Picture this.
You’re rookie outfielder Dylan Crews. It is a three ball, two strike count in the bottom of the ninth of a 5-2 Atlanta Braves lead, with a runner at first base and the tying run on deck. The pitch from Braves closer Raisel Iglesias is a fastball around a ball and a half above the letters. You take the obvious ball, start moving to first as the pitch is called,
…strike three?
Wait, that can’t be. That ball was nearly at your head and around a half a foot inside. You cannot believe it, yet this ballgame is over because of something that wasn’t even in your control. As a rookie, you expect a veteran or a coach to be at your side when something that egregious occurs. This results in the MASN broadcast camera’s pointing to your manager, Davey Martinez, to see what his reaction is.
Or, in this case, lack thereof.
End scenario. Martinez is staring blankly into space as his 2023 number two overall draft pick jaws back and forth with the home plate umpire, prompting Nats fans across social media to think:
“What happened to this guy?”
Martinez is a manager known for sticking up for his guys and blowing up in umpires faces over questionable calls. He has had fiery post game interviews calling out umpires for their inconsistencies, even when the example in question dated back to the world series four years prior.
He has thrown flat out tantrums in the middle of games, dusting off home plate with his lineup card, laying on his belly and swinging his feet, mocking the umpire over what he thought was right to stand up for his players, even if the call occurred a half inning earlier.
In extra innings, he has outbursts at umpires, like this 10th inning interference call against the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.
Even back in 2019, he stuck up for his players. In the World Series, just a month removed from heart surgery, he flared out at an umpire over a runners interference call and had to be held back by his fellow coaches for his own safety.
Yet, he doesn’t do that anymore. He is just a shell of his former self.
Martinez has been under scrutiny for questionable lineup decisions, coaching hires, and bullpen moves for the past couple of years, yet the common consensus among the fanbase was his passion to yell in the umpires’ faces in his players’ honor. If he doesn’t do that anymore, sadly, then his time is up. If it is a heart issue that has flared up, then it is time for him to leave the team to focus on himself.
At this point, his decisions are hurting the team instead of helping, and if he can’t turn this Nats team that has lost eight of their last 10 around, then it might be time to find someone else to take the reins of this uber-talented young roster with rich potential.
