After winning the National League Manager of the Year award in 2014, Washington Nationals' skipper Matt Williams seems to be on the hot seat following the team's 58-59 record thus far into the 2015 MLB season. Who will replace him if he's fired?
There are conflicting reports/rumors regarding Williams's status with the Nationals considering the team has been experiencing a number of significant issues since spring training, but the fact his job security could be in danger is something worth noting.
Williams took over for Davey Johnson following the 2013 season and is 154-125 as the club's manager. However, the Nationals have fallen 4.5 games behind the New York Mets for the NL East lead and if the losing continues the rumors could begin to heat up.
"While Nationals players aren't necessarily all clicking with super-intense manager Matt Williams, he has two things going for him in terms of job security: 1. He was Manager of the Year in his only previous season. 2. He is close with GM Mike Rizzo, who hired him," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
"Asked whether he felt the need to give Williams a vote of confidence, general manager Mike Rizzo said, 'I've had nothing but complimentary things to say about our manager since we hired him,'" adds Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today Sports.
Rizzo didn't explicitly support Williams with that comment as the Nats are enduring a big slide (4-12 this month, including six straight losses). Washington came into the season as World Series favorites thanks to a starting rotation that consisted of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez. However, Strasburg landed on the disabled list twice; Zimmermann is not as lights-out as he was last year; and Fister was demoted for the bullpen in favor of rookie Joe Ross.
On top of that, their offense ranks 17th in the MLB with 479 runs scored (an average of 4.09 runs per game, which ranks 15th in the league). They have yet to capitalize on the weak NL East, where the Mets (63-55) are in the driver's seat. And speaking of the Mets, it's been speculated the Nationals could look to their division rivals for Williams' potential successor.
"What the Mets should fear is Rizzo reaching into his past and bringing in an instant-energy manager whose style might jolt the Nationals to life for the final six weeks of the season," writes John Harper of the New York Daily News.
"Yep, Wally Backman.
"Might such a dramatic move even mess with the Mets' mojo? Backman managed many of their young players, and certainly his presence, going from the Mets' Triple-A manager to the Washington dugout, would raise the intensity of this brewing rivalry."
While this is merely speculation, it's something worth keeping an eye on as the Nationals close out the month of August against some of the worst teams in the MLB - the Rockies, Brewers, Padres and Marlins. If they can't come out with a winning record in those 15 games, don't be surprised if big changes are considered in the nation's capital.
