Jim Riggleman's been hanging out lately, what with him literally walked off his job as Washington Nationals manager.
And that lack of a job meant that he didn't get to spend the All-Star Break with Bruce Bochy as a member of the All-Star Game coaching staff.
Don't worry though -- he'll get plenty of time with Bochy going forward, as the Giants have hired Riggleman as a special assistant scout.
The Giants announced the move on Thursday night, right around the time that Aubrey Huff decided to power up and help the team pull out a 6-2 win against the Padres.
Per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury-News, Brian Sabean cited both Riggleman's knowledge of the NL East and "baseball experience" when describing the hire.
Riggleman had been 38-37 with the Nationals during the 2011 season; a surprising start for a team that no one expected to be over .500, much less contend in a stacked NL East.
His addition should give the Giants a bigger advantage against the division -- they play the Braves, Phillies (twice) and Marlins in August and September.
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More importantly, if the season ended today, the Giants would potentially face two NL East opponents (again) in the playoffs, as the Braves and Phillies would both make the postseason.
Riggleman's knowledge of the NL East then, might pay off to be more valuable than anyone really knows.
