The slump continues for the Washington Nationals with yet another loss to the Miami Marlins on Saturday – their seventh in a row. Ahead of that game, they had a team wRC+ of 71 over the last couple of weeks, making them the worst offense in the NL East by quite some distance. This month, the Nationals have won just 2 games as opposed to 12 losses. Quite naturally, it’s raising alarms now, and questions are being asked. But the team manager Dave Martinez has a no-holds-barred approach, as he counters the questions.

Since 2018, Martinez has witnessed a fair share of success with the Nationals. Remember the team’s first-ever World Series title in 2019? It was Martinez who was the pioneer of it. However, things have gone down south ever since. The Nationals have endured five consecutive losing seasons now, and with a 30-40 record this year, they’re barreling toward a sixth.

Martinez is in the thick of it and is facing a fair bit of criticism. His role in the team’s ongoing decline is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. But surprisingly, the manager refuses to take any blame.

“It’s never on coaching. Coaches work their assess off every single day. We’re not going to finger-point here and say it’s on the coaches. It’s never on the coaches… Sometimes you’ve got to put the onus on the players,” Martinez said, in a brutally honest assessment, after Washington’s loss against the Marlins.

Martinez’s response was striking not just for its bluntness, but because it broke the norm. Coaches often absorb the blame publicly, shielding their players even when the fault lies elsewhere. Martinez, however, went opposite, placing the weight of the team’s failures mainly on his roster.

We still have to wait and see the clubhouse’s response to it, but it certainly didn’t sit well with the fans, who took to the social media to call out the manager.

While it’s rare, it’s not the first occasion where a manager has put the onus on his players. Ron Washington of the Angels also went hard at his players for the loss against the Tigers this year. He was clear how the men on the field should take the larger responsibility for making sure things fall into place.

But Martinez’s tone was probably a bit more blunt as compared to Washington and the fans were not amused.

The Nationals’ manager is getting called out

“Absolutely pathetic,” wrote a fan. Well, if we credit Martinez for the Nationals’ 2019 triumph, then the team’s rough patch should also be on him. Yes, the players bear responsibility for on-field performance, but a manager deflecting all the blame to them doesn’t paint a very bright picture. Moreover, team’s poor run can be the front office’s failure as well. It’s often a culmination of a lot of factors.

“It’s true, but you shouldn’t ever say it,” wrote another fan. There’s no denying it’s the players who are responsible for implementing the strategy designed by the manager. But certain things should be discussed internally. Blaming the players in media can fracture a clubhouse. A 162-game season can be managed only by rapport and relationship. Public rant might not be helpful.

One fan believes, “Martinez has given up.” But, that might not be true. His statement might have stemmed from pure frustration. Even though the Nats are witnessing a slump at the moment and sit 4th in the NL East, they still have enough time in hand to turn the tide.

“General observation, I don’t think Davey is removing himself from the blame with these comments. He’s not a coach. This isn’t a Little League,” another fan chimed in. Now, that’s a good point. Martinez might only be defending his coaching staff that includes Darnell Coles, the hitting coach, and Jim Hickey, the pitching coach. But hey, that could have been done without deflecting the blame to the players.

“Accountability isn’t blame— it’s ownership. And losing streaks don’t end with excuses,” a netizen added. Surely, it’s about accountability. It’s the manager’s duty to take corrective actions and he has to ensure everyone is on the same page, including the coaches and the players. Fans do expect a lot more ownership from a team that’s on a seven-game losing streak.