Martinez seems secure as Nationals manager, for now

WASHINGTON» A year after the Washington Nationals parted ways with Dusty Baker following two 95win seasons and two fivegame losses in the National League Division Series, the same Nationals roster fell out of playoff contention, undertook a onceunthinkable player selloff and is now fighting to finish the season above .500.

And yet, when asked last week if firstyear Manager Dave Martinez would return in 2019, General Manager Mike Rizzo said, “I haven’t considered any other scenario.” Asked for comment about Martinez, who was signed to the longest managerial deal in franchise history, the Lerner family deferred to Rizzo’s statement, which a team spokeswoman said “speaks for the entire organization.” Managing Principal Owner Mark Lerner felt no need to comment further.

When Rizzo made that statement, he seemed to choose his words carefully. After all, after last season he had all but guaranteed Baker would return, then ownership decided against it. By saying he “had not considered any other scenario” regarding Martinez, Rizzo left the door open for the Lerners to do so, even though he does not believe Martinez is to blame for the team’s disappointing season.

But in saying Rizzo’s statement speaks for everyone, the Lerner family is both avoiding an endorsement of its own while endorsing the one given by Rizzo. So no one in the front office has made any guarantees. No one has expressed any public displeasure or uncertainty around Martinez, either.

“Honestly, I’ve never worried about my job. I never did,” Martinez said. “We talk every day and (Rizzo) has been awesome. Ownership has been great. I talk to them. They’ve been good. There’s not one moment where I’ve feared I’m going to lose my job.”

To anyone on the outside who watched a team with World Series expectations cease threatening to fulfill them some time midsummer, that notion might seem absurd. But on the inside, the idea that Martinez deserves a second chance strains credulity far less. In a season loaded with disappointment, occasionally marred by controversy, he has not lost the clubhouse.

“Me personally, I think it’s kind of dumb when people blame him,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “Managing and coaching is so tough. Davey and our whole staff care so much, yet they can only do so much. It’s on us to do our job . . . For me, I love Davey. He’s fun. He’s smart. He’s always thinking of new ways to get better and try to work on things. I think [the criticism] is kind of unfair because we just haven’t played that well.”

If Martinez is to be held responsible for bullpen failings and too many close losses, shouldn’t he also receive some credit for this team’s late surge amid great adversity, for its recent stubbornness late in games, for an unmistakable unwillingness to quit?

“I think he’s a good man. I think he’s a good baseball man. I think in the midst of a lot of trials, he was always positive,” said former Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, who’s now with the Cubs.