WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo indicated during a session with reporters Wednesday that first-year manager Dave Martinez will return next season.“I haven’t considered any other scenario http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-joey-rickard-jersey ,” Rizzo responded when asked if Martinez would be back.The Nationals, expected to contend for a third straight NL East title, entered Wednesday with a 69-70 record, 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the East and eight games back in the wild card.In addition to injuries to players including Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle, Martinez’s work as a rookie skipper has come under scrutiny.“I think Davey’s doing a great job in managing this team,” Rizzo said. “He’s managed them through a lot of trials and tribulations that a lot of first-year managers haven’t had to go through, and to have a team playing with the exuberance and energy level that they’re playing at at this point I think is a testament to Davey and the staff and the way that they feel about him in the clubhouse.”The 53-year-old Martinez was the Chicago Cubs bench coach before he signed a three-year contract with the Nationals in October 2017. Martinez replaced veteran manager Dusty Baker, who went 192-132 in two seasons with Washington, but was unable to win a postseason series either year.This year’s team was 33-22 after winning their sixth straight game on May 30. They haven’t won as many as four in a row since. Both the Braves and second-place Philadelphia have played sub-.500 baseball since Aug. 15, but the Nationals have failed to make a big move, going 9-9.“We thought all along we had a chance to catch those teams,” Rizzo said Pedro Alvarez Jersey , “and if we played the way we’re supposed to be playing that we’d have an opportunity to make this a race and it’s frustrating that we haven’t put anything together to really push them to the limits that we thought we should.”The Nationals stood pat at the July trade deadline and Rizzo expressed confidence in the team as constituted, but a run did not materialize and the team has since traded away a number of veterans, among them Murphy, Matt Adams, Ryan Madson and Gio Gonzalez, saving significant payroll dollars.Outfielder Bryce Harper, who entered Wednesday with 31 homers and 89 RBIs, will be a free agent after this season and third baseman Anthony Rendon’s turn will come after next season.“If we have or we haven’t, we’re certainly not going to discuss it in this venue,” Rizzo said when asked if he’s made an effort to sign the pair to long-term contracts. “Suffice it to say both of those guys are near and dear to our heart and we’d love to have them long-term.” It didn't take a strong pair of glasses to see that Severino wasn't fooling Red Sox hitters in the first three innings. He'd given up three runs, andthe amount of hard contact indicated that the 24-year-old was lucky it wasn't worse.Even with the bottom of Boston's order due up in the top of the fourth, Boone was thus taking a chance simply in allowing Severino to return to the mound. After he allowed a leadoff single to Brock Holt鈥攈is first step toward the first cycle in postseason history鈥攖he hook should have come out immediately.Instead, Boone let Severino give up another hit to Christian Vazquez, followed by a walk to Jackie Bradley Jr.Only then did Boone signal for a new pitcher.He screwed that part up http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-beckham-jersey , too.In a bases-loaded, no-out situation, Boone's first move should have been for one of the top arms from the most overpowering bullpen in Major League Baseball history. Boone instead opted for Lynn, a career starter who's in New York's October pen as little more than a long man.The move worked about as expected, which is to say not at all. Lynn walked Mookie Betts to force in a run, and then came Benintendi's three-run gut punch.By the time Boone called on Green, Lynn had allowed another hit to put two runners on with only one out. Despite Green's best efforts, three more runs scored, and whatever hope the Yankees had of mounting a comeback was all but gone.Elsa/Getty ImagesBoone did lead the Yankees to 100 wins in his first season at the helm. He also managed about as well as he could have in the AL Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics. And apart from the first three innings of Game 1, the Yankees mostly had the upper hand in the opening games of the ALDS. As such, it's in fairness to him to note that ineptitude has not been a feature of his managing.However, there's simply no explaining away Boone's blunders in Game 3.The long leash he put on Severino might have made sense if this was the same Severino who dominated throughout all of 2017 and most of 2018. But everyone is aware Severino struggled (5.57 ERA in 12 starts) in the second half. And while he refused to break, he definitely bent in his four innings in the Wild Card Game.Boone's decision to make Lynn the first man out of the bullpen is equally baffling. If he was going to bring in Lynn, it should have been with clean bases at the start of the inning. Once that ship sailed Anthony Santander Jersey , Boone's first move should have been for a pitcher accustomed to dominating in high leverage.The Yankees have a bunch of those, including the only foursome in history to record strikeout rates north of 30 percent:Green, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman.Why was Boone slow to call on his big guns? He told reporters (including Marc Carig of The Athletic) that it had something to do with Betances' limited availability:Marc Carig MarcCarigBoone says he wanted to steal some outs from Severino partly because Betances was available for only one inning.Bring on the skepticism. Betances did pitch two innings in each of the first two games of the ALDS, but there was an off day in between Game 2 and Game 3. All hands should have been on deck Monday.Indeed, a skipper like Boone has no business being a conservative bullpen manager. He's supposed to be the new-age guy who can take the Yankees to heights they couldn't reach under Joe Girardi's more old-school approach. Creative roster manipulation, up to and including aggressive bullpen management, is supposed to set Boone apart.No such creativity was present in Game 3, which is the worst postseason loss in the history of the Yankees. Now they need to win Game 4 on Tuesday to extend their season. Even if they do, they'd then have to win a Game 5 at Fenway Park to move on to the American League Championship Series.In so many words, the Yankees are in trouble. And in this case, it's very much trouble of their own making. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphsand Baseball Savant.