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Nats GM not ready to move on from Martinez: 'Plenty of blame to go around'

Scott Taetsch / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Washington Nationals are searching for answers after getting swept by the New York Mets, but the front office isn't ready to point fingers just yet.

General manager Mike Rizzo refused to place all of the blame on manager Dave Martinez, who has garnered plenty of criticism for the Nats' poor start. Despite speculation that Martinez's job may be on the line as early as this weekend, Rizzo said Friday there will be no rush to make a change in the dugout.

"We're not making any decisions with a third of the season gone," Rizzo told MASN's Byron Kerr. "We've got a lot of season left. Davey's not happy with what's going on, nobody's happy with what's going on - the fan base, ownership and myself. Things got to get better. We've got to play better baseball.

"There's plenty of blame to go around," the GM continued. "We're playing poorly. Believe me, I'm like a lot of the fan base, a lot of the players and the manager. It's hard to watch sometimes. But we're certainly not going to pull the plug before we're a third of the way through the season."

Expectations were high in Washington before the season, even as Bryce Harper left to play for the Philadelphia Phillies. Free-agent signing Patrick Corbin has been as advertised, and Max Scherzer's still racking up the strikeouts, but a combination of injuries and poor play has left them just 1 1/2 games up on last-place Miami in the competitive NL East.

Martinez was expected to continue the Nationals' run of success that saw them win four division titles from 2012-17. However, the team finished just two games above .500 last season after he replaced Dusty Baker.

Since Rizzo was elevated to GM in 2013, the Nationals have changed managers four times.

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