The Washington Nationals closed the door on their World Series era by firing General Manager Mike Rizzo and Manager Davey Martinez on Sunday. The moves followed the Boston Red Sox sweeping three mostly uncompetitive games from the Nats over the weekend, leaving Washington with a 37-53 record. Only the Colorado Rockies (21-69) have a worse record in the National League.
Martinez had just won his 500th game as manager of the Nationals as Washington took two of three games against the American League’s best, the Detroit Tigers. That’s the most wins by a manager since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal 20 years ago. And the team is just days away from having the first pick in the draft. So the timing is curious, but Mark Lerner and the rest of the ownership group felt the move was necessary.
The Nats issued a statement from Lerner: “While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”
Certainly the “rebuild” has been going on for longer than we’d like. But say what you will about Rizzo and Martinez – and I say the Nats will never find another GM more capable than Rizzo – that pair brought us the most thrilling, improbable, unforgettable World Series championship run in baseball history in 2019. For that, they will always be remembered fondly in Washington.
Filling the GM role on an interim basis will be Senior VP and assistant GM Mike DeBartolo; bench coach Miguel Cairo has been named interim manager. They assume their duties as the Nats hit the road for a pair of three-game series in St. Louis and Milwaukee.
Wood, Gore named to All Star team
In on-the-field news, outfielder James Wood and starter MacKenzie Gore were named to the National League All Star team, each for the first time. Wood, who will compete in the home run hitting contest, has 23 round-trippers, 67 RBI and a .288 batting average. Gore’s record is just 3-8, but he is among the Major League leaders with 131 strikeouts. The game will be played July 15 in Atlanta.
In other news …
Other Nats enjoying success of late include Daylen Lile, CJ Abrams and – believe it or not – Josh Bell. The notoriously slow starter was even slower than usual this season, but Bell has been mashing the ball at a .350 clip with 11 RBI in his last 15 games. Lile and Abrams – and Wood – are each hitting .327 or better over that span.
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