Jim Riggleman, (Permanent) Former MLB Manager

So Jim Riggleman resigned as manager of the Nationals today after the team's 11th win in 12 days.  In a nutshell, Riggleman demanded that GM Mike Rizzo pick up his option for next year and Rizzo called his bluff.  Riggleman said he needed "a longer leash" and wasn't as free to make decisions because of his tenuous contract situation, fearing any "out of the box" thinking would be an easy way to get himself fired.  (Hmm, seems like he found an easier way)

There's obviously more going on than a simple contract demand from a manager that's had three winning seasons among the nine full seasons he's managed.  Riggleman has probably been bugging Rizzo about this option since spring training and Rizzo (rightly, in my eyes) decided he had no reason to rush into paying his manager for next season.  It's not like Riggleman was some sort of managerial guru that reinvented the baseball wheel while simultaneously convincing his bosses that he is indeed a good manager.  As Mike Vaccaro mentioned, he'd have to go ONE FULL SEASON OVER .500 in order to get back to .500 as a manager.

So Riggleman played his hand wrong and lost.  He says he felt disrespected when what he did was disrespect his organization by making a contract demand in-season.  This is a Nationals team with many young players that would have gotten the idea that "Hey, our manager threw a hissy fit and got paid, why can't we?"  Rizzo was backed into a corner - placate his manager and weaken his authority regarding the team, or call Riggleman's bluff and deal with the consequences.  Rizzo would have been seen as a weak-kneed GM if he allowed Riggleman to dictate when the team would pick up his option, so he chose to protect his authority.

I can't see any team hiring Jim Riggleman anymore...he just walked out on his team because he wanted his money guaranteed.  Now a team couldn't hire him if they wanted to because a) they'd be condoning throwing a tantrum when you don't like your contract situation, and b) if Riggleman isn't happy with his "job security" he could walk out at anytime.  Perception has a tendency to be reality, and Riggleman has given the baseball world the perception that he is a potential malcontent with no redeeming qualities as a manager besides.  Maybe he can find a college somewhere, but an MLB team should be wary to hire Mr. Riggleman.