Washington Nationals Worst Case Scenario: Mutiny on Dave Martinez
By Tim Boyle
The worst-case scenario for the 2018 Washington Nationals ends in mutiny against manager Dave Martinez. How can the first-year manager avoid his players from turning against him?
The Washington Nationals begin the 2018 season with a new manager at the helm. Dave Martinez, who most recently coached with the Chicago Cubs, is the successor to Dusty Baker. He’ll do so as a first-time manager for a team on the brink of some major changes.
Next season’s big storyline is whether or not Bryce Harper returns in 2019. Likely, he at least tests the free agent waters. Whether or not he stays with the Nationals will need to wait until the arctic winds make their way into D.C.
Similar stories about Daniel Murphy and Gio Gonzalez will also arise. There should also be some debate regarding general manager Mike Rizzo and whether or not he should stay for the long haul.
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All of these tales will linger. The one the Nationals need to worry about most is how the team responds to Martinez in his first year calling the shots.
Mutiny is always a possibility within any organization. We saw something similar when Matt Williams was with the Nationals. Other organizations, like the Boston Red Sox under Bobby Valentine, also experienced an overthrow of the captain. As a manager with little experience running a team that has been together for a few years already, he’s the outsider.
What could cause mutiny on the S.S. Washington Nationals?
I expect the Washington Nationals players to give at least a little leeway to Martinez in his first year as a manager. After all, he is human and learning how to become the best manager he can.
However, the players’ impatience could lead to trouble. So many recent early bounces from the playoffs may have worn on Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, and others who have been around for a few seasons.
The way Martinez handles the pitching staff is what I foresee as the biggest challenge. Anyone can put together a lineup card for the Nationals and succeed. There’s not too much mixing and matching to do along the way.
Martinez can lose his ball club if he gives guys like Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg an early hook. Frustration can also come from incorrect choices with the bullpen. Since the Nationals have yet to add any significant outside sources to the relief corps, we may head into the 2018 campaign with trouble lurking in those late innings.
It’s never easy to manage a team with zero championship trophies. As the manager of the Washington Nationals, the job is even tougher. This is a city starved for a championship. This specific team has a huge hump to get over too, with its best chance coming up in 2018. Martinez will need to take things easy and let the players’ performance dictate his decisions more than anything else.
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If there is anything Dave Martinez can learn from Washington Nationals past, it’s that the players run the locker room. Keeping this in mind can help him keep his crew and players from throwing him overboard.