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Matt Williams is not a member of the Diamondbacks' coaching staff anymore. Instead, he's the new manager for the Washington Nationals.
This pleases me.
There were few baseball-related things more irritating that Matt Williams in a Diamondbacks uniform. It was a trivial thing, to be sure. If the Giants eagerly pursued Williams the same way they pursued Mark Gardner after retirement, he probably would have been in a Giants uniform.
@DerekDock @mccoveychron Matt's not on the dark side, maybe he'll be back in SF someday...but they haven't talked to him about it yet!
— Erika MonroeWilliams (@ErikaWilliamsAZ) October 27, 2012
See? He was never on the dark side. It just felt like it.
And man oh man oh man, the thought of him on the Diamondbacks bench drove me nuts. Look at him, cavorting with Chris Speier. And why is Chris Speier there? And why is Mike Aldrete on the Cardinals' bench? And what are the Mariners doing with Robby Thompson? Why aren't all of these people wearing orange and black right now? Because it's a business? A likely story.
But I always wanted to like Williams unreservedly. Makes this "#9" tattoo on my inner thigh seem less awkward. It was hard to do when he was on the Diamondbacks' staff. Now that he's on the Nationals, though, he becomes another badass ex-Giant. Frank Robinson managed the Nationals. I love that guy. Even when he was actively making the Nationals worse, as is his wont when in charge of a baseball team doing baseball things, he was still cool. Now Williams gets to do that.
To be honest, I had already made my peace with Williams when he wanted to bite Mark McGwire's nose off.
Williams might not have been on the side of good in that Diamondbacks uniform, but he definitely wasn't on the side of evil.
Like Bill Mueller. Oh, Bill Mueller.
Still, rejoice! Matt Williams is wearing a different uniform. When the Giants and Nationals face off next year in the We Were Just Kidding, We're Still Really Good NLCS, it'll get awkward. Until then, Williams isn't wearing maroon and ... gray? Maroon and purple. Chlorine and maroon. Whatever the Diamondbacks wear. It's going to be nice having him in an inoffensive spot.