Ryan Zimmerman calls out his manager for calling people out?

(Ryan Zimmerman, seen here speaking at the Live Positively: Get the Ball Rolling kickoff event on Tuesday at the Capitol.  Photo via Newscom by UPI/Kevin Dietsch.)

Remember about a month ago, when Nyjer Morgan lost his mind for a few weeks and was called out in front of the media by Jim Riggleman after inexplicably colliding with Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson? And remember when Jim Riggleman called a closed door team meeting following a Sunday afternoon loss to the Marlins but let his coaching staff do most of the talking -- and (gasp!) Riggles revealed to the media that this meeting took place and simultaneously ripped his team's effort?

Well, Ryan Zimmerman didn't like the way his manager handled those situations, apparently -- if we're reading this story by Bill Ladson of MLB.com correctly. In Ryan Zimmerman's World, a manager shouldn't call out his players in front of the media; and a manager shouldn't reveal when he holds a closed door team meeting and/or rip his team's effort in front of the media. Here's Zim, in his own words, via MLB.com:

"You don't necessarily have to call people out, yell at people in front of cameras or tell people you had a meeting or anything like that. I think when people do that, it's more for show than for effect anyway. A lot of things that are done -- that are most important -- are done behind closed doors, that nobody gets to know about, especially when you get to touchy subjects. I don't think it should be known. To say something to someone else and have everyone else hear about it, it's not very fair to that guy."
(Ryan Zimmerman, via Nationals.com, 9/30/2010) 

Here's some of what Jim Riggleman said about Nyjer Morgan the morning after the Bryan Anderson Incident:

"I think it was just a culmination of Nyjer's anger that was brewing... I think he was just having a day like where he was upset about some things and did an unprofessional thing. He went after the catcher. So I certainly don't condone that, but we've all made mistakes. I think that's not Nyjer's style of play to do something like that. That's totally uncharacteristic. I think the culmination of the day, when I called him in, told him I was going to hit him eighth instead of leadoff, and I think it just was building up all day. I think he thought I was wearing that equipment there at home plate."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 8/29/2010)

And here's some of what Jim Riggleman said about his team following that closed door team meeting a few weeks ago:

"I think the losing wears on you, but it's a 162-game schedule, it's a nine-inning ballgame. That's what you sign up for, that's what you give. You get 25 guys up until Sept. 1, and whatever we have -- 32 after that. Until we get everybody on the same page, it takes a great effort everyday to get out of where we are. ...You cannot be in the same class as the Padres, Giants, Yankees and Tampa Bay until you have everybody on board pulling the same way, putting personal statistics and all that nonsense behind them. Until everyone is pulled in the same direction and getting after it every day, it's not going to show up in the win column."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals.com, 9/12/2010)

Apparently Ryan Zimmerman doesn't think Jim Riggleman handled those situations the right way. We'll go out on a limb and say that Zim is probably not alone in this line of thinking -- and we're not even counting Nyjer Morgan in this camp. Just for fun, it seems as good a time as any to ask the same question(s) we asked a few weeks ago: Is it too soon to start the Jim Riggleman Axe Watch? Has he completely lost the clubhouse?

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Comments

[Jenn Jenson]

Seriously? Usually, there's a line to criticize Riggs for being too sunny and glass-is-half-full in every press conference.

By my observation, Jim keeps it behind closed doors 99% of the time and on rare occasion gets frustrated enough that he says something a little more candid.

Is Ryan Zimmerman too delicate a flower to deal with that?

[Dave at Nats News Network]

Anyone else remember Zim ripping Acta on his way out the door?

[Peanuts and Cracker Jack]

Just looking at the standings -- Nats are the best last-place team in baseball! Woo hoo!

[Jenn Jenson]

Hmmm ... after reading Ladson's post, I see that Ryan also said, "If we could control the clubhouse ..."

What should I make of that? Is he calling his teammates out for not calling one another out?

All of it is pretty hard to interpret, given none of us are in the clubhouse.

[The Nationals Enquirer]

As Dave suggested, Zim kinda took shots at Acta for being too...soft, if I remember correctly. Here, for example, lifted from the Washington Post the day after Acta's head rolled in Rizzo's office:

Acta oversaw his teams with an old yogi's stoicism, watching each day's loss while avoiding any sort of outburst. At its best, that even temperament connected to a rich dignity -- and for all the circus losing, Acta himself was never the sideshow. But at its worst, Acta's patience doubled as a conduit for the status quo, which is okay for contenders, but not for the worst team in baseball.

"Every player is different," said Ryan Zimmerman, the team's lone all-star. "Personally I don't need that kind of stuff, but I think a lot of players do. There were some points, sometimes, where some people have said some stuff on our team -- not to him, obviously, but player-to-player -- that they would've liked for him to do more of that." (via Washington Post, 7/14/2009)

Guess Zim probably liked that Acta didn't rip anyone in the media, though?

[NTPNate]

Look, I love the RZA as much as anyone. But if the "veterans" on this team could handle things on their own in the clubhouse, there wouldn't be any need for Zimm to make those comments, would there? Doesn't the fact that he feels the need to speak up suggest that addressing things internally isn't getting the job done?

[Elijah Dukes]

But Manny ripped me in the media all the time!

[Harper_ROY_2012]

Ryan is a delicate flower, if he was a true leader he would not rip his manager to the press!

[Michael L.G.]

If Ryan is calling out his Manager, then isn't he doing the same thing?

Nyjer was out of control and I for one was happy that Riggo had the balls to go public even though he didn't say much. I can't imagine what else he said behind closed doors.

And note to Elijah Dukes above, yah Manny didn't treat you well! Wish you were still on this team!

[Michael L.G.]

Talking about calling players out. I remember in Spring Training when Elijah was released and Justin Maxwell (his heir apparent) was all giddy about it and dropped the bomb that "he" was a clubhouse problem.

I read Ladson's article and wonder why the veterans need to police the clubhouse. Most of these guys are quiet souls which begs the question, WHO HAS TO BE POLICED?

Ladson writes...third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said recently he would like to see the players make the skipper's job easier by policing themselves in the clubhouse.