Washington Nationals Hire Davey Johnson as Manager

This isn't the sort of thing I normally comment on in this forum, but I always liked Davey Johnson and I'm glad to see him get another shot at managing, even if it is just for the rest of this year. The mixture of traditional baseball and sabemetrics that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo talks about is, in my opinion, exactly what teams should be doing. 

The dividing line between stats and "traditional baseball" is something that is often overblown. The best "traditional" front office types always paid attention to the numbers as well as other considerations. Of course, nowadays most teams say they are doing this, but we all know teams that say the right words then do the exact wrong things on a consistent basis.

Although I have a few frustrations with the way sabermetrics has developed, I come from the sabermetric background and strongly lean in that direction. However, anyone who has worked in the real world knows that there are some things that really can't be quantified, and anyone who studies prospects for any length of time will discover that the stats don't tell you everything.

Davey Johnson always struck me as a guy who had a solid grounding in the traditional side of baseball, but who also knew what the numbers meant and how to use them for maximum benefit.  Even if Johnson isn't the long-term manager, the fact that he is Rizzo's choice for the rest of the year says something positive about the future direction of this organization.