ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez’s circle of trust is about to get a lot bigger — more than 30,000 a game at Nationals Park and many more watching via television and other devices.
It’s not just going to be that little circle that formed outside the clubhouse at spring training in West Palm Beach. No, the circle will widen once the Nationals take the field Thursday to open the season in Cincinnati against the Reds.
Nationals fans are trusting that Martinez will be the manager that finally gets their team past the first round of the National League playoffs, after four failures with three different managers.