ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Mike Rizzo still has the game book from the days when he started as a scout for the Chicago White Sox in 1986. He uses those days as a point of reference, particularly on days like Saturday, when Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner announced the team is picking up Rizzo’s contract option as the team’s president of baseball operations and general manager.
“I used to take the lineups of every high school game I was at, and box it out — fill in every box with grades for each of these high school players,” Rizzo said, sitting in the Nationals’ dugout before Sunday’s homestand finale against the Miami Marlins.