The Nats Have The Balls To Make The Moves The Yankees Won't

I’m not gonna lie, the baseball fan in me is shocked and a little jealous about the moves the Washington Nationals just made. In case you missed it, the Washington Nationals just fired General Manager Mike Rizzo AND Manager Dave Martinez, read more HERE.

The Nationals have been struggling. The Yankees have been struggling for almost a month now. You can’t compare the Yankees and Nats but, at the end of the day this is all about winning and the Nationals are 37-53 and in last place in the NL East, so they aren’t winning. The Yankees are 49-41 and three games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East now. That series was a punch to the stomach, and after being swept they have no one to blame but themselves.

The Yankees have high expectations. The expectations and the results just don’t match. The same is true for the Nationals, and I didn’t expect them to be at the bottom of the NL East. The difference between these two franchises is the Nationals were smart enough (and brave enough) to make the move. If it isn’t working, you gotta make the move.

The Yankees and the Nationals have something else in common. They both have really struggled to develop their own talent. Seriously, the Nationals haven’t developed their own talent. When I think of their homegrown talent, I think of Stephen Strasburg and Juan Soto….that’s it. The Yankees developed the Core Four back in the day. Aside from that, Aaron Judge is the next prominent name many years later. That’s it.

It’s interesting to see how two different teams, have some of the same challenges. But this is where the Nationals prove they are willing to make tough choices in hopes to move forward. The Yankees practice a business model of insanity, doing the same things over and over again hoping for a magical change in their underachieving ways. It’s what I call “wash, rinse and repeat.” It’s ended the same way since 2009. The Nationals on the other hand, made the uncomfortable choice of parting with both their GM and manager to rebuild with new leadership. 

I’m just tired of the free pass that Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone have. The Yankees had one hell of a freefall from the AL East standings. That is a result of poor leadership. It comes from Cashman not knowing how to build a championship caliber team, and it comes from Boone coddling his team, and being soft. This is not how you win.

The Nationals are smart enough to realize that, but the Yankees aren’t….and it will continue to cost them. I only hope the Yankees come to their senses and do the same thing. I’m not gonna hold my breath though….

Robert Casey has a piece coming out at noon today that you need to read! Enough is Enough.