Blake Butera Says Nationals 'Played the Game the Right Way' in Finale Against Rockies
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Just a day ago, Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera sat at the postgame podium and questioned his team's effort after they were embarrassed by the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
But less than 24 hours after that 13-1 loss, the Nationals skipper went back to that same podium and sung a different tune about his team following Washington's 7-1 win in the finale that secured a split. Butera lauded his team's effort, saying "they played the game the right way."
"Today was awesome. I think just all the way around, couldn't have been more proud of the effort. How hard these guys played today. Obviously, the result, winning 7-1. But just as a whole, I think we did our thing. We handled our business the right way," Butera stated in his postgame presser.
Nationals Bounce Back After Criticism From Their Manager
What took place on Thursday should not go unnoticed. There have been some questions within the fanbase about if Butera is the right man for the job, however crazy that might be based on the fact that this team has overachieved compared to preseason expectations. And when he publicly got after his team via a statement in the media, it wasn't clear how this young group would respond.
But like they have done so often throughout the year, the Nationals bounced back in a major way. While it wasn't the prettiest game from an execution standpoint, there was no doubting that the players were locked in throughout the contest with high effort.
That is a good sign, and it shows that Butera has a pulse on the clubhouse and the players within it since he felt like he could call out his group publicly without things going into a tailspin. Of course, the 34-year-old first-time manager isn't the only one who gets credit. His coaching staff and the leaders on the team also play a role in everything going on. However, Butera gets the most heat when things go poorly, which is what has been going on throughout the month of August. So when he pushes the right buttons and gets a result -- even if it's just one game -- then he be get praised, as well.
Crawling to the finish line was a huge fear of the organization when they were weighing their decision to become sellers ahead of the trade deadline. They feared that this young team would would lose their sharpness when it became clear they had no chance of making the playoffs. But ultimately, the front office had to do what's right for the long-term health of the franchise, and that caused them to ship out some of their impact players.
Because of that, the onus was on Butera to keep everything going in the right direction on the field. While that hasn't been happening as of late, the bounce-back performance after Butera called out his team will hopefully get things back on track heading into the final month of the season.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai