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There’s no denying the Washington Nationals’ season is now in peril. The Nationals let a golden opportunity slip away at a chance to get back their season as they dropped back-to-back games to the last-place Miami Marlins, the second a 12-1 beatdown at home on Sunday. The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are struggling, as the Nats who slipped as far back as nine games behind first place in the NL East had a chance to cut the deficit down to five before the weekend was out. Instead, they’re seven back while running out of time to catch up.
A huge part of their struggles has been their fading bullpen. A bullpen that seemingly imploded overnight just when the team needed them most. In part bad pitching is to blame and in another it may be bad manager or general managing if that’s a thing. In a matter of a week’s time the Nationals lost two solid relievers in Brandon Kintzler and Shawn Kelley, and in large not because of any issues with their performance on the field but more so for the politics in the clubhouse.
Kintzler was traded to the Chicago Cubs after team officials believed he was the source of leaks to the media highlighted by a report that claimed the Nationals had a ‘messy’ clubhouse with players being at odds with first-year manager Davey Martinez. Kintzler has since denied the allegations and Cubs’ GM Theo Epstein claims the writer of the report, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, has assured him Kintzler was not the source.
Kelley was traded to the Oakland Athletics after being designated for assignment after he threw his glove down on the mound in frustration after giving up a three-run homer in a 21-run win over the New York Mets. The organization, including general manager Mike Rizzo, believed Kelley was showing up his manager Martinez for having to close out the blowout of a game.
Rizzo was adamant in conversations with the media following Kelley’s DFA saying of Kelley “either you’re with us or you’re working against us.”
On that July 31 night, Rizzo was so furious about Kelley’s actions that he confronted the reliever in the clubhouse and one thing led to another and the two had to be separated according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
“Rizzo headed down to the clubhouse and confronted Kelley, according to people familiar with the situation. The argument became heated, including raised voices, and eventually it almost became physical, according to people familiar with the exchange.Ā Adam EatonĀ got between the two of them and separated them before things could advance further . . .”
The next morning, Kelley was designated for assignment while the team worked to find a suitable trade partner that later became the Athletics. Kelley denied showing up Martinez stating his frustrations were at the umpire for urging him to slow down his approach on the mound, although Kelley starred at the dugout after slamming his glove. Martinez said Kelley was being designated for assignment because he was “disrespectful to the organization.”
Either way, the latest insight into the mess of the Nats season does not make Rizzo or the organization any more favorable. Rizzo bet on depth in the bullpen could override the loss of a “clubhouse snitch” and “showman” and as things look, he bet wrong. Rizzo approaching and nearly coming to blows with a player only gives the organization another black eye. A season that started with World Series aspirations has transformed into a circus of a year for the Nationals.
