If I Were Running A Company…Jim Riggleman

If you know my writing, I love writing where sports and HR intersects. I always feel the HR department is like your sports operations department: they set the culture, they find and source talent, they develop players/employees, and they oversee the business. Sadly in this case study, this really hits home.

Yesterday, Jim Riggleman decided to resign from his position as manager of the Washington Nationals because he thought Mike Rizzo, the General Manager of the Nationals, and the front office never reach out to him about his contract and he thought he deserves an extension.  Rizzo didn’t give an extension, Riggleman gave his final stand, Rizzo didn’t bite, and Riggleman left. To have an HR perspective on this, let’s look at Mike Rizzo and Jim Riggleman.

Mike Rizzo

Mike Rizzo was considered one of the best scouts in baseball. He started scouting for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox and then went to the Arizona Diamondbacks on their inaugural season in 1998 and became Director of Scouting in 2000, where he started to make a name for himself. After the 2006 season, he joined the Washington Nationals as an Assistant General Manager. In March 2009, he became the interim General Manager when Jim Bowden resigned after the Dominican Republic skimming bonus scandal. In 2009, Rizzo drafted Stephen Strasburg; traded outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan to Pittsburgh for outfielder Nyjer Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett; and signed Strasburg to the biggest contract given to a drafted player in the last minute. Those sequences lead to Rizzo removing the interim tag and became a full-time general manager.  Rizzo received a five-year extension after the 2010 season after drafting and signing Bryce Harper and made critical trades such as Matt Capps to Minnesota for Wilson Ramos and other prospects.

There’s no question Rizzo got his job because he was great evaluating talent and can make business deals with agents and other general managers in baseball. Although 80% of his job is scouting players and development, it is the 20% Rizzo is still working on and that’s handling the media. Rizzo did not handle the situation well when reporters wanted to ask Nationals hitting coach, Rick Eckstein, about the Nationals hitting slump earlier in the season. It seems Rizzo wants to control all situations, which makes him look like a dictator.

Jim Riggleman

Jim Riggleman is a journey manager. He started managing for the San Diego Padres in 1992, then went to the Chicago Cubs in 1995, where he led them to a National League Wild Card in 1998. In 2001, after been fired by the Cubs in 2000, he was the bench coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2001-2004. Riggleman returned as bench coach in 2008 for the Seattle Mariners and became interim manager when John McLaren was fired later that year. In 2009, Riggleman was hired as bench coach for the Washington Nationals. In that same year, Riggleman became interim manager when Manny Acta was fired. After the 2009 season, Riggleman signed a two-year deal with a club option in 2012. Although 2009 and 2010 were a struggle, 2011 was looked at as a bridge to 2012, where you have Strasburg returning and Harper called up to the majors. Initially, it looked like a lost year when the Nationals were 27-36 and last place in the National League East. However, Riggleman and the gang won 11 of the last 12 games, are one game over .500 (38-37), and have sole possession of third place and possible wild card talk. In addition, this was Riggleman’s dream managerial job since he went to Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD and went to Frostburg State.

Although Riggleman was at home, his overall record as manager was 662-824 and 140-172 record as Nationals manager. Riggleman was getting gigs all over baseball because he was a “by the book” guy. However, in 1998 when the Cubs faced the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Divisional Series, he put Kerry Wood on the mound, although he had not pitch since August 31. The Cubs were swept by the Braves and the following year, Wood had Tommy John surgery, ending the Cubs playoff aspirations in 1999 before the season begins and Riggleman was gone the following year. This propped up the discussion that Jim Riggleman is decent manager who does not make good baseball decisions.

The HR Perspective

The reason I wrote a long description of Rizzo and Riggleman is because you need to see two different viewpoints, where they come from and how Riggleman’s resignation resonate. On the base of communication and goal setting, I fault Rizzo for not communicating well to Riggleman before Spring Training about what were the Nationals team goals during a transition year for not only the team, but for Riggleman. If Rizzo thought Riggleman was not the right fit, he should still talk to him about his expectations and what should be discuss during and after the season. Rizzo failed on that end.

Although Rizzo did not handle the contract extensions/goal settings talk well, he always had a stance that you wait until after the season ends to make your decisions since he had to wait being a full-time general manager.  Rizzo’s negotiations with Scott Boras and making trades that eliminate part of the losing culture put him in the driver’s seat for a full-time position, and then the five-year extension.

Coming to his contract year in 2011, Riggleman knows this was his make-or-break year. He had a new team in 2011 that was young, athletic, and eager; where in years past, the Nationals were getting leftover veterans to make up the roster. If we’re basing by results, Riggleman did a great job since the Nationals are over .500 for the first time since 2005. However, from quotes from both Rizzo and Riggleman, Riggleman wanted a “conversation” of his contract extension. If Riggleman started the question with, “what are the goals and expectations of the team,” Rizzo would of listen and have that conversation. However, Riggleman talked about his contract extension and the rift started. It escalated today when Riggleman gave Rizzo a choice today and that was it.

While Mike Rizzo made some mistakes, he was right standing pat on his values that you have to finish the season to know what you got.  I believe Jim Riggleman wanted to stay in Washington because he founded his dream job. For this dream job, he wanted job security. If it was his last year, it would be likely Riggleman gets that extension because Stan Kasten was still the president of the Nationals at that time since Kasten was a people’s person. Instead, Riggleman had to deal with a baseball person, not a people’s person. Riggleman went all-in on a baseball person…and was called on his bluff. If Riggleman didn’t make good baseball decisions, he did not make a good read on his business decisions as well.

What’s Next?

With Jim Riggleman gone, how does this affect the Washington Nationals this season and even next? No one knows, but there’s one question at the end of the baseball season: Was Jim Riggleman the glue, a contributor, or a standby for the Nationals? We would know where the Nationals are in the next 3+ months.

The DC Sports Scene: Fall 2011 Edition

For the longest time, the DC sports scene has been horrendous. You’re lucky if you had one good DC team. However, this has been changing the past few weeks.

Redskins

Obviously, this is not the best Redskins team ever, but from training camp, interviews, and their play, this is a different Redskins team in year’s past. Gone are the flashy names Snyder has signed and coming are football players who want to play. Everyone criticized Mike (and his son, Kyle, for that matter) Shanahan for not keeping the house in order and didn’t develop Donovan McNabb or motivate Albert Haynesworth. With the offseason moves they made, guess the Shanny made the right decision. This is a real team. They might win the NFC East, like Rex Grossman predicted, and they’ll unlikely go to the Super Bowl from the mouth of Tim Hightower, but this is finally a “team” and hopefully this continues on a few more years…and hopefully better QBs  and WRs down the line.

Nationals

I predicted the Nationals would win 77 before the season start just for the Werth signing, not necessarily for the statistics, but what he brings to the clubhouse the Nats really lack: winners. I was close…the Nats won 80 (could have been 81 if it wasn’t for the monsoon that hit the Dodgers series). Some say this team will start contending for 2013…I think they’re starting now. They have solid pitching, bullpen and starting, a strong infield, a revelation in power hitting from Michael Morse, and a team bonded together and actual hope. Of course, the Nats need a speedy center fielder, but no necessarily a leadoff hitter. Just want the guy at the 6 or 7 spot to help out the bottom of the lineup. The Nats also need a veteran for the pitching staff. Most everyone will want C.J. Wilson from the Texas Rangers. It would be nice, but after the Yankees performance last night, they’re moving all in to get him and CC Sabathia. Best bet for the Nats: sign Mark Buehrle for a 2-4 year deal and he will be beloved in Washington since when he is pitching, it usually ends around 2 hours, a must for the transient community here. The bigger picture is this: the Nats are coming and a dynasty might start a year earlier than expected. As for the baseball fans in DC: get your tickets now, especially against the Philadelphia Phillies, so we don’t see their tour buses and piss around DC… literally.

By the way, please no managerial change until 2013. We don’t really need Terry Francona, although Joe Maddon is available after the 2012 season.

Wizards

There’s nothing much to say since the Wizards are not going to be good and there’s a lockout. If you’re a fan of the Wizards, you want to side with the owners for a hard salary cap since that will be the only chance the Wizards can be good and if they’re lucky, a championship.

Capitals

If the Nationals are the most anticipated team in DC in 2012, the Capitals are the most anxious. As you know from my past posts, hockey is my number 1 sport to watch, but as I learned from previous years: the regular season doesn’t matter. The NHL regular season is also known as the longest preseason North American sporting league ever. It’s great that the Caps are the best in the “preseason,” but they’re always be determined when the “real” season starts and that’s the playoffs. I do not want the Caps to be number 1 in the “preseason.” I want them to use the regular season to prepare for the playoffs. I expect some struggle, some triumph, some agony, some pain, and something unorthodox throughout the 82 games, but that’s great because it makes the team hungrier to advance beyond the conference semifinals and hopefully the Stanley Cup. Like many other Caps fans, I’m cautiously optimistic for this season, but the Caps need to know: this is the year to capitalize. If they go to the Conference Finals and beyond, consider it a semi-success (the real success is if they win the Stanley Cup). Anything less than that, not only heads will roll at Kettler Iceplex, but the fan base will move somewhere else. From the looks of it, the Caps are looking like the Detroit Red Wings of the 1990s. The question is can they win Stanley Cups like Detroit in the 90s? I am anxiously waiting.

DC has come a long way, but next year is the moment DC should become an emerging sports town as we have more than one (or two) team to root for and anticipate. I don’t remember that happening in DC in a long time. There’s something in the air and t looks great for DC…politics aside.

Memo to the D.C. Metro

If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you know I have a disdain for the Metro. I’m a proud public commuter. I love taking buses and trains. I find it more cooler than driving on the beltway. I love Metro so much, it hurts that I contribute to Unsuck DC Metro, which is a great source of Metro news and fodder.

However, I saw this harmless article about why Cliff Lee chose the Phillies over the Yankees, Nationals, Rangers and others because both Cliff and his wife, Kristen, love taking the train. I could argue about DC being a more cultural than Philadelphia or that most Philly fans throws batteries, boo Santa Claus, and taser their fans:

However, I don’t blame Cliff Lee rejoining the Phillies to create the “Four Aces” lineup with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. He wants to win a World Series championship. Who can blame him?

I don’t blame the Washington Nationals because they are trying to progress as an organization and although they signed Jayson Werth, they didn’t get Werth’s best friend on that team 2 years ago.

I blame you, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

In the past few years, you not only scared people away from taken the Metro at its peak, but you have scared off potential clients, ruined businesses, forced conferences to relocate , and your transit system has killed people.

The first straw that broke the camels back was the SHRM Conference was scheduled to be in D.C. in the next year or two. However, due to “transportation issues”, the SHRM Conference is going to Las Vegas next year and Atlanta in 2012. I don’t mind traveling to Atlanta since I have friends there, but it would have been much cooler in D.C. Yes, the 2006 SHRM Conference was a mess because of the monsoon hit that week, but you couldn’t work out how the buses and trains will run (plus our incompetent drivers)? You lost 15,000 additional tourists because of that.

Another strike to your company is your trains have caused double-digit fatalities in the past few years when trains most likely injure people at best. What’s worse: people are committing suicides by just jumping off the platform and get crushed by your trains than jumping off the bridge.

To be fair, other transit systems have the same problem, but in L.A. and Boston’s case, it was incompetence by the human. In your case, it was incompetence by the machine.

The Cliff Lee thing might be small beans, but in the bigger picture, your transit system was going to be an asset to attract people to buy/rent houses and apartments and bring businesses near the Metro stations. Instead by staying on the status quo, your transit system is a liability to work out a deal.

The good thing that is happening to the WMATA board is a potential clean sweep of the whole board to bring in the new one. I do not want my board members to say:

“To an extent, it’s thankless and it’s very time-consuming,” said Maryland board member Elizabeth Hewlett, one of those who wants to step down. “Obviously no one likes to be criticized, especially when you are working so very hard.”

or

“Some of the comments were not well-received,” said Maryland member Gordon Linton, who decided to leave before the reports came out, but officially announced his departure Thursday. “It was wondered whether they understand how the board actually functions.”

or

Board member Jeff McKay and other members faulted the reports – one by a task force organized by the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the other by Metro’s Riders’ Advisory Council – for making recommendations that were unrealistic, detrimental, or reflected a lack of understanding of how the board works.

or

“They need someone willing to be heavily scrutinized, work for free, not have a conflict of interest, and have a schedule to devote two days of your week to this…” — Jeff McKay

Really? Two days to devote on this and you can’t do the job? Here’s what you do: Shut up, F*** the system, and do what’s best for Metro and not be a talking head for your district or state because you actually have a job the 6% of the D.C. Metro area wished they do because they are unemployed.

I want D.C. Mayor Vince Gray, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (and his right hand sock puppet, Ken Cuccinelli), and the Federal Government to get board members who are passionate about public transportation from engineers, advocates, business people, and others to can contribute to the agency. By the way, your guerrilla marketing strategy...seriously?

I rarely write blog posts like this, WMATA, but I have to because I care about public transportation and enjoy going to the Metro, but you’re at a crossroads right now.  Ridership and Fare hikes are not your issue; it is how inefficient your trains and systems are. Get reliable people who know how to operate a subway station; bring innovators on the engineering and business front; and bring people who are proactive and WILL DO the job, not use the board as a resume enhancer. When you have the trains and systems in check, people will come to the Metro plain and simple, but you made this more complex than it is.

Also, I don’t want to hear about “Multi-Jurisdiction Dysfunction.” We’re a bunch of grown-ups now. If the majority of states in this country can accept tax cuts and repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” two states and the District can solve the Metro, right?

Think of this as your “Kick In The Ass!” memo, Metro. It’s time to do it and back it up.  Your golden opportunity is now and it is slipping away.

One Crazy August Day

It was one crazy Saturday that had a potential of being a wreck, but instead, I caused the wreck… in a good way.

It started in the morning with Eli’s baptism. I really like our pastor who gave details what are the next steps are and why they have to do it.  Here’s the video of Eli being baptized (For the record, my dad was holding the Flip, while I was handling the main camcorder):

After the baptism, it was off to lunch at my brother’s house and give Eli presents. One of my favorites was a hand sewn sandals my in-law made for Eli.

After lunch, it was off to the Metro to see some friends before heading to Nationals Park for the Nats-Cards.  However, when I entered the Vienna station, I encountered this.

That’s right, tea party people tailgating outside the station waiting for their family and friends.  Luckily, I put on a disguise, for which I will reveal later. When I got on, there was a full train of people coming from the Glen Beck rally and kind of expecting the worse.

It was a peaceful ride from Vienna to Rosslyn at the Orange Line, but when the train arrived at Foggy Bottom, the rush was on. From Foggy Bottom to my stop at Eastern Market, the platforms were full of Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton’s supporters coming into the train. I’m worried that my train would cause a riot. I came out unscathed and exited Eastern Market with no scratches.

I met up with the rest of the Mr. Tony littles at Ted’s Bulletin, which is from the owners of the popular Matchbox. It had an old 40s feel: the setting, the menus, the ambiance, and there’s no reception for cell phones. It’s a bit pricey, but there’s a lot food, so the price is justified.  If you’re wondering, I had the Walk of Shame Breakfast Burrito. It sounds like a Man v. Food item, but it wasn’t spicy or huge enough, but it was savory and tasty. After a few drinks, it was time to head to the ballpark.

At the ballpark, I was circling around getting a Pudge bobblehead, trying to find baby clothes for Eli and something for myself, and then found @DCyetti, @Darkmeathook, and Maggie and Ashley of First Ladies of Baseball at the Scoreboard Walk.  Then, a camera man spotted me with the Elvis Silver Wig and ask me to participate in the Fan of the Game and jump around for 30 seconds. So I did:

(Courtesy of Maggie and Ashley of First Ladies of Baseball)

I was trying to pull a combo of Ric Flair “WOOOO!” and WWE’s Edge current entrance. If I have to do it again, I should of swerve my hips like Elvis and have a much more planned 30 seconds than the hooting and screaming. Nonetheless, my buffoonery won Fan of the Game and a $50 gift certificate from Harris Teeter. During the game, people were congratulating me, giving me hi-fives, and even strangers wanted to take pictures with me.

As for the game, it was something special as the Nats scored the most runs in their home park with 14, and won their 100th game at home.  It was an entertaining game as we saw controversial calls, an offensive explosion, and enjoying it with friends.

Before I continue, I must say on Nyjer Morgan’s play in the 8th inning, it looked like he was safe, but there was no replay. When I got home, I saw Nyjer missed the plate and intentionally was aiming for Brian Anderson, the Cardinals backup catcher. I really like Nyjer, aka Tony Plush, since he started the silver Elvis wig tradition within and inspired me to make a replica, but I guess he still has the hockey mentality to hit than play it straight and touch the base.  Riggleman was right to bench him on Sunday.

Moving on.

After the game, I went to the Navy Yard Metro station and one person yelled out “Fan of the Game” and everyone on the platform looked at the stairs and saw me coming down and did my thing for the people. When I got into the train, there were a few who banged on the windows to congratulate me and a couple said that “It was an honor to be with the Fan of the Game” (exact quote).  When i got to the Orange Line, I had the same responses, but after the Ballston stop, the remaining crowd in my train gave me a round of applause. I said jokingly that “This is biggest applause inside the Metro train will ever received.”

All in all, it was one of the strangest days with Eli’s baptism, the rally, the metro, the ball game, and winning Fan of the Game, although, my biggest regret is that I didn’t score any chicks after I won Fan of the Game. However, I can say I was part of history and enjoyed it with my family and friends (and strangers).  I can finally be known as the “Fun Uncle” for Eli.

Strasmas

The event in the past 10 years I wanted to attend was Barack Obama’s inauguration in January 2009.  I wanted to be part of history, but it was too crowded for my taste but would love an opportunity to revisit.  I’m not saying The Strasburg’s MLB debut was like that, but this is easily the best sporting event I ever attended and it was in my backyard.

I have been to a Caps playoff game, the White Sox-Cubs game, , Gilbert Arenas MLK Buzzer Beater against the Jazz, but none of these had the magnitude in this game.  The reason could be this is what Washington baseball has been waiting for a very long time.  The other is DC really has been on futility for so long from the rest of the teams, except for the Caps the past few seasons.  Everyone wanted to be part of history and they did: it was a sellout, celebrities including Charlie Casserly, who I met before leaving the game, media was loaded, Baseball Tonight was on location, you name it.  What made the event special was not the media hype, but the performance was out of this world.

People are gong to say it’s the Pittsburgh Pirates, they’re MLB-lite and it was easy cooking for the Strasburg.  Fair, but the Strasburg had to deal with the media attention, a bigger crowd, and a hungry team trying to ruin his spotlight.  The result was the Strasburg gave up 2 runs, struck out 14, and allowed no walks in 94 pitches, which is a first in the majors. You can say the team is weak, but don’t look at the opponent, look at the Strasburg pitches.  They are so nasty, you even feel sorry for the opponents’ batter like Joe Theismann’s leg.  You can discredit Pittsburgh as a weak team, but at least they battle unlike the worst team in baseball a few miles up north from Washington (and they’re in the American League).  The fans sounded they wanted to erupt and wanted to let it out from the beginning and sustain it to the end.  Makes me so proud as a DC fan, I’m going to cry.

The only downsides of the event I encounter were:

1. Food is still subpar.  Had a soggy bun on my hotdog. Bleah!
2. Teddy still lost when the Strasburg made his debut.  Guess we have to wait when Bryce Harper makes his debut, then Teddy might win.

I will say in this one night, The Strasburg is the number two rank athlete in DC, behind Alex Ovechkin.  However, The Strasburg can be number one in less than two years if the Caps still become “choking dogs” and the Nats win the pennant or win the wild card, which can happen of how the team is built.  The Caps lead the renaissance of DC sports and they should get credit, but from tonight’s game with the sellout crowd, Strasburg merchandise, and a Nats fan throwing a Pirates home run ball back into the field, winning is not enough…DC wants a championship.  That is a sign DC has become a legit sports city.

I hope you had a Merry Strasmas and hope you have a safe The Strasburg Boxing day today.

Strasmas pictures

If I Was Running A Company…Bettina Deynes (Updated)

I read this SHRM article on Bettina Deynes (hat tip to Kristen Hudak, blogger for MASN’s National Buzz, for sending this article) who is the Vice President of HR for the Washington Nationals.  The cover story is about how Bettina and the HR department collaborate with General Manager Mike Rizzo and the front office. 

Rizzo wanted a culture of winning in the organization after the Nationals lost more than 100 in back-to-back seasons. On one hand, Rizzo need to sign free agents and develop players who would change the team’s culture.  Rizzo also wanted Bettina to hire more scouts and develop training programs to encourage that for this upcoming season, the Nationals are a serious baseball club.

There are two reasons I love this story.  One was how much Bettina went through with the Nationals since joining in 2006: Alfonso Soriano 40-40 and bolted to the Cubs, the opening of Nationals Park, Dmitri Young and Elijah Dukes, the Dominican Republic player scandal, the Natinals, Jim Bowden, Clint, season ticket holders, Phillies fans, you name it. After all of that, Bettina is still the Vice President of HR and is reaping the benefits of a new (and in my opinion, better) regime and a growing organization this season and hopefully beyond.

The second thing I love this story is this really gives me hope that HR can collaborate with the front office, either in sports or business.  I wish I was in the Nationals HR department to help out, but this made me wonder: does the Washington Capitals (or Washington Sports and Entertainment) have a HR department to improve the organization and hopefully (but really slim chance) to motivate the players on the team?  If Ted Leonsis, George McPhee, or Mary Davis, President of Employment and Administrative Services for Washington Sports and Entertainment, are reading this, if there any HR openings, I’m available and hopefully the HR department collaborates with the front office a lot. Why not stop there: how about the Redskins? Ok, too far (the offices is at Ashburn and I don’t drive). How about working for the Wiz…oh wait, they’re cursed.

Anyway, this has giving me renowned hope that HR can work with the front office, and new hope that a HR department can help a sports team. Thank you, Bettina for giving me a new lease on my working career…

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and I’m still waiting for that phone call Ted, George or Mary.

Update: Since the Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery and get the number 1 pick and likely select John Wall and possibly a big free agent, I wouldn’t mind working for the Wizards at all.  But if I have a list of who to work for in order:

1. Caps
2. Nationals
3. Wizards
4. Redskins
5. United
6. Divas

The Strasburg

Before I begin, it should be noted from here on out, I’m calling Stephen Strasburg, “The Strasburg.”

Yesterday, I went to The Strasburg press conference to not only see The Strasburg speak, but see the real, devoted Nationals fans in attendance.  There were around 200, but most of them were under the facade since the seats were sitting on coals.  I was dumb enough to take a front seat along the third base side to see the press conference.  There was nothing special about the press conference, but it was important to see The Strasburg show off his new jersey and supporting the team (Good Move, The Strasburg).

After the press conference, the Nationals front office held a town hall meeting.  That lasted five minutes not because of protesters, but mother nature, although you could argue mother nature could be protesters.  After a few hours and food from Five Guys (not at the park, but at Navy Yard), it was time for the game.

The game was anti-climatic as the Nats lose to the Brewers 7-3.  The only exciting parts to came out from the game was the heavy downpour, and the rainbow before the game.  One thing of note: Teddy lost the race again.  Although the Nats lost, there was some positive things to came out of the day and for the future.

As you know, I’ve been calling out the Nationals for many different things from the front office, their play, the lousy music, the uniforms, you name it.  The reason I did The Strasburg Signing Deadline Countdown was to see if the Nationals are serious about building a team in DC.  It’s not important if The Strasburg does great with the Nats, although that’s would be a nice bonus.  The key is if the Nats care about being cheap or really care about their investment. In the past two months, the Nationals:

• Traded Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan to Pittsburgh for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett.  Trade is looking good so far.
• Trade Nick Johnson to the Marlins for prospects.
• Sign The Strasburg before the deadline.
• Mike Rizzo became the permanent General Manager of the Nationals.
• $1 all day passes which include the press conference, town hall, and the game.  Attendance was 75% capacity that day, which is not bad for a terrible team.
• I did not hear a song from Jonas Brothers or any awkward intro music of players (i.e. Nick Johnson and “Sexyback”).
• “We Want The Strasburg” chants were not only from baseball.  Redskins fans were chanting during a preseason game against the Steelers.

From the looks of it, the Nationals future looks bright and cannot wait for next year, where the team comes full circle…ok, they’re not going to win the division or the wild card, but with Bryce Harper in the 2010 Amateur Draft next year, the Nationals could be the great relatives of the 1994 Montreal Expos.

The Strasburg has arrived in DC

MASN’s Coverage of the Press Conference with a cameo appearance by someone you know, Part 1

MASN’s Coverage of the Press Conference with a cameo appearance by someone you know, Part 2

MASN’s Coverage of the Press Conference with a cameo appearance by someone you know, Part 3

Tracy’s Random Thoughts: June 2009 Edition

Summer is coming up and I have to say this has been one of the mildest summers I have encountered. I really enjoying this, but then there’s always next month. Let’s get to it:

1. Domestic Terrorism

The past two weeks with the shooting of an abortion doctor at church and the shooting at the Holocaust Museum involving an 88-year old man.  Congress warned us the most dangerous threat to our country is not international, it’s domestic.  Sadly for some, the hysteria mentality looms large and some have this end of the world thinking that the world is crumbling down.  We can debate issues about gun control and abortion, but with these activities, we need to have a harder look at ourselves and not the issues at hand.

2. Iran Elections

I would write a whole blog on the Iran Elections and would like to share some information, but it is too gruesome for me to show it.  I do think the elections were rigged and influence by Ahmadinejad’s staff and Mousavi should of won the election.  Instead, a green revolution came to Iran and it is a huge mess (just look at the tweets and videos of the protests).  Mostly everyone in the western world knows where they stand.  I am also glad Obama is keeping quiet of the situation as he knows he has a powerful voice, but must be on the mark.

As for the news coverage, it has been shoddy as usual and I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but if you want great coverage of the Iran situation, go to:

• The Huffington Post
• The Daily Dish
• Twitter

3. The Lovable Losers

The Washington Natinals Nationals are pitiful and I’m going to keep saying that.  However, there might be hope.  The Nats did draft Stephen Strasburg number one and sign their second first round pick, Drew Storen already.  Now, there’s word that if the Nationals get last place again this year (ok, they’re going to be in last place), the prize for next year’s draft: Bryce Harper.

Seriously, I think the kid needs to slow down and enjoy life.  After his sophomore year, Bryce will take the GED and go to community college and be eligible for the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft and will be picked by the Nationals in all likelihood.  I hope the kid success, but he needs to be social and get out and enjoy being a teenager.  I would take full precaution.

4. Twitter and Facebook

Some of friends and family have been complaining about that I tweet too much and need to stop syncing my tweets with Facebook.  Okay, I admit I tweet a lot, but at least I don’t tell you everything I do like “I’m brushing my teeth” or “I’m in the bathroom.”

Now as for the syncing Twitter with Facebook…you have to live with that.  If you have different sets of rules for each profile from Twitter, Linked, and Facebook, that’s totally up to you and I’m fine with that.  In my case, I blur the line in all my profiles.  I would rather have a mix of my personal and professional details in all my profiles because I want everyone to get a real sense of me.  It will be never 100% but at least you get a good picture of who I am.  In Linkedin, you would know my skills and accomplishments, in Facebook, you would know my character, and on Twitter, you would know who I fit in the best.  All f them comes back to one thing…me.

Now I will warn you when a conference or a Capitals game comes up, I’m going to tweet a lot, so if you’re on Facebook, I’ll give you the signal to hide my statuses and tell you in advance how long it would be.  Now, isn’t that simple?

That is all for me…see ya.

The Stephen Strasburg Signing Countdown

Lynapalooza

Lynapalooza was a get-together (not a tweetup, Tweeple [rolling eyes]) of all the Mr. Tony littles meeting Lyn for the first time. Lyn is in D.C. from Arizona for finalizing her late husband’s estate.  So, this was a good time to meet together and enjoy a baseball game, hence Lynapalooza.

For my adventures, I started going to D.C. in the afternoon to go to Rumors to see a friend there, but she doesn’t work on weekends anymore.  So, I walked a few blocks to ESPNZone to watch what is going on (I know, sad).  Stay there for an hour when I got my assignment to go to Eastern Market for a quick dinner.  I headed back to the Metro and arrive there at 3:30 PM…1 HOUR EARLY!  I’ve been to Eastern Market before, but I did not know they had the depth of independent restaurants.  There were franchises like Subway and Popeye’s, but there are quality restaurants, and the one our posse went, Lola’s, was solid (although the bacon on my club wrap was burnt, but it was decent).  We got our dinner and now onto Nationals Park.

Before going to Nationals Park, heavy rain hit upon us, so Esther, her husband John 1, Dobber, Lyn, and I headed to the parking lot that was tailgated by a bunch of Phillies fans and stayed in the car for roughly 15 minutes.  We were looking at radar and weather reports to see if the game will start on time.  Fifteen minutes later, the rain calmed down and we were on our way to Nats Park, where we met John 2 and Beth, Erin, Steve and Julie, and two people I finally met: Kitty and her family, and Shad and his family.  

I mostly talk to Shad most of the night because we’ve been writing a lot of stuff through Twitter and the Tony Kornheiser Message Board (yes, it exists… actually, there’s 2 Mr. Tony message boards).  This was our first face-to-face encounter and I have to say, Shad couldn’t be a more of a nicer guy.  I knew him being a professor, haikuist, and a Mr. Tony enthusiast, but when you get to know him in person, you get a deeper appreciation of him.  He told great stories from his trip to Boston, to getting a home run ball in Tiger Stadium in Detroit and was truly having fun with his family and the minions surrounding him.  He is also on Twitter, so if you have a chance, follow @shadfromdc and holds his annual chili cook-off every year if you live in the D.C. area (not the DC101 chili cook-off that was going on at RFK the same day yesterday; his is at the beginning of spring). (Of note:  I finally met Mark Stelzner for the first time last Wednesday in the Project SAME meeting.  He is the fifth HR/Recruiting person I met face-to-face that has Twitter. I got 495 to go. Must be “Meet people face-to-face for the first time Week.” )

We knew the game would not be finished because of the weather, so we hoped the game goes past 5 innings, which it did.  So it was the top of the sixth inning, the Phillies were up 7-5 (I wasn’t paying attention to the game that much), bases loaded with Ryan Howard at bat is when the heavy downpour was dumped on Nationals Park and everyone headed to the roof.  Then, the fun begins.

To set the scene, our group was surrounded by Phillies fans…essentially; the majority of the stadium was surrounded by Phillies fans.  I felt like I was the sole Clippers fan surrounded by Lakers fans.  There were two sides of Phillies fans: on our left were the respectful and loud Phillies fans; on our right were the obnoxious and boisterous Phillies fans.  Dobber tweeted some of the events the Phillies on the right did.  We merge to one roof during the rain delay.  Two things happened on the rain delay: the first thing was the Nats grounds crew were trying to put up the tarp over the field, but the grounds crew had a little trouble and the whole infield was a mess, but they put back the tarp again, got it. and we had a laugh at that.

The other was when one of the Phillies fans on our right got cigarettes and started smoking in the park (smoking is prohibited in Nationals Park).  Security was in front of this group and did nothing.  So John 2 and Beth came to grips with the Phillies fans on the right and tell them to not smoke or go outside the park.  The whole Phillies group was in a tizzy and started arguing and a scrum broke between John 2 and some Phillies tall guy.  During that scrum, someone was racing to stop the scrum and threw a cup of beer at me.  It hit me on the chess and had my WTF?! Moment.  I couldn’t see who threw it since I was talking to Dobber and did not want a Ron Artest moment, so I stayed away.  Both parties broke it up and then afterwards, Beth got into who I call the “Druckin’ Fighting Philly Mother.”  Everyone from Steve and Julie, Dobber, and I had to create a wall to separate our group to the nutcases on our right.  The “Druckin’ Fighting Philly Mother” came to our side 10 times trying to start a fight with us and it looked obviously she drank too much for her age.  The Phillies fans on the right started drinking, singing, and chanting like they won the war (we knew the Phils were going to win the game when Daniel Cabrera was on the mound).  I know there are Philly fans from Dan Levy, Kitty, Sara, and a few others who are passionate about Philly sports and care, but these fans we met give you reasons why Philly fans get a bad reputation.  After that incident, we said our goodbyes as the rain continues to pour and it was not going to stop anytime soon.  After a 1 hour and 45 minutes into the rain delay, the game was called and the Phillies won 7-5.

What came of this of Lynapalooza?

• The Eastern Market could be the new hot spot for me after knowing what restaurants are out there.
• Everyone asked me about my green Ryan Zimmerman t-shirt.  For the answer: I got it from the official team store at the park, you can’t find it online. 
• I was going to say the reason why I wore my green Zimmerman shirt is I want to meet the environmentally-friendly women since the majority of them are hot.  Instead, my colored t-shirt symbolizes Irish blood, meaning fights…or it could be my name.
• I was coy about the Washington Nationals having an open position for Director of Human Resources. Now to think of it, if they filled the position or vacant, they better take their job seriously after what happened last night:
  • There must be better training for security to look for suspicious activity.  I would argue the security almost caused a riot by doing nothing.
  • The music selection: Jonas Brothers after a double…REALLY, MOTHER EFFIN JONAS BROTHERS?!!! Get a new music director.  Also, Nick Johnson’s at bat music is Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback”.  Yes, that Nick Johnson: 
  
  • The PR/Communications/Marketing team needs to revamp as well.  First, it was the Elijah Dukes charity matter and now…Sausage Segway Shooters.  I dare the fans who come to the stadium and when the announcer says “Now it’s time for the Sausage Segway Shooters!” they say, “That’s What She Said!”  Also, those ads for defining moments in Nationals history?
  • The only good thing: Clint got demoted to do dirty work.  No wonder there’s a MASN booth in center field.

With the weather, the near riots, the food, and my “awesome” t-shirt, this was a very eventful day and I’m glad to share it with the rest of the littles.