The humbling of Mike Rizzo and the Nationals

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/the-humbling-of-mike-rizzo-and-the-nationals/2015/10/06/efe59090-6c56-11e5-aa5b-f78a98956699_story.html

Version 0 of 1.

The humility is undeniable now. For all the hubris the Washington Nationals have been accused of displaying during their rise to prominence, failure and embarrassment currently serve as their anchor.

They speak not as an organization on a transparent path to a championship, but rather as a contrite underachiever earnestly seeking to do better. In announcing his decision to fire Matt Williams , Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo came across more mellow and resigned than probably he ever will when having to answer hard questions. Rizzo is a self-assured competitor and a brilliant talent evaluator who sometimes can seem dismissive and cagey because he trusts himself above all.

Monday’s media torture was new to him. This was much different than offering answers for coming up short in the playoffs, or explaining a decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg a season after Tommy John surgery. There’s no nuance this time, no credible other side. The Nationals didn’t just fail; they humiliated themselves in doing so. As preseason World Series favorites, they didn’t just choke; they watched Jonathan Papelbon use Bryce Harper to act out the gesture.

Rizzo admitted mistakes, most notably not vetting more experienced managers before hiring the rookie Williams two years ago. He was introspective. He set the tone for an offseason in which the Nationals will undergo a deep cleaning.

“It wasn’t our best year,” Rizzo said. “It wasn’t Matt’s best year. It wasn’t my best year. As an organization, it wasn’t our best year.”

[Ron Gardenhire, Dusty Baker interested in Nationals manager position]

Don’t mistake “deep cleaning” for a rebuild. I’m talking about people throughout the franchise grabbing sponges and scrubbing until the house makes for good, hygienic living again. Some players under contract have to go — don’t choke on your bagel, Pap — but Rizzo is going to retain and improve a roster that will compete for a postseason berth next season. Nevertheless, change is coming — change in the manager and coaching staff, change in mentality from the favorite to the hunter, change in key personnel with Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann and Denard Span all expected to depart in free agency.

And then you should hope for the most important possible change: poverty of spirit.

In many religions, poverty of spirit is a phrase that refers to an emptying of self to develop a closer relationship with God. The concept, at its most elementary, is that you can’t be provided spiritual abundance unless you understand that you truly need it and seek it with a pauper’s modesty.

What does this have to do with Natitude? If the failure of 2015 provides the Nationals with a baseball version of poverty of spirit, that would be a good thing for this franchise moving forward.

After not having a winning season in their first seven years in Washington, the Nationals have become a model franchise. They’ve taken great pride in what they’ve built. They’ve celebrated the remarkable story that it is. They’ve flaunted their success a little, too. While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the ride, there’s also a fine line between confidence and arrogance. At times, the Nationals are a little too in love with their progress on a task that remains incomplete.

It’s something I’ve paid close attention to since arriving in town because, over the past four years, the Nationals have irritated so many major league teams and their fan bases with their swagger. The complaints range from Harper’s fire and flair to the strong way the team markets itself to the funny Nationals Park slow jams during opponents’ batting practice to some players openly concurring with the premature notion that this is a championship ballclub.

Much of the outside agitation derives from envy. The Nationals wouldn’t rank among my five most arrogant teams in the sports world. But they are plagued with a sense of entitlement that has come from building such a potent organization in a relatively short period of time. You feel it when you’re around them. You hear it in some of their comments. They believe they’re more special than a team that has been to the postseason twice without advancing.

It’s only human to get carried away trying to handle success. Many teams have to check themselves and refocus. I wrote columns about one in Seattle. There was a time when the Seahawks thought of humility only as an offbeat name for a newborn girl. But being humbled is an inevitability in professional sports.

The 2015 season might end up being the best disaster that could’ve happened to the Nationals. They can grow by doing more than maximizing their strengths. Now they understand their weaknesses well enough to minimize them.

[Boswell: Now, more than ever, Nationals need a true leader]

Look at it solely from Rizzo’s perspective. He learned that, for all the outstanding work he has done amassing talent, he can’t simply plug in an agreeable manager who fits the prototype of who he wants to work with and still see the plan come together as he envisioned. In the calamitous Papelbon trade, he was reminded to scrutinize chemistry and fit as much as talent. And although he is loyal to the established players who made the Nationals relevant, he clearly understands now that, sometimes, it’s foolish not to have a great backup plan and reserve unquestioned roles for the likes of Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman after extended absences recovering from injuries.

Several truths are staring at Rizzo, and it seems like he’s ready to evolve. If others in the organization face their own truths and make adjustments, then 2015 could be as worthwhile a struggle for the Nationals as, say, 2012 was for the Boston Red Sox. Boston went from last-place laughingstock to champion the next season. The Nationals’ problems aren’t as dramatic, obviously. They finished 83-79 despite their dysfunction. And maybe their recovery won’t be as dramatic, either. But many success stories include a tipping point in which an embarrassing disappointment led to humility and then an epiphany about how to reach and sustain excellence.

The Nationals need poverty of spirit. They shouldn’t recoil at the controversy and criticism. They should let it humble them so much it refreshes them.

It just might create the championship grit they’ve been lacking.