Mike Rizzo has wated no time putting his own stamp on the Nationals. It was reported last week that he made several moves. The first thing he did was dismiss James Williams.  Williams was not a player, but rather the man assigned to “look after” Ellijah Dukes.  Wiliams had been hired by Jim Bowden, and apparently Rizzo felt that Dukes (25) was old enough to look after himself.  Also, Jose Cardenal was let go on Thursday.  Cardenal had been acting as a “special advisor” to GM Bowden.  Cardenal knows full well that Rizzo wants to put his own people in place, and Cardenal plans to go back to his native country of Cuba and try to bring players here legally.
The last thing Rizzo did was to fire several minor league instructors.  While who he fired and who he replaced them with is unimportant, (but you can read about them here) I will say that what is important is the fact that he is moving quickly to make the Nationals HIS team.  This tells me that he will move quickly when it comes to dealing with players, and that there will be a different attitude in the Spring.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed, anyway.
There is also word that the Braves scouting director since 2000, Roy Clark, has turned down an offer from the Nationals.  Lets hope the Nats can hire someone that will keep the pipeline strong