AP
BOSTON — Matt Williams, perhaps as agitated by his team’s play as he has been since becoming Nationals manager 18 months ago, was asked if Monday’s debacle of a loss to the Red Sox — officially 9-4 but not nearly as competitive as that score would suggest — might serve as a wake-up call to a ballclub that has opened this season of lofty expectations a disappointing 2-5.
“We’re fully awake, man,” Williams said. “We’re fully awake. Believe me. With all that’s been said about our club, we’re fully aware of it, fully awake.”
It was a rare acknowledgement from the Nationals manager of the pressure heaped upon his team, consensus World Series favorites despite the way it has played through the season’s first seven games.