to be picked up anyway. Owners afraid of independent thinkers aren't going to hire Riggleman but tend to be leaders of losing teams anyway. (cough cough) Riggleman just may have gotten a head start to his next job anyway.

Say what you want about the Werth signing, the Nationals have made it clear they will try to do what it takes to win, and a simple matter of money isn't going to deter them. At the same time, they aren't going to let a streak overly influence them. Some teams get caught up in the here and now, and abandon their clear vision of the future because of it.

The Johnson-Angelos (through MASN) connection is interesting but don't look for it to last too long. Johnson is much older and doesn't possess the best of health. He'll finish the year but don't expect him back in uniform for 2012.

Losing four straight series to anyone is disconcerting to be sure, but who thought the Orioles were making a "giant leap toward respectability" anyway? I predicted 81-81 (still do), and I guess that's respectable in a sense. However, if one adds "giant leap" into the descriptor, one must also then assume respectability might mean being with five or so games of a playoff spot.

A team doesn't make a giant leap unless it makes a giant move. Getting a spring training facility after decades in the dark ages and split sites doesn't qualify.

The best name change I saw came from Mad magazine when it reported Tom Seaver changed his name to Kareem Uv Weet.

I don't know about the date of when the NFL players will finally fold. They certainly are a stupid bunch. On the labor front, they are waiting for their hired gun to win them riches which they think is a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile the head of the union that isn't is hoping for an tsunami of court rulings that will fall their way. Somebody should tell these boneheads the USFL won their lawsuit. I'm not sure what Donald Trump did with his portion of the three dollars.

The players could lose monetarily even if they win everything they want (or want to avoid) if the lockout lasts long enough.

But as I said, the players are a stupid bunch. You have guys like Woodley calling out Flacco. This is so dumb on so many fronts. First, it simply cheapens the product. If there's a buzz around Flacco for what he has done in a short amount of time and it's not respected by fellow players, why should the fans be impressed with the NFL product?

Second, even the Ravens win a championship, it makes Woodley look even more stupid than he already looks. That, too, cheapens the NFL product.

Third, even if Woodley is right, it makes the other teams' accomplishments (including the Steelers) look less impressive. Winning against a formidable opponents looks much better than winning against someone who will never win anyway.

Fourth, this is the offseason. Is there really some sort of psychological edge one can get by drawing a line in the sand months before any games are played?

Fifth and most importantly, it shows the players as not being united. Players have different perspectives depending on their age, their tenure, their contract status, etc. If they act like their fellow competitors aren't worthy of even silence, there is no way they will have a unified front when playing the poker face to the owners.

By contrast, you rarely saw baseball players showing that level of disrespect to each other, and never in the offseason.

As for Reed and his comments, much like what I said above, I'm not sure what exactly his comments are supposed to accomplish. At best, it was pointless and stupid. It could develop into an underlying theme the coach and its players have to constantly address. It's one thing if Woodley thinks Flacco is a loser, or Bart Scott reports the Raven players we wetting their pants to have Ryan be the head coach. It's something else when your own player doesn't have your back.

The funny thing is Ryan inherited a 9-7 team and made them 9-7 and 11-5. Harbaugh inherited a 5-11 team and made them 11-5, 9-7, and 12-4. Ryan did take the extra step in the postseason the last two years but it is still short of the Super Bowl and he is 0-1 head-to-head against Harbaugh.

We'll see over time if Ryan's blustery approach actually produces something special or if high water mark with this approach happens early. I think Ryan will be out of a head coaching job sooner than Harbaugh.

Maybe this all came down because the Nats wanted Johnson for next season?

How ironic though that a team who is improving, decides to go with a proven winner in Johnson. You know, the last guy to win at the helm for our orioles.

Our only hope fellow fans is that mr angelos wakesup one day and decides to sell the team. That he would finally care enuf for the good and of Baltimore by stepping aside once and for all. It's so sad that this is literally our only hope Tom ever have a competitive team in this city again.

Please mr angelos. Do the right thing. You're not mr. Cuban. You don't love to win in sports like he does. That the orioles win does not matter to you. So please sell the team to someone who will care.

I certainly see your side of it pete, because i know a manager should never leave there team midway in a season. But it certainly looks like they had davey johnson in mind all along to eventually take over. Paying him 600,000. a year is a major insult for a manager that has been around as long and has the experince that jim has.And by the way rizzo seems to be quite a arrogant guy that probably told him don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out. Two sides too every story.Once again that is just my opinion and you Pete know how much that is worth don't you.

Davey Johnson... this could be interesting.

Riggleman is a fool for packing it in. What ever happened to honoring your contract?
It's not as if he's the second coming of Earl Weaver and that teams are going to be fighting over signing him up.
The Nats are nothing more than a bottom feeder who will likely end up with a worse record than the equally inept Orioles.
Their lineup is pretty marginal and although Riggleman may be one of the lower paid managers, he's still making 600 K and with his boneheaded 'resingation' won't see that type of coin anytime soon.

What would have been really interesting would have been Johnson taking over a month ago and getting to face the Orioles!

Hey Pete, nice column — but didn't Mike Hargrove do the same thing a few seasons ago in Seattle with the Mariners riding a seven-game winning streak (or something like that)? Just quit abruptly in midseason with no warning and the team excelling.

To the best of my knowledge, Hargrove hasn't gotten a sniff from teams looking for a manager since. ... And neither will Riggleman — at least nothing more than a scouting position or bullpen coach.

Why should/would a team commit to a person who has proven he will put his own selfish, personal interests ahead of the team?

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Pete's reply: True, Hargrove did bolt, but that was for personal reasons. He wasn't trying to leverage a contract. At least, it wasn't presented that way. I agree that it's got to be a big red flag if you're a GM looking for a new manager.