Fangraphs: Q&A: Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo

Rizzo: Firm but fair…about metrics.

On lineup construction and metrics: “We talk strategy — we talk about match-ups and that type of thing — but I need to make clear that Davey makes out the lineup. I give him the roster and he makes out the lineup. We have open discussions, both ways, on roster construction and lineups. We have a great dialogue and a great rapport. He’s the manager, so he makes out the lineup, but we discuss it.

“We use all sorts of metrics. I’d rather not [go into detail] — we like to keep that information close to us, but suffice to say, we utilize it. We have a staff in the front office that is extremely talented at that. I lean heavily on them in the player-acquisition side, and we use them quite a bit on the construction of the lineup side.”

On using data in player development and scouting: “We use it quite a bit. We’ve made up our own metrics for it — we’ve made up our own formulas. There is obviously the league, the park, all sorts of characteristics. We have a very inventive sabermetrics staff, led by our director of baseball operations, Adam Cromie. We feel very comfortable with our information.

“It extends to [amateur scouting]. We put a weight, if you will, on certain conferences in certain years. We even do it at the high school and junior college levels. We use [predictive stats] at every level. We use sabermetrics quite a bit.”