AP sources: Riggleman staying as Nationals manager

[November 12, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- No more interim tag for Jim Riggleman: He is going to be the Washington Nationals' full-fledged manager in 2010.

The Nationals are sticking with Riggleman after promoting him from bench coach midway through last season, two people in baseball familiar with the team's plans told The Associated Press.

Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The team was planning a news conference for Thursday.

Riggleman replaced fired manager Manny Acta in July on an interim basis. The Nationals were 26-61 (a .299 winning percentage) at the time and went 33-42 (.440) under Riggleman, finishing with a major league-worst record of 59-103.

Clearly, this is a rebuilding -- or as general manager Mike Rizzo prefers to say, "building" -- team, and the Nationals apparently appreciated the signs of progress that came in the second half of 2009.

Riggleman also made it known he wanted the job.

He found himself in a similar situation a year ago with the Seattle Mariners, who fired their manager during the season and gave Riggleman the position on an interim basis. He was a candidate to stay on there, too, but didn't get that job.

From the outset of Washington's managerial search, Rizzo made it clear that Riggleman had a strong shot at the permanent spot, calling him a "legitimate candidate" in late September.

"He put us on pace to really focus in and bear down on the fundamentals of the game, to play cleaner, more efficient ball. He's got the guys playing at a high level of attention. I think he's done the best job he could with the ability level he had on the field," Rizzo said at the time.

"Jim is a definite candidate to stay on," Rizzo added then. "Like I said, he's done a great job."

In addition to his brief stint in Seattle, Riggleman managed in the majors with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs.

He has a losing record in his career and only one finish as high as second place. His best season came with the 1998 Cubs, who were led by NL MVP Sammy Sosa's 66 homers and went 90-73 to make the playoffs as a wild card.

But Chicago went 67-95 to finish last in 1999, Riggleman's final year there. Next season will be his first since then with a full-fledged managing job from spring training.

Riggleman is the Nationals' third manager since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington. He follows Frank Robinson, who guided the Nationals in 2005 and 2006, and Acta, who recently was hired to manage the Cleveland Indians.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD FENDRICH]

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