Davey Johnson is getting it done. For those of you who haven’t been keeping track, the Nationals have not exactly enjoyed a great amount of success in recent years. Prior to Johnson taking over last season, the Nationals hadn’t made the playoffs since they were the Montreal Expos in 1981. In only his second year in the nation’s capital, Johnson has managed Washington to a postseason berth. They also currently hold the best record in baseball.
Johnson certainly didn’t get to where he is by listening to the media, which is why he recently made it perfectly clear to CSNWashington.com that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him resting players over the final week-plus of the season.
“I really don’t give a rat’s ass what somebody thinks about my club and who I put on the field to either help somebody else or I’m not supposed to rest my regulars after we clinch it, I’m resting my regulars,” Johnson said. “End of conversation.”
The Nationals currently hold a 4.5-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. Johnson has said that he will rest his starters if and when his team clinches the division title. Since the Nationals still have an upcoming series against the Cardinals and St. Louis is fighting to hold onto the second NL wild card spot, critics say it is wrong for Johnson to essentially give the Cardinals wins.
That’s not Washington’s problem. The Nats have already officially shut down their ace for the remainder of the year, so the last thing they need is a key player getting injured because they felt the need to play spoiler. If the media wants to question a manager’s approach, make it one with less than a .605 winning percentage.
H/T Chase Hughes on Twitter
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE
