Latest news with #DaveMartinez
Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Nationals Executive Responds To Manager Dave Martinez's Comments
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Washington Nationals' season has taken a turn even farther south than the team was expecting, and manager Dave Roberts made comments blaming the players after the team dropped its 10th straight game. General manager Mike Rizzo resisted commenting -- until Wednesday, during his radio spot on 106.7 The Fan. WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: Manager Dave Martinez #4 of the Washington Nationals looks on from the dugout during the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park on June 16, 2025 in Washington,... WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: Manager Dave Martinez #4 of the Washington Nationals looks on from the dugout during the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park on June 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. More Photo by"There's onus on the players, there's onus on the coaches, there's onus on the manager and there's great onus on the general manager to do a better job," Rizzo said during the interview, as transcribed by Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic. While there is not one specific reason for the Nationals' poor play, Rizzo is up to take accountability and say that the organization needs to reflect after an abysmal stretch. The Nationals' offense has been the league's worst in run scoring in June, scoring only 42 runs. Meanwhile, the pitching has not been much help either, ranking 24th in Major League Baseball in ERA during the month. Martinez did manage the Nationals to their only World Series victory in franchise history, but may have inadvertently turned the heat up on his seat following his comments and the team's poor stretch of seasons recently. Rizzo's comments are far from a fix to their situation, but if the general manager is saying that the organization needs to look at itself and find the issue, then Martinez's time at the top step of the Nationals dugout may be running out. More MLB: Will Rafael Devers Trade Trigger Avalanche of Moves Before Trade Deadline?
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
As Nationals' losing streak reaches 11 games, Dave Martinez finds his way into the spotlight
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It took more than three days for someone front-facing in the Washington Nationals organization to publicly acknowledge manager Dave Martinez's recent comments, in which he absolved his coaches of any blame for the team's abysmal play. By now, the response largely falls on deaf ears. Advertisement 'There's onus on the players, there's onus on the coaches, there's onus on the manager and there's great onus on the general manager to do a better job,' general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday morning in a paid scheduled weekly radio appearance for 106.7 The Fan. 'We all got to look in the mirror when you lose 10 games in a row.' The Nationals, who extended that losing streak to 11 after Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Rockies, have not been ones for self reflection as of late. Rizzo, who did not reply to text messages from The Athletic on Monday and declined further comment Wednesday, finally accepted a portion of the blame for the team's recent freefall during his radio spot. Martinez hasn't — and no amount of backtracking or clarifying in subsequent days is as effective as a simple apology would have been in the moment. Martinez, who publicly called out his players as the sole issue in his team's underperformance, practically put himself on the hot seat. And as the Nationals continue to flounder, he might be the least of their problems, if he's a problem at all. 'We're not going to fingerpoint here and say it's on the coaches. It's never on the coaches,' Martinez said after Saturday night's loss to the Marlins. 'Sometimes you've got to put the onus on the players, they've got to go out there and they've got to play the game.' Martinez followed that up the next day by saying he had talked to his players about his comments and everything was fine. 'It wasn't on them. My comments (were) nothing about them. They know that,' Martinez told reporters Sunday. 'They read through it, and I talked to them about it. They're good.' '(It) was never about them, right? I never mentioned anything about players,' Martinez said. 'I appreciate those players. I played. I understand how hard this game is, and they know that. It's a difficult game, and these guys are out there trying hard. We've got to do the little things. We start doing the little things, we'll start winning some of these games.' Advertisement The Nationals aren't doing either the little things or winning. They are winless in their past five series. They've averaged fewer than three runs per game (2.62) this month, which is worst in the majors. And they allowed 19 runs in the first three games of the series to a Colorado Rockies team cruising to the worst record in modern baseball history. Rizzo said Wednesday he treats all losses the same, but this is the soft part of the Nats schedule as the team goes west after Thursday's game to play the Dodgers, Padres and Angels. Martinez — often tasked with speaking for the entire organization — has spent the majority of the past eight seasons appearing heartfelt and polite on the podium. No one in an organization speaks to the media more than the manager. Martinez is typically excellent in that regard, making it even more confounding how he inexplicably lacked feel in the days after his comments caused a stir. Why, multiple people in the industry surmised, did he not come back Sunday and shoulder at least some of the blame for what has now morphed into a double-digit losing streak? If coaches and managers don't have any impact on the on-field product, why are they there? And why has Martinez had several different iterations of his staff, including an entire new group from the one that won in 2019? The Nationals season is, like Rizzo said, a byproduct of failures all around, beginning with the general manager and working its way down. No one can say, 'I'm working hard, this isn't on me!,' particularly when the little things that managers and coaches can impact — like baserunning and sound defense — are absent on a near-nightly basis from the Nationals' side of the dugout. Fans who have sat through what looks to be a sixth consecutive losing season weren't appeased by Monday's promotion of touted third base prospect Brady House — a diversion attempt that would surely make even D.C. politicians proud. Martinez's comments took on a life of their own, filling up talk radio stations and stirring even some of the more apathetic fans into action. During Tuesday's loss — in which the Nationals surrendered seven home runs — there were loud boos and 'Fire Davey!' chants sweeping through Nationals Park. The comments also put the Nationals back on the national consciousness. Advertisement For years, particularly since Rizzo and Martinez engineered the organization's 2019 World Series, the pair have been under-the-radar in the general baseball landscape. When my colleague, Ken Rosenthal, wrote an excellent column last month on the state of the Nationals, he admitted it only came after another team's executive had pointed out that the rebuild appeared to have stalled. Rizzo and some of the fan base questioned the timing. With teams like the Rockies and White Sox — who set the major-league record for losses just last year — and the neverending futility of the Pirates, surely baseball had bigger problems. People outside of the Beltway weren't paying close attention. They are now. And the two highest profile members in baseball operations, Martinez and Rizzo, are each under added public scrutiny. It remains unlikely that any change is coming, particularly mid-season for an ownership group that remains remarkably hands off at best and uninterested at the worst. (The Lerner family, who purchased the team in 2006, briefly contemplated selling but took the team off the market when they didn't like the bids.) Both Martinez and Rizzo have club options that must be decided on later this summer. Martinez is well liked by ownership — it was his new contract that was agreed to before Rizzo's in the last go-around — and people close to the family believe the Lerners have a lot of respect for Martinez, who led them to their only World Series while dealing with a heart issue. It would be more humane — if the Lerners decide to make a change — to simply not offer Martinez another contract, particularly when there's no clear answer to who on his staff would serve as interim. The same goes for Rizzo, who was promoted from assistant GM to the top spot in 2009, and is the second-longest tenured baseball operations head in the game. Rizzo threw his support behind Martinez on Wednesday, calling him one of the best player managers he's been around. 'Davey still has the pulse of the clubhouse, he's a great clubhouse presence, a calming presence,' Rizzo told 106.7. 'And once we get through this and win a couple games, which we will, we can right the ship and continue progressing toward winning a championship, whenever that is.' Advertisement As Rizzo pointed out, the pitchforks have been out for Martinez before. In 2019, several media outlets, including the Washington Post, called for a change as the team stumbled out to a 19-31 start. Even then, Martinez never lashed out. He smiled and kept the receipts, taking the high road all the way to the World Series, using the phrase 'Bumpy roads lead to beautiful places,' to describe the Nationals magnificent run. It was an incredible job by Martinez, Rizzo and a veteran-laden team to bring a championship to D.C., a dream of Lerner family patriarch Ted, who passed away in 2023. But it's not 2019 anymore. The Lerners must decide, and soon, if this is another bump in the road or if the organization is approaching a dead end. (Top photo of Dave Martinez:)
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Another bullpen implosion sends Nationals to 10th straight loss
If the D.C. sky hadn't turned to dusk, one would've thought the Colorado Rockies were taking batting practice against the Washington Nationals' pitching staff in the seventh inning Tuesday. Hunter Goodman, Ryan McMahon, Michael Toglia and Sam Hilliard all homered in the frame, breaking open a tight game and sending the Nationals to a 10-6 loss, their 10th straight. The boos came early and often at Nationals Park, spiced with crowd chants of 'Fire Davey!' throughout as speculation mounts about the future of Manager Dave Martinez.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
As losing streak hits nine, Nationals debut a foundational piece
Brady House looked up at the big scoreboard in center field ahead of his first at-bat on Monday night, ready for his hard launch from the Washington Nationals' long-term plans into their short-term needs. To keep with the rhythms of what got him to Washington, House sought to keep his routine: from the calm expression on his face to the way he smacked on his wad of gum. And against the Colorado Rockies, there was something else familiar in his approach. He swung hard at the first pitch he saw. House sent Carson Palmquist's outside fastball out to right for a routine flyout, part of an 0-for-3 night at the plate that included a walk. The result was secondary to what his debut symbolized: The latest arrival in a steady march of top prospects to the major leagues. Specifically, House represented the potential for something the Nationals have lacked since they won the World Series in 2019: a homegrown, power-hitting everyday third baseman. 'He looked like he belonged here,' Manager Dave Martinez said. 'Which is awesome.' His debut marked the first tangible return on a long investment. In the present, it didn't do enough to alter the spiraling fortunes of a team that lost its ninth straight, this one 6-4 on a pair of crushing home runs yielded by closer Kyle Finnegan in the ninth inning. The Nationals (30-42) fell to a season-low 12 games under .500, with their past four losses coming against the dregs of the National League — a three-game sweep at Nationals Park by the Marlins, then Finnegan's meltdown to the historically inept Rockies (15-57). Finnegan attributed some of his performance to, 'trying to do too much.' When asked what that meant, he added, 'I don't think it's a secret what's been going on with our team. Just really wanting to get a win, get back in the win column.' Finnegan, who hadn't allowed a home run all season before Monday, heard boos from many of the 11,370 remaining at Nats Park. 'That's maybe a little bit of what we've been struggling with,' Finnegan said. 'Guys trying to make a big moment for our team, trying to snap us out of it, whatever. But we just got to focus on the things that are in our control.' Right-hander Jake Irvin allowed three runs in six innings, conceding a two-run homer to Hunter Goodman in the first and an RBI single from Michael Toglia in the fifth. 'The skid looks tough, and it has been tough,' Irvin said. 'But we're pulling for each other. We believe in each other. And we know we're going to get through this.' In the bottom of the fifth, the Nationals took a rare lead behind a pair of homers from 22-year-old outfielders — a second-deck solo shot from just-recalled Daylen Lile, the first homer of his career, and an opposite-field, two-run blast from James Wood. They took that 4-3 lead into the ninth. 'That was the best feeling in the world,' Lile said of his homer. House's call-up comes amid the team's worst stretch of play this season. While an MLB Network segment on the Nationals' recent skid played silently on clubhouse televisions, House stood at his locker at the front of the clubhouse and gave a big, toothy grin when addressing reporters. He was excited. Ready. He had, according to Martinez, accidentally interrupted the coach's meeting to reintroduce himself to the staff. And after he was done, he slipped into a pair of flip-flops and reclined in a chair at Zach Brzykcy's locker for an extended chat with the team's young relievers. That big, toothy grin came back when he walked up to Luis García Jr., who asked House, 'Ready for your first day?' 'Ready, bro,' House responded. The Nationals trust he is. That is, in part, because of the strides he has made at the plate this year; the improved plate discipline, the higher exit velocities, the clean swing from his 6-foot-4 frame, all of it. But it's also because of who he is. Last September, Rochester Manager Matt LeCroy said he felt House — the Nationals' first-round pick in the 2021 draft (No. 11 overall) — was cut from the same cloth as Wood and Dylan Crews. Steady. A bit of a soft talker. 'When he does well, you don't really know it,' LeCroy said. 'And when he's not doing so well, you don't know that either.' He will be the team's everyday third baseman from here on out, though Martinez said he may hit lower in the lineup against right-handed starters. Batting sixth Monday, he looked ready from the outset. Rockies leadoff hitter Jordan Beck hit a grounder his way on the first play of the game; House double tapped the ball in his glove and delivered a strike to first baseman Andres Chaparro. In the fourth, Brenton Doyle hit a slow roller his way, a difficult play even at this level; House scooped it and rifled a throw to first from a low arm slot to close out the inning. 'I don't think I know what it means right now,' House said, when asked what his debut meant to him, 'because I've dreamed about it since I started playing baseball.' House fills some necessary holes. First, the position itself. From 2005 through 2019, when Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon were its primary inhabitants, no team in baseball accumulated more FanGraphs' wins above replacement from third base than the Nationals (64.3 WAR). Over the past six seasons, as the organization searched for Rendon's replacement, the Nationals have racked up just 2.6 WAR from the spot. That's the worst mark in MLB. But House brings an MLB-ready glove and legit power, both of which Washington has lacked of late. He didn't swing at a single pitch in his second time up in the fourth. After falling behind 0-2, he watched four straight pitches go by and trotted to first. He had learned something already. He struck out looking on a fastball down the middle in the sixth and started walking to the dugout before home plate umpire Erich Bacchus rang him up. Growing pains. Representing the tying run with no outs in the ninth, he worked a 3-2 count before grounding into a double play on a 100.5 mph heater. Whether the Nationals can weather this current storm remains to be seen. For now, they seek any iota of stability they can find. And in their new third basemen, they believe they have found some. Notes: Paul DeJong (broken nose) and Mason Thompson (Tommy John surgery) will begin rehab assignments on Tuesday with Class AA Harrisburg, according to Martinez. With House expected to play third base every day, Martinez said DeJong will take reps at shortstop and designated hitter. ... Derek Law, who threw a simulated game on Monday afternoon, will join DeJong and Thompson in Harrisburg on Thursday for his rehab assignment. Law has been dealing with forearm inflammation since spring training.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Nationals can no longer pretend that everything is okay
A dam broke at Nationals Park on Saturday afternoon when Dave Martinez lost his cool. He said something managers shouldn't, at least according to the unwritten rules of clubhouse decorum that require blame be shared or shouldered, but never assigned. Because when Martinez said his coaching staff is not to blame for the Washington Nationals' recent futility, he nodded to an 'us' and a 'them' dynamic, a line between coaches and players — a division between one group trying with all its might, and one group failing the other. Many of his players were unpleasantly surprised by the message, according to people familiar with their thinking. Martinez insisted publicly he did not mean to call them out and that he remains firmly on their side.
