There is a cigar on the desk of Dave Martinez, the rookie manager of the Washington Nationals.
Perhaps it is there to light up after a thrilling victory, but certainly, the mood was not festive Friday night as his two best starting pitchers had a heated argument in the dugout in the fifth inning of an 8-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
During batting practice the players wore red shirts with their number on the back and the word NATIONALS, not their name. That team unity thing didn’t seem to last long.
Starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg walked off the mound and into the Nationals dugout, where Scherzer gave him a pat on the left shoulder with pitching coach Derek Lilliquist nearby.