Nationals’ dugout altercation should probably seal Matt Williams’ fate
Matt Williams should not manage another game for the Washington Nationals. Williams has been on the hot seat for a couple weeks now, but there’s no reason to keep him around following Sunday’s dugout altercation between Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon.
As the Nationals have fallen out of contention, Williams hasn’t done much to endear himself to his players or the fanbase. This past weekend, in particular, has been damaging.
On Friday, Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann made what will very likely be his last home start with the club. Zimmermann is set to be a free-agent at the end of the season, and while the Nationals have money, they are not expected to bring him back.
Zimmermann had some poor luck during the start, giving up an inside-the-park grand slam after Michael Taylor mis-timed a dive in center. Zimmermann also allowed two solo shots in the fifth inning, making the score 6-1.
In the bottom of the inning, Williams pinch hit for Zimmermann. Because of this, there was no sendoff for the 29-year-old pitcher. Needless to say, those who were aware of the situation were disappointed.
Zimmermann is still fairly young, but since the Nationals moved to Washington, he’s actually led the franchise in a number of statistical categories. He was first in innings pitched, wins, strikeouts and games started with the Nationals. He was one of the best pitchers on the team for the past five seasons, and is likely gone without any recognition from the home fans.
Saturday wasn’t great for Williams, either. The Nationals may have won the contest, but, following the game, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post published an article suggesting Williams had lost the clubhouse. The article featured quotes by anonymous players, slamming Williams’ demeanor.
According to Svrluga, most of the players on the team feel this way.
Now, several Nationals players believe Williams won’t be able to grow even if the club brings him back for 2016. And this isn’t just one or two malcontents. These opinions span positions and experience. “It’s a terrible environment,” one player said. “And the amazing part is everybody feels that way.”
Then, Sunday happened. We’ve seen bad teams go after each other in the dugout, but this was something else entirely. Papelbon grabbed the throat of the best player on the team. Following the altercation, Harper exited the game. While Williams declined to discuss why Harper did not play, there’s video suggesting Harper removed himself out of frustration (link is NSFW due to language).
Papelbon, on the other hand, was allowed to remain in the game. He came out to pitch in the ninth inning, and gave up a two-run homer before being pulled.
Many wondered how Papelbon was allowed to pitch following what happened in the dugout during the previous inning.
UPDATE: Williams claims he did not see video of the fight until after he had spoken to reporters.
Had he known exactly what happened, Williams said he would have removed Papelbon from the game.
There are many out there who want to blame Harper for the altercation based on … well, it’s hard to tell. Harper did not run out a pop-up, but we’ve seen the same thing from thousands of players. Maybe those players get talked to by veteran teammates following that type of play, but there’s no excuse for Papelbon going at Harper’s neck. At what other job would this be acceptable?
That ignores the fact that Harper has been the best player in baseball this season, and the only player on the Nationals who has shown fire or effort the past couple weeks. As the team crumbled around him, Harper continued to play hard. If you want to get on a guy about not going 100 percent, is pretty tough to say Harper deserves to be that guy. That won’t stop people from buying into the ridiculous narrative that Harper is a punk.
Following the game, Williams offered a weak response for why Papelbon was able to remain in the game.
Saying “he’s the closer” as a response to that question does not reflect well on Williams. This game meant nothing to the Nationals, there was no reason to keep Papelbon in there. If anything, it shows that either Williams didn’t want to make any kind of statement, or had no idea what he would do if Papelbon couldn’t pitch the ninth. Neither are particularly encouraging.
So, now, the Nationals are left the figure out how to handle things during the final week of the regular season. Williams, it appears, will finish out the season with the club, though he’s unlikely to last much longer.
Papelbon should probably be told to go spend time with family this week, while the club should be begging Harper to put this disaster behind him.
It’s tough to envision the Nationals employing either Williams or Papelbon next season. Harper, on the other hand, is one of the best players in the game. He’s truly turned into the generational talent so many projected when he was drafted. The Nationals need Harper moving forward. They do not need Papelbon or Williams.
[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]
The organization can do the right thing, but, based on what we’ve seen thus far this year, it’s tough to expect any type of action.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
The StewPod: A baseball podcast by Yahoo Sports
Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
