About Jim Riggleman's vote of confidence for Drew Storen

 

(Long walk for Drew. Jim Riggleman pulled Drew Storen with two outs in the 9th on Tuesday. Screengrab via MLB.com/MASN.)

What better way to signal to your rookie closer that you trust him, especially after an absolutely crushing 4-run meltdown and blown save just a few days prior, than to pull him with two outs in the 9th inning with an 8-4 lead?

Granted, it wasn't a save situation (at least no yet). And granted, Storen looked shaky at times in the 9th, recording two outs but also giving up a home run and a walk. And granted, this was a huge win hanging in the balance for the Nationals, sort of -- because if they managed to hold on, a win would prevent a third consecutive 100-loss season. They did: that 100-loss mark will have to wait until next year.

But leaving Drew Storen out there to figure shit out in an otherwise meaningless game at the end of a lost season seems more important to the future of the Washington Nationals than a W in an otherwise meaningless game, right?

But Jim Riggleman thought otherwise. He took the ball from Storen, handed it to Sean Burnett, and with one pitch, Burnett induced a pop up to seal win #63 of 2010. Bang, zoom. Here's Riggleman's explanation, via Nationals Journal:

"We don't have any specific role for anybody. We're just trying to get outs. And I felt like the best way to get that next out was to bring Burnett in. Did i think Drew would get the next out? Yeah. But I was a little more confident that Burnie coming in fresh there to face a guy off the bench, turn him around right-handed, was a little more to our liking."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 9/22/2010)

That's some vote of confidence for your future closer, Jim!

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Comments

[Mike K]

I'm a huge Drew Storen fan, but I was at the game. And it felt like the game was slipping away under Storen. Jim did the right thing here. Drew has to throw strikes. If he doesn't, some journeyman will come in and pick up the pieces.

It is a crappy, but important lesson.