Blake Butera Held Important Team Meeting to Address Mistakes Nationals Have Made

The Washington Nationals skipper had it with his team's mistakes.

Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

When Blake Butera was hired to be the Washington Nationals manager, one of the things he stressed was holding players accountable as he tries to instill the culture he wants in the nation's capital.

Even though the season is early, there have been multiple instances of mental mistakes being made. A prominent one happened during their first series of the year when CJ Abrams stared at a ball instead of running out of the box. Butera said things didn't need to be fully addressed since Abrams knew he messed up, but since that time, there have been other mistakes made by multiple members of this team that seemingly created a tipping point for the skipper.

Following the Nationals' extra-innings loss on Saturday where there were tons of self-inflicted errors that resulted in their defeat, Butera made it clear that there was going to be a team meeting.

Blake Butera Called Team Meeting to Address Mistakes

Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera on the mound with multiple players | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

"There's a lot to take away from that game that we're gonna unpack as a team tomorrow," he said to reporters following the 7-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants this past Saturday. "... there's a lot of teaching moments in that game today and a lot of opportunities for us to learn from things that happened throughout a lot of that game. Things we did OK, things we didn't do well, things that we need to do better if we wanna be a winning ballclub. And those are things that we're gonna talk about tomorrow."

It was telling that Butera flat-out stated they were going to have a team meeting where they went over the mistakes that were on display throughout that game. Some criticism has been levied at the skipper for a perceived lack of holding his team accountable like he said he would. But it's not always clear to fans what is discussed behind closed doors when those things aren't told to the media. However, Butera shared some insight into how that team meeting was going to operate.

Blake Butera Gave Some Insight Into Their Team Meeting

Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera speaking with his players | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

"That's why we like to do these group settings. We talk to the player first and say, 'Hey, there's a good chance you're gonna be on the screen in front of the team in a negative light, just giving you a heads up now, we're not trying to call you out,'" he shared ahead of the finale against the Giants. "... So it's a good opportunity to make sure we understand where we can be better and also make sure the player understands, 'You made a mistake. We understand. We're not trying to bury you. But we all need to learn from these mistakes and make sure they don't happen again.'"

One of the main mistakes that stood out this past Saturday was when Curtis Mead was tagged out at third base in the bottom of the ninth inning because he didn't slide. Instead of having runners on first and third with a chance to win the game, the Nationals went into extras where they lost.

Butera said that mistake was going to be something that was highlighted in the team meeting on Sunday. But instead of burying Mead on the bench because of his blunder, he remained in the starting lineup for the finale and delivered a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning that propelled Washington to victory.

It's clear that playing disciplined baseball is going to be a work in progress for this young team. And until it gets fix, this is going to be something that Butera has to address throughout the season. But the early returns were positive after he held this important team meeting, and hopefully it helps them get to the point where they are consistently playing winning baseball.