Jim Riggleman Going Towards Career in TV?

Jim Riggleman's resignation last week as the manager of the Washington Nationals definitely caught a lot of us off guard. There had been speculation floating around that he might be fired earlier in the season when the team wasn't doing so well, but the fact that he left in the middle of a winning streak. This was especially the case when it turned out to be Riggleman's decision to resign due to the way his contract negotiations (or lack thereof) had been going.

In the wake of the surprising news, pundits have already begun suggesting Riggleman won't manage again in the big leagues. As a result, he might be going the way of working in TV -- something that many former players and skippers are doing nowadays with so many cable sports networks out there. Considering how he's already landed a deal for this weekend's series between the Cubs and White Sox, I'm not the only person who's speculating about Riggleman going to TV.

Riggleman will serve as a pregame and postgame television analyst on Comcast SportsNet Chicago for the Cubs/White Sox series at Wrigley Field this weekend. Wrigley Field is a familiar setting for Riggleman, as he managed the Cubs from 1995-1999, and even led them to a playoff berth in 1998 (well, Sammy Sosa's 66 homers, 158 RBI, and 1.024 OPS were probably the main reasons for that).

With that in mind, it's possible that this will be an audition for him to get a long-term television job at Comcast SportsNet Chicago as a Cubs analyst. Heck, it will be an audition for him to get a long-term television job with any network. Surely the people at ESPN and MLB Network will be paying attention to his analysis and presence in front of a camera.

Now considering how Riggleman resigned from his position with the Nationals because he only had a guaranteed contract through the end of the season, it'll be interesting to see if he quits his TV gig before the game on Sunday since they only gave him a contract through the end of the series. Only time will tell, I suppose.