Baseball: Nats Don't Hire Valentine

Good news from Washington: the Nationals have hired Jim Riggleman to be their manager, signing him to a one-year deal.

Not gonna get into why this is a lame hire for the Nats, but haven't we learned that the same re-tread hires of guys who never had much success anywhere (in any sport) rarely work out?

What's significant here is that Bobby Valentine is still a free agent. Meaning he's still available for the Mets to give him a shot at round 2.

(Note: I don't consider Bobby V a re-tread because he's proven to be a good manager in several places, had the Mets in the World Series in 2000, and was basically forced out because he and then-GM Steve Phillips couldn't stand each other. And, um, I think Phillips is out of the picture.)

Of course, if the Mets were to change managers anytime soon, it would mean that something bad happened. And as a fan, I'm not really interested in seeing anything next year if it doesn't involve a playoff berth.

So maybe the Mets can struggle out of the gate, Manuel and Minaya get canned, Bobby V gets hired, the team goes on a crazy summer run, snag the Wild Card, and we'll stop there and not get greedy.

(That's like a fantasy football scenario, where a guy you own is playing your favorite team, so you pray for him to do well but your team still wins.)

One condition though: Bobby, if you're ever managing the team again, you're not allowed to dye your hair. Deal?