But his team had the right formula — the great Juan Soto, who hit the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Victor Robles for a 6-5 opening day Nationals win before a pandemic-restricted crowd of about 4,800 at Nationals Park.
That select group of fans got to watch the team raise its 2019 World Series championship banner.
Winning, even during that title year, never seems to come easily or simply for Martinez and his Nats. Remember, they started off 19-31 before coming back to win it all in 2019.
And on Tuesday, nearly one-fourth of the Nationals roster was sidelined with COVID-19 and protocol issues when the team finally took the field against the defending National League East champion Atlanta Braves — six days after the originally scheduled opener.