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Nats Prepare to Part Ways With Robinson
Frank Robinson's one-year, $650,000 contract is up after this season. The 71 year old has been the team's manager for five seasons.
(Jonathan Newton - The Washington Post)
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This year's Nationals, predicted by most to place fourth in the five-team National League East, got off to a horrendous 8-17 April and never recovered. They took hold of last place in the division June 29 and have been there since. Buoyed, however, by the play of rookie third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and some promising young pitchers, they have played better over the final month of the season, going 14-11 in September.
Robinson said yesterday he took some solace that his team didn't completely unravel in the final weeks of the year.
"That's my approach," Robinson said. "Always has been and always will be. And the fact [is] that I don't remember any team that I've had in five years [with this franchise] that hasn't played the 162-game schedule the way it's supposed to be played -- every ballgame. That's outstanding."
Still, there has long been a feeling among front-office members that Robinson is not the long-term solution for a club that likely won't be ready to contend for a division title for at least two or three seasons. His teams, usually not laden with top talent, have never won a championship of any kind, and when this year ends, he will have finished with a winning record five times in the 15 non-strike seasons in which he has managed.
Who will replace Robinson -- and when the hire will be made -- is unclear as well. In recent days, New York Yankees coach Tony Peña has been linked to the job. Peña, a former manager in Kansas City, knows Bowden from their time together with the Pittsburgh Pirates, when Peña was a catcher and Bowden working his way up in the front office. Bowden tried to hire Peña as a coach this past offseason.
"I know him very well," Peña said this week. "I knew him since he worked with Pittsburgh. Jimmy is Jimmy. We've talked several times when we've gotten together."
Atlanta Braves third base coach Fredi Gonzalez is also considered a hot managerial candidate who could be coveted by the Florida Marlins, who are expected to fire Manager Joe Girardi. Former major league manager Lou Piniella managed for Bowden in Cincinnati. Davey Johnson, who also managed for Bowden in Cincinnati and did consulting work for the Nationals this summer, is not expected to be a candidate.
Staff writer Jorge Arangure Jr. contributed to this report from New York.
