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WEST PALM BEACH Bradley Zimmer Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Among various sheets of paper thumbtacked to the corkboard in Dave Martinez’s spring training office — Florida Kitchen Staff, Important Dates, Pitchers Work Groups — there’s one in the upper-left corner entitled Face Fear Like Bison.The Washington Nationals‘ manager came across its three-sentence message this offseason: “When a storm brews on the horizon, most animals run away from it. But bison instinctively run directly toward storms to minimize the amount of time they’re exposed to the elements. So face adversity head-on and power through whatever comes your way.”That, Martinez explained in an interview, captures the way he plans to approach his second season as a major league skipper, which begins when the Nationals host the New York Mets on March 28.“When I first saw it, I read it. I read it again. And I read it again. And I was like, ‘I get that.’ Sometimes you need to have a tough conversation or face a tough situation,” he said, punching his left palm with his right fist for emphasis, “and take it head on.”In Year 1, Martinez’s team went 82-80 and missed the playoffs, a step back after two consecutive NL East titles under his predecessor, Dusty Baker.Martinez isn’t going to pretend that didn’t happen. He can’t, of course.“Injuries were a big part of it. I really feel that. But with that being said, we needed to get better Brandon Guyer Jersey ,” Martinez said. “Better at baserunning. Better on defense. And our pitching, at times, needed to be better; the two-out homers needed to go away.”So he began the process of trying to improve during Washington’s final series of last September, at the Colorado Rockies, when Martinez brought in players, one by one, for chats of 5-10 minutes apiece.“Not only did I tell them what went right and what went wrong and what they needed to get better at — but it also was about me,” Martinez said. “I gave them the opportunity to talk about me. How do I need to get better? How can I help you get better?”Closer Sean Doolittle said players appreciated the chance to offer feedback and “communicate to him how things could go more efficiently or run smoother.”Changes have been evident in spring training.Extra defensive drills, for example.Emphasis on the sort of baserunning that resulted in Ryan Zimmerman’s run in the second inning of an exhibition game Monday: infield hit; going first-to-third on a single; scoring on a safety squeeze.No visit from last year’s infamous “get over the hump” camels.“He was open to hearing what could be done differently. That’s so important, I think. Things have run really smoothly in camp, definitely more so than last year,” Doolittle said. “A big part of that is taking in everything he learned — that we learned as a group, too — last year. We’re learning his way of doing things and what makes him tick. And he’s learning us.”Another way Martinez did that was by staying in Washington over the winter and watching videos of games from 2018.“Were there some things he would change that he did last year? That he learned from? Yes, 100 percent,” Zimmerman said.Martinez would go through a particular reliever’s appearances, say, to try to pick up something that could be useful. Maybe it was whether the pitch selection was optimal — “Does he need to throw more cutters? Does he need to throw more sliders?” — or whether there was some bit of body language that served as a tell the player was tiring.Martinez jotted down notes on paper www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , transferred them to a computer, then forwarded thoughts and questions to the club’s analytics staff in an effort to mesh what he’d seen with what the numbers seemed to say.“What I’ve seen so far,” said second baseman Brian Dozier, one of eight free agents the Nationals signed during a busy offseason of roster churn, “is he does a really good job of combining old school with new school.”Before agreeing to his one-year contract with Washington, Dozier was wooed by Martinez during a phone call. Truth is, Dozier said, their conversation wasn’t all that much about baseball or even the Nationals — much of it was about their mutual hobby of duck hunting.That’s Martinez’s way. He said he considers communication and conversation to be his greatest skills as a skipper.“The minute we get players, I start calling them up,” Martinez said. “I want to know them and what they’re all about. See what makes them tick. Build that relationship with them.”That style was shaped by 16 years as a player in the majors.Also by 10 years as a bench coach.Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, who gave Martinez a three-year deal with an option for a fourth in October 2017, calls his manager “an extremely smart baseball man” who “handles the game extremely well.”Rizzo pointed to injuries as a major factor in last season’s disappointment. Martinez did, too, but also set about finding ways to win more.“It would be easy for him to kind of sit back and say, ‘Last year just wasn’t our year, for whatever reason.’ But I think he really internalized a lot of it and is handling it in a proactive way,” Doolittle said. “That has an effect on guys here. Like: We’re not going to wait. We can’t dig ourselves a hole in the division. We’ve got to go from Day 1 — and go right at that storm.” DETROIT — Houston has lost right-handed reliever Brad Peacock to hand Josh Tomlin Jersey , foot and mouth disease for at least a week but is hopeful of getting Lance McCullers Jr. back within the next seven to 10 days.Peacock went back to Houston on Tuesday after being separated from the team when it arrived Monday in Detroit for three games with the Tigers. He had been ill but told the team’s medical staff Monday his condition had worsened.Peacock’s is the third known case of hand, foot and mouth disease in the majors this season. Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard and Yankees lefty J.A. Happ each went on the disabled list with the illness last month.Article continues below ...“We deal with similar things like this all the time, maybe not to this extent,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m not sure why this has become a thing in major league baseball this year. There’s a running joke inside about having to sanitize everything, but I’m not aware of any sort of precautions we’ve taken.”McCullers Jr. threw a 40-pitch bullpen Tuesday and will fly to the team’s spring training base to face minor league hitters this weekend. He is expected to face hitters at least twice before being able to return to the Astros.“My stuff is there,” he said. “My stuff is ready, but it’s a process. I’ve been down this road before and like I said, this timeline that we had when the injury occurred and the timeline we knew it was going to take to heal.“We have no room for error. We have no room for setbacks, because if I do I’m not going to be able to pitch later this season and I’m not going to be able to pitch in the postseason.”He hurt his forearm swinging a bat earlier this month. He will return, but in a bullpen role through the postseason.The remaining two weeks of the season will present a challenge to Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire — he’s got more pegs than holes.Installing rookie Christin Stewart, expected to play a big role for the Tigers going forward, as his regular left fielder means reduced playing time for outfielders Rule 5 choice Victor Reyes, Mikie Mahtook and JaCoby Jones. “I need to figure out how to get them all playing time, knowing the Stewart is going to play left field,” Gardenhire said. “I am trying to figure out how to get all of them the right amount of playing time. But it’s going to be harder if we play Stew every day, and that’s what our plan is.“We have center field and right field, and that’s Nick (Castellanos). Not too many options. I talked to Mikie. Reyes is always good.“But I talked to Mikie and told him Carlos Carrasco Jersey , ‘Just hang with me here. Let me get this thing rolling and figure out the best way to keep everybody swinging.’ Mikie is going to have to play some center field. And we can take the days when Victor (Martinez) is not playing and Casty can DH. But it’s not going to be easy.”Jose Altuve told Hinch before Tuesday night’s game he was going to hit right-hander Jordan Zimmermann’s first pitch for a home run and he did, leading a three-home run night that helped the Astros to a 5-4 win over the Tigers.Houston has right-hander Gerrit Cole (13-5, 2.86 ERA) pitching Wednesday afternoon while Detroit counters with lefty Daniel Norris (0-3, 5.47 ERA).Cole has had some success against the Tigers over his career with Houston and Pittsburgh. He beat Detroit earlier this year, allowing three hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings. That made him 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA against the Tigers in five starts.Norris has not faced the Astros this season and just once in his career (May 24, 2017), not getting a decision. He worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed four hits and two runs, one earned.Detroit also announced right-hander Spencer Turnbull and left-hander Matt Hall were added to the active roster, with right-hander Johnny Barbato being designated for assignment to create a spot on the 4-man roster for the southpaw.“They’re both going to pitch,” Gardenhire said, “but Turnbull, we are trying to get him a start or two, and then maybe piggy-back that with Hall. Something like that. We’re going to make it work out. Turnbull, we definitely want to see him start. Hall can go either way.”Shortstop Jose Iglesias was to have his sore abdominal muscle examined Wednesday in Philadelphia. If it is determined he can’t be ready to play before the end of the season Detroit might call up another player to give them infield depth.