We’re learning a little more about Dave Martinez, and how he’ll manage now that he has a managerial gig in the majors, every time he talks to reporters. He’s, by his own admission, a little old school with a mix of the analytical, and he’ll mix things up a bit with his lineup according to what he’s said so far. He was asked this past weekend, at WinterFest, if he’s got Adam Eaton at the top of the lineup in his mind to start off a left-right-left-right split in the order, and he said he does like that idea in principle.
“We have the ability to do a bunch of different things,” Martinez explained.
“Do I like the left-right-left, yeah, of course, it makes it harder for the other manager to match up, but we have a lot of hitters that it doesn’t matter if you’re left/right, they can hit, so we’ll see what transpires, we’ll see what happens when we start the season.”
We also know he’s going to take some of what he learned during his ten seasons as the bench coach for Joe Maddon and apply it now that he’s at the helm.
Will the whole batting the pitcher eighth thing be one of those ideas that he takes?
“We’re going to be creative,” he said. “We’re looking at different options and different things. You might see it. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. You might see that.”
Will he set defined roles in the bullpen? Brandon Kintzler talked to 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Grant and Danny Show on Friday, and shared his thoughts on one of the times now-former manager Dusty Baker decided to break from the established bullpen roles, but neglected to tell anyone beforehand. It... did not go well:
In keeping with the #Festivus spirit, #Nationals RP Brandon Kintzler had some grievances with former manager Dusty Baker to air, four months later.
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) December 22, 2017
He did so with our @granthpaulsen and @funnydanny: https://t.co/c9xTTSKXxJ
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