Trouble and bad luck keep finding Russell Martin on the baseball field.
Once the gem of this group of budding Dodger prospects, Martin was close to becoming the face of the Dodgers.
Then 2009.
Martin hit just .250 with seven home runs and 53 runs driven in last season, both career lows. He stole just 11 bases, his lowest since his rookie year, in which he didn't play the full season in the bigs. His slugging, on-base and OPS were all the lowest they have ever been. He slugged just .352. There were players (well, at least Joe Mauer) who had higher averages then Martin slugged. Not good.
So after averaging over 140 games per season for the better part of the last four seasons, the busiest backstop in the game is shelved for a while with a groin injury and might not be ready for Opening Day. This is not good for Mr. Martin, more than anyone.
For one, Martin is a slow starter. He hit only .205 last April, and hit .167 for the first week.
He did the same thing in 2008, hitting just .197 for the first three weeks. So, we can see he is a slow starter, so missing Spring Training, especially when trying to rebound from a sub-par year, is not going to be good.
How bad does this hurt the club?
Not too bad, I submit.
First of all, it gives a chance for A.J. Ellis to play. The guy doesn't hit a whole lot, but he goes deep into counts and makes contact. He'll be a good No. 8 hitter. He's also a good defensive catcher, which is an area that Russ struggled in a year ago.
I'm interested to see what Ellis will do with his opportunity.
I'm also interested to see how much more playing time Brad Ausmus gets. He will be a great influence on Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, and he'll develop the guys battling for the fifth spot.
I'm not happy that Russ is hurt, and was really counting on him to bounce back. I don't, however, think it's all that big of a deal. I think there are other positions where it would be a disaster if someone were to get hurt.
Long story short, I think Ellis and Ausmus will hold down the fort just fine, giving Martin plenty of time to get healthy, while getting his timing down with a rehab stint.
Agreed loss of martin gives team an opportunity to get good look at ellis which could help raise his value to another team or solidify him as next years backup. Or he splays lights out and martin is dealt for the pitching we could use.
We can close the book on Brian Giles (thank god), leaving Doug polishlastname and Anderson to compete for the left handed role on the bench...and considering Doug's arm cant throw at all it should be Anderson's for the taking
I know its early but besides injuries there isnt anything really going on, but is anyone else impressed with Ramon Ortiz? Five innings no runs and six K's is better than almost anyone else in spring so far...could he be our fifth starter?
McDonald isnt getting it done!
Ya, McDonald is not working out. He's going to be labeled as a bullpen guy here very soon.
And the outfield clutter just got much easier to sort through.
i am not ready to give up on mcdonald yet as a starter, but this year does not look good...giles would not have helped anyway.