Mike Rizzo spoke to the media to announce Jim Riggleman's shocking resignation as the manager of the Washington Nationals, and admitted he was shocked as well by Riggleman's decision.
"I was very taken aback by it and very surprised by it," he said.
Rizzo said Riggleman came to him earlier in the morning and said that if his contract option for 2012 wasn't picked up by the end of the day, he would "not get on the team bus. Rizzo said he was unwilling to make that commitment yet, and Riggleman stuck to his guns.
"We have discussed his option being picked up. Several times during the season, I felt the time wasn't right for me to pick up the option as of this time," Rizzo said. "Certainly, today's conversation to me and the way it was put to me, you can't make that decision in a knee-jerk reaction. It's too big of a decision to be made in that way."
Rizzo informed the team immediately after the game, and said they were shocked. When asked about his feelings with Riggleman's decision, Rizzo was honest.
"We're playing so well, coming off a homestand where we should be celebrating coming into Chicago, coming off a great month of playing baseball. I thought we were really starting to hit our stride," he said. "I'm disappointed that this is a distraction. It's not thinking of team first; it's thinking of personal goals first. That's probably what disappoints me most."
Rizzo did say the Nationals would pull through, comparing this situation to the Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman injuries.
"We will move on from this, we will move forward, and we will not miss a beat." Mentions Strasburg and Zimmerman injury.
Audio via 106.7 The Fan.