Inside Baseball: Managerial heat in NL East

There may be more than a division title at stake as Terry Collins of the Mets and Matt Williams of the Nationals battle it out in the NL East with a month to go. Two managerial jobs could possibly hang in the balance in a potential playoffs-or-bust game for both men. And, considering the current standings and trends, it’s pretty clear whose job appears more tenuous.

To say Williams is embattled is an abject understatement at this point. At three games over .500, if the Nats aren’t the most disappointing team in baseball, they are in that sorry conversation. At this point, based on whispers around the league, it is difficult to imagine Williams surviving an idle October for the Nats despite winning Manager of the Year honors in his only previous season.

While the only attributed comments coming out from Nats people regarding Williams thus far are GM Mike Rizzo’s words of consistent support and praise, sources say Nationals ownership has been generally quite unhappy with what’s going on with the team. Though Nats higher-ups may not be quick to admit this, sources suggest that behind closed doors club owners at some point within the past few weeks have spoken about the possibility of dismissing Williams, though it isn’t known how seriously they actually considered it. (While Rizzo has been vocal in local stories regarding Williams, he declined comment on this story.)

At the moment things are much better up I-95 at Citi Field where Collins’ bosses cite a “good vibe” around the team. That’s surely attributable in part to the team’s fantastic deadline trade work and timely returns from an assortment of injuries. It’s also a plus, though, that Collins seems to have a very good rapport with most of the players.

Of course, that isn’t the whole story, and there definitely has been some questioning of in-game decisions behind the scenes. One person familiar with the thinking of club higher-ups cited Collins’ ill-fated decision to call upon struggling Bobby Parnell into a game the Mets rallied back from down 6-0 to trail only 6-4 recently, saying that move was like “the kiss of death” in the eventual 14-8 defeat to the rival Phillies. Collins admitted he erred on that one, though with a six-game lead he can afford a few faux pas.

Anyway, while Collins, who entered the season as a lame duck on less-than-firm ground, surely knows he isn’t likely to survive a collapse, which wouldn’t be viewed kindly by a team that still recalls 2007. Conversely, a playoff spot would all but assure a new contract for Collins, people familiar with the situation suggest. Anyway, Mets higer-ups appropriately have said they are tabling the issue until season’s end.

Of course, at this point, with a big lead, and 20 of 29 games remaining against the likes of the Phillies, Marlins, Braves and Reds, it’s hard to imagine even the historically snake-bit Mets blowing this one. That leaves Williams as the one with the much bigger bull’s eye on his back.

While Rizzo apparently has remained a staunch booster of his hand-picked choice of manager out of almost nowhere from their Diamondbacks days, it is a chorus of one at this point. Of course teams don’t to let the inmates run the asylum, but it may be telling that even after national notes have appeared suggesting that Nationals players are less than enamored with either Williams’ stern demeanor or unusual bullpen tactics, not one player has been quoted to this point in strong defense of their skipper.

Williams’ strange strategies and ultra-serious persona are coming under fire from all sorts of other precincts, with rival executives questioning his stratagems that often involve saving star closer Jonathan Papelbon for a rainy day (and by the way, they are in the middle of a torrential downpour at this point). Williams recently defended the non-usage of Papelbon in a 5-all game late in a loss to the Cardinals again, declaring, “He’s my closer,” in a comment that seems years behind the times. There also never was a great explanation for last year’s playoffs when Willliams removed Jordan Zimmerman from a gem an inning too soon, then helped clinch their ouster at the Giants’ hands by continually employing in relief Aaron Barrett and Matt Thornton rather than Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen and Stephen Strasburg.

Another rival GM said, flat out of Williams, “He looks too uptight.” Behind the scenes, players have similar complaints, as was mentioned in this space a few weeks ago.

The team’s play generally isn’t getting very good reviews, either.

“They look like an undisciplined team going through the motions,” one scout from an AL team said.

Meanwhile, Rizzo’s comments seem to have become even more laudatory as the team continues to slide and the slings at Williams worsen, to the point of calling “masterful” Williams’ handling of the bullpen in the series at St. Louis. Ten runs were allowed in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings of the first two defeats as Papelbon inexplicably remained idle. (Well, you can’t blame Rizzo for trying.)

Matt Williams could be out of a job if the Nationals fail to make the postseason.(USATSI)

Ownership, which made the big deal of the winter to add ace Max Scherzer for $210 million, is understandably less than pleased at what’s going on, according to sources, and their recent dalliance with Dave Dombrowski before Dombrowski went to the Red Sox, may reflect that unhappiness. It’s hard to see Rizzo being blamed since the roster isn’t generally viewed as the issue, beyond an inconsistent middle-relief corps; quite the contrary, the Nats were everyone’s divisional favorite for a reason.

Injuries to a spate of position players, including stars Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman, certainly haven’t helped. But neither has obvious underperformance in a division with three teams that are rebuilding or just plan awful, which some will naturally wonder whether it’s attributable to Zimmermann’s less-then-loose persona.

Rizzo about a week ago started in earnest his local campaign in what seems like an obvious attempt to save his hand-picked man. But if the team picked by almost every single person to win the division doesn’t make it to October, it’s hard to imagine Rizzo convincing anyone to keep Williams, most notably the very concerned owners.

More from around the Majors

The Braves, according to one rival executive, did “a nice job of gathering lottery tickets.” Indeed, they have quite a plethora of young pitchers, almost all with a chance … Their steep slide has been quite disheartening, however. They made the right call to retool, but losing 15-1 to Washington to go 1-16 in last 17 isn’t easy on anyone.
Adam Jones, who plays hard and plays everyday “may be worn out,” an AL scout speculated … Baltimore, whose chances were decimated over the past couple weeks, could be finished off with nine straight games vs. the Yankees, Blue Jays and Royals, the top three teams in the league … The promotion of Dariel Alvarez gave legendary scout Fred Ferreira an even 70 players signed who made the big leagues. That is believed to be a record. Ferreira’s past players include Vladimir Guerrero, Bernie Williams, Jose Vidro, Javier Vazquez and Roberto Kelly.
Dombrowski, the new president of baseball operations, called all their scouts and execs together this week for a get-to-know-you meeting. Dombrowski, a thorough, thoughtful executive, isn’t expected to rush into decisions but is expected to make changes. Though there’s been some speculation he could appoint an in-house guy such as Mike Hazen to be GM, rivals say they’d still be surprised if longtime friend and colleague Frank Wren wasn’t the guy. … Thumbs up to hitting coach Chili Davis for his explanation of Jackie Bradley Jr.’s recent resurgence at bat: “Now he’s starting to feel sexy at the plate.” … I don’t get the Don Orsillo firing either. That seems to be unanimous excepting one or two Red Sox higher-ups. The surprising thing is one of the people who apparently didn’t appreciate Orsillo was Red Sox president Tom Werner, one of the most successful TV execs in history.
The Cubs are expected to make a big play for a free agent ace this winter, such as David Price or perhaps Jordan Zimmemann. They have showed interested in Jason Heyward and Justin Upton at least as trade targets in the past. That doesn’t mean they’ll pursue either as a free agent, though … Even the Cubs didn’t think Kyle Schwarber would make the big leagues a year after his draft No. 4 overall out of Indiana University … The Cubs have some current concerns about the bottom of their rotation – Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Dan Haren … Joe Maddon’s decision to pull Hammel after 85 pitches in the fifth inning in the key Giants series turned out to be one of the best surprise moves of year … The Cubs are feeling very fortunate that Jeff Samardzija turned down a five-year offer for close to $85 million (they would have gone a bit higher), which led to the trade for Addison Russell and Billy McKinney … The Cubs will extend the qualifying offer to Dexter Fowler, as Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago first reported. “No brainer,” one Cubs person called that decision. He has a 973 OPS in the second half after a 677 OPS in the first half.
White Sox GM Rick Hahn admitted he believes the team underachieved this year. I’ll second that. Rivals suggest the team shows “little energy” at times, and it certainly seems as if it has developed little personality, at the very least … While Hahn says Melky Cabrera did fine (he’s rallied with a big second half), Adam LaRoche and Alexei Ramirez could be categorized as disappointments. In reality, among the position players no one had a particularly great year … The team has a $10-million option on Ramirez, and even with a $1-million buyout, his performance this year doesn’t warrant exercising that option. He has said he wants to come back, though … Samardzija and a third unknown ChiSox player were claimed the same day David Robertson was claimed on revocable waivers by the Yankees. It’s seems quite likely now that the Samarzdzija and Robertson were claimed as blocks (though the ChiSox had no intention to trade at least Robertson; there is no evidence the teams ever seriously talked). Though the Yankees would have happily found a spot in their bullpen for Robertson, who they love, it seems clear much of their motivation was to stop the Blue Jays from making yet another big trade splash … Samardzija hasn’t put himself in the position he should have for free agency, but many scouts still love him for his youth, build, athleticism and competitiveness … The South Siders were the victim of the worst-timed seven-game winning streak ever, as it occurred just before the July 31 trade deadline. Club higher-ups had to know/suspect the team wasn’t going to contend, but there was no way to sell with the team 3 1/2 games out of the wild card, as they were at the time.
Manager Bryan Price’s job status looks extremely tenuous, to the point where few expect him to make it to next year. Could Barry Larkin, the Reds Hall of Fame shortstop, be the most likely successor? More on that here. … The team’s fate was probably sealed with the losses of catcher Devin Mesoraco, shortstop Zack Cozart and starter Homer Bailey, as this is a top-heavy team not build to withstand losses (it was a bad year to be top heavy, as the Tigers, Angels, all underachieved). They should have been better than this, however … They do believe that with all their use of rookie starters they may have found at least a pair for next year’s rotation, in Rasiel Iglesias and Anthony DeSclafani. Michael Lorenzen has a shot, too … Joey Votto continues to be amazing: .576 OBP since the break.
Indians people (and others) believe the Indians have underachieved to this point … Rookie Francisco Lindor brought not only offense and defense but provided some much-needed energy. With Lindor at shortstop, Jose Ramirez at second and Giovanny Urshela at third, this team that came into the year at a defensive deficit has three potential Gold Glovers on the infield. Indians people say they do not believe they waited too long to promote Lindor, and suggest that the timing worked perfectly, as he came when he was ready. They also deny that arbitration status had anything to do with the timing. “It was not a consideration at all,” GM Crhis Antonetti said. And it’s fair to say Lindor will miss 30-40 days, so it wasn’t like they withheld him just enough. Also, Trevor Bauer and possibly Danny Salazar will be Super Two players … For now, owner Paul Dolan will absorb some of outgoing president Mark Shapiro’s duties. Antonetti isn’t a candidate for the president’s job, as he hasn’t shown any interest in leaving the baseball business.
Folks were surprised the Rockies held Carlos Gonzalez at the non-waiver trade deadline. But, if anything, he has enhanced his trade value. Of his 35 homers, 31 have come since June 1, as Patrick Saunders @psaundersdp) pointed out.
Manager Brad Ausmus’ job appears to be in real jeopardy after the Tigers, who were predicted by most to win the AL Central recently fell into last place. Much more on that story here. … The Tigers are expected to seek a starting pitcher and an outfielder in free agency. Yoenis Cespedes remains on their radar, though his hot spell since going to Queens may have moved him out of their price range.
The Dallas Keuchel contract talks will or have been tabled to the offseason. He is 16-6 with a league-leading 2.24 ERA, making him a Cy Young favorite. The Astros would like to lock him up into free agency (at least a four-year deal) but as things stand, Keuchel will be a free agent at 30 a prime age … The MRI on Scott Feldman revealed no structural damage … In my list of the top 30 moves of the last year, the Astros had two entries, and they should have had at least one more, as the trade for Scott Kazmir was a huge plus. And that says nothing of the deal for Carlos Gomez, and you know that wasn’t bad since Fiers threw a no-hitter as an Astro … Seven Astros minor-league affiliates have qualified for the playoffs. Yes, they are on the right track.
While the Angels gave perfunctory interviews to assistant GMs Scott Servais and Matt Klentak, it’s believed more likely they look elsewhere to fill their GM job. Klentak, a smart young rules guy, could well stay, but more likely in a similar capacity. Servais is well-respected throughout the game, but he has been known to be at odds with powerful manager Mike Scioscia in the past, making his candidacy a long shot. Scioscia said aloud that he wasn’t going to be the one to decide, but as one rival pointed out, he’s already had an impact on things if you count Jerry Dipoto’s resignation … One name that could make sense is Kevin Towers, a guy who could get along with both Scioscia and owner Arte Moreno, a guy who’s not too heavy on analytics and a guy who also happens to live about an hour away in north San Diego county. He’d also get a good recommendation from Bud Black, who’s very close to Scioscia and could serve the team in some capacity if he doesn’t get a job as manager elsewhere (Black and Towers remain close from Padres days) Ned Colletti, who lives in LA County and remains as an adviser/broadcaster for the Dodgers, also would fit there. Angels higher-ups Moreno and president John Carpino were said to have loved Yankees exec Billy Eppler, who finished second to Dipoto in the GM competition last time. Eppler, from Huntington Beach, is a logical candidate … The Angels should have been more aggressive in their pursuit of Chase Utley, and considering Scioscia’s longtime admiration of Utley it’s a wonder they weren’t, The Angels already had infield problems, and they knew Johnny Giavotella had a health concern at the time. He is now on the DL with “personal medical conditions.”
Zack Greinke‘s call to opt out of the $71 million remaining on his deal over three years is a fait accompli, people close to the team concede. Why have an opt out if a Cy Young type season isn’t cause to use it? (for the record, agent Casey Close declined comment.)… Justin Turner (@redturn2) continues to amaze at third base. It’s quite an upset that Turner, released by the Mets, allowed the Dodgers to deal Hector Olivera, who received a $28-million signing bonus from them … The Dodgers took on only one-third of the money remaining on Justin Ruggiano‘s salary, which amounts to about $150,000 of the $460,000 he had left (yes, Ruggiano’s 2015 salary was $2.505M, and kudos to his agent for that) … The Dodgers have incredible depth but they also have a hamstring epidemic, with Howie Kendrick, Yasiel Puig and Kike’ Hernandez all on the DL for that reason, and Jose Peraza (“a great talent, says a scout) out a few games … One NL scout on the just-promoted big-time shortstop prospect Corey Seager: “Offensive talent. Will need to be more of a ‘position’ shortstop than a true wide ranging shortstop. Will lack plus range but will be helped by defensive positioning at MLB level.” Said another scout: “His swing looks exactly like his brother’s.” Combine his poise with his hitting ability ad he looks like a can’t-miss from here.
Dan Jennings deserves kudos for taking one for the team and accepting the Marlins manager job. Word is that while they didn’t offer the job to anyone outside the organization, multiple people within the organization were at least talked to before Jennings generously took the plunge … It should come as no surprise club-owning Jeffrey Loria has an affinity for Yankees great Don Mattingly, which may put him at the top of the Marlins’ list of managerial candidates should he become available … Derek Dietrich is being looked at his a possible everyday player at multiple positions, a la Ben Zobrist or Josh Harrison, after a big second half. While he isn’t as adept defensively as those two, Marlins people see him as an athletic guy with “20 to 25” home run potential … Jose Fernandez had a great throwing session this week and is expected back before the year’s up … Jarred Cosart, whose year began with a bad tweet about gambling, seems to be recovering from his vertigo/stamina issues and is expected to appear before the year’s up.
There’s a debate over Matt Harvey’s innings limit and how much he should pitch the rest of the way. Much more on that story here … Michael Conforto looks like great pick at No. 10 overall a year ago. The Mets actually had him ahead of Schwarber on their draft board, but they have to be thrilled with Conforto. They are also said to believe his defense is better than advertised … The Mets are also appreciative of Cespedes for his willingness to play center field, which has allowed them to use Conforto, Michael Cuddyer on others who are producing more than Juan Lagares at the moment … Addison Reed just might be the answer for the seventh inning. Stephen Strasburg’s college closer is a tough kid.
Didi Gregorius has played like a star since his slow start, and it looks like scouting savant Stick Michael may have done it again with a great recommendation. Yankees people believe Gregorius was under-utilized in Arizona by manager Kirk Gibson … The Yankees’ patience with Stephen Drew is paying off, as well … Reports of Carlos Beltran‘s demise were greatly exaggerated … The Nathan Eovaldi deal easily could have made last week’s list of the top 30 deals.
The consensus is, that the Phillies did well with their trades, especially considering their high contracts. “While they probably didn’t get any stars, they got players who’ll form the foundation of a pretty decent nucleus,” one rival said. Some of the players who’ve come up have looked pretty good, In addition to the more obvious Maikel Franco, Aaron Altherr looks like he’s going to be a player, and Aaron Nola looks like he has a very good idea how to pitch … The story of pitcher-turned-hitter-turned-pitcher Adam Loewen is a remarkable one, as Tyler Kepner of the New York Times recounts here … They are down to one trade to go. One Phillies person: “We need to get rid of Ryan Howard.”
A.J. Burnett (elbow) is hoping to come back for three starts before the playoffs and ultimately his retirement.
The Cardinals are picking up even more fans and admirers. “St. Louis isn’t that good. But they play the game the right way. They do the little things. They put the ball in play. They throw strikes. They don’t beat themselves.” … Brandon Moss has been a big help, despite my reservations about trading young lefty Rob Kaminsky for him … Matt Holliday doesn’t look like he’s going to be back until mid-September, at the earliest … If there could be another concern, they have three of the top five pitchers in appearances in the NL.
Interim manager Pat Murphy passed the 65-game mark with the same 32-33 record Bud Black had, Tim Brown of Yahoo! pointed out earlier in the week. He’s now 33-35.
It shouldn’t be assumed Tim Lincecum has pitched his last game with the Giants, as both sides have an interest in staying together. Lincecum has won two Cy Youngs, pitched two no-hitters and helped the Giants win three World Series. If they can work out a return, don’t be surprised if they do. Doctors believe he can return next spring, and perhaps even regain his velocity and form. The hip instability is seen as the culprit in his reduced velocity, also according to doctors … Marlon Byrd had 17 RBI in his first 12 games in San Francisco. Of course I didn’t like that move. Rule 1: never second-guess the Giants … The Giants have built their team around pitching, but keep in mind they at least pursued Jason Heyward and Justin Upton as trade candidates at different points … The Giants got 650K from the Red Sox in the Alejandro de Aza deal … Mike Leake is going to be very popular on the free agent market, especially without a draft pick attached to him (no qualifying offer can be extended to players who were traded during the year).
The GM job is seen a plum job, as the Mariners are generally viewed as a sleeping giant. Everyone and their brother seems to be interested in this gig, and the Mariners are said to be starting with a rather long list. Word is, Mariners president Kevin Mather requested and received a list of candidates from MLB based on the criteria he sought (experience, etc.) … Jerry Dipoto and Tony Lacava seemed to be the top choices last time around, when Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik came out of nowhere to get the job … One possible name heard was Twins assistant GM Rob Antony, who knew Mather from his days in Minnesota (Wayne Krisvsky, a former Reds GM, is another qualified Twins person), but he’s likely being groomed to replace Terry Ryan in Minnesota.
Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised by Texas, which has been good except for last year when they set the record for games lost due to injury, players and pitchers used. This year, they’ve seen the return of Martin Perez, Derek Holland and Matt Harrison (before he was dealt in the Cole Hamels trade). As for their dealing, they were wise to hold onto Yovani Gallardo while also getting Hamels. As one rival put it, “They successfully buttered both sides of the bread.”
Toronto “hit a home run” with its moves everyone agrees. Good thing, too, it didn’t give up Jeff Hoffman to get Orioles GM Dan Duquette to be their team president (that was Peter Angelos’ request), as Hoffman was the guy who became the key to the Troy Tulowitzki deal … The Jays became a rare team to have three players in double digits in home runs in one month, when Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson had 11 in August and Jose Bautista had 10 … Should John Gibbons’ job ever again fall into jeopardy (that wouldn’t be the case now), folks believe Bud Black might interest the Jays. He has a long connection to new president Shapiro from Indians days.

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