Cleaning House

Rijo is out, Bowden is reportedly right behind him:

The Nationals, according to multiple industry sources, are strongly considering firing general manager Jim Bowden and replacing him with Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava.

Bowden has been implicated in a bonus skimming scandal in the Dominican Republic and is reportedly being investigated by the FBI. Jose Rijo, the former major-league pitcher and a special assistant to Bowden, has taken a leave of absence in wake of the allegations.

LaCava is highly regarded inside the game and has interviewed for GM jobs with the Pirates and Mariners in the last year-and-a-half. Commissioner Bud Selig reportedly has given Nationals president Stan Kasten permission to hire LaCava without interviewing minority candidates because of the special circumstances of a change of GMs being necessitated after spring training has started.

Nats Assistant GM Mike Rizzo is considered by many to be solid talent evaluator and a GM prospect himself. That said, given the circumstances of Bowden’s imminent departure, I understand the desire to go outside of the organization to fill the vacancy.


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Jason @ IIATMS
15 years ago

I saw that, too, Chris.  Except I don’t think Kearns is THAT bad!

as an aside, does anyone remember the Jerky Boys prank caller tapes from a dozen years ago?  Mike Rizzo was one of the names they used.  “I’ll wrap your head with a ratchet”

Ralph
15 years ago

Sorry Jason, that was Frank Rizzo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXWo6jXmRO8

Pete Toms
15 years ago

A bit off topic but what’s gonna happen to player development in the DR when the Rule IV (sorry Craig) is in place there?  Are clubs still gonna invest heavily in these acadamies?  Are you gonna plough money into a kid only to have him drafted by one of your competitors?  I obviously don’t know, but I think it’s an intereting subject.

Jason @ IIATMS
15 years ago

@Ralph: Damn, you’re right.  Nevermind.

Chris H.
15 years ago

Did you see klaw’s comment (as quoted by Neyer) about LaCava?

He said that going from Bowden to LaCava is like going from Austin Kearnes to Albert Pujols.

Zing!