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braves only 2.5 games back of the rockies.
OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS SEASON THREAD : Season Over. Congratulations Phillies.
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[h2]Lost at the plate[/h2][h3]Dodgers catcher Russell Martin unable to shake prolonged batting funk[/h3]
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By Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky
Special to ESPN.com
Archive
Don't ask Dodgers catcher Russell Martin to pindown the moment his swing came off the rails. He can't.
"Spring training felt pretty good, but then I don't know what happened," he says. "It's was hard finding a groove and a rhythm, andwhen I had it, it just seemed like it didn't last very long."
While the Dodgers have seen young talent like MattKemp and Andre Ethier mature into stars,their 26-year-old fourth-year catcher -- already a Gold Glove winner in 2007 and twice an All-Star (2007, '0
-- is in the final stretch of a disastrousseason with the bat, a virtual lock to set career lows in nearly every major statistical category.
[+] Enlarge
Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireRussell Martin is headed for career lows across the board offensively.
Martin's problems actually began during the second half of 2008, as his numbers dropped and he struggled to drive the ball. This year, he didn'thit his first home run until June 20 and entered the All-Star break with only 12 extra-base hits, 15 fewer than at the same point a year earlier. Nor has theproductivity of his first two and a half seasons returned in the second half. Martin will enter the final week of the season with a .681 OPS, good for 146th inthe majors among qualified hitters.
It was a fall substantial enough that Martin fielded questions about steroid use from the Los Angeles Times.
Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly suspects the power drought played havoc with Martin's mechanics, as he began losing his identity as a line-drive,gap-to-gap hitter in an effort to quickly put up sexier numbers. "After a while you start trying to get [a home run] on the board," Mattingly says."I really think he got into some bad habits along that path. He started spinning out, and it's really caused him problems all year."
Martin believes an offseason training program designed to shed weight and make him more athletic also robbed him of strength. It's not unreasonable tobelieve efforts to compensate have hurt his swing as well.
Whatever the reason, for Dodgers fans, the lack of patience and discipline common in young players feels jarring in reference to Martin, who arrived in L.A.seemingly complete with the polish of a 10-year veteran, both on the field and while interacting with media. He quickly became the pre-Manny Ramirez face of a franchise that badly needed one. Growingpains? Not part of the equation. Unfortunately, the same production that made him enormously popular around town also created expectations that have, at leastthis season, proved difficult to meet.
Manager Joe Torre believes Martin's failure to meet his own high standards left him searching for faster fixes at the plate for his slump than the gamenaturally allows. But Torre is also quick to note that while Martin's fall from offensive grace may be the dominant public narrative of his season,it's only half the story. After a 2008 season in which Torre and others in the organization felt Martin's defensive work fell short of expectations,this year Martin has bounced back admirably. Bad as he's been with the stick, he's been that good behind the dish.
Aided by the arrival of 16-year veteran Brad Ausmus,Martin has not only cleaned up his on-field fundamentals, but more importantly intensified and improved his efforts in preparation and scouting, leading to abetter game plan against opposing hitters. "It's about getting better structure and consistency, translating information into a plan and buildingconfidence with my pitchers," Martin says. "There's not much glamour in that, but it has a big impact on whether we win or we lose."
Martin's work handling the staff has helped L.A. to a 3.40 ERA, by far baseball's best, particularly impressive considering the Dodgers haveoperated much of the season with a well-publicized lack of a traditional ace and a bullpen reliant on previously unknown quantities like Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario.
His importance hasn't been lost on teammates. Ausmus says Martin's contributions behind the plate outweigh anything he can do offensively. Saysveteran utility man Doug Mientkiewicz: "We'renot in first place if he's not catching every day."
Martin hopes a strong postseason run with the stick will repair much of this season's wreckage and quiet those who wonder if his first two and a halfseasons were a mirage. "April doesn't matter in October. Or May, or June, or July. That's the mindset for me. Everything that's happened inthe past, it doesn't matter. Today matters. Tomorrow matters," Martin says.
In the end, Martin's season, while clearly disappointing in many aspects, illustrates the relative nature of value. "If somebody wants to look backand start criticizing what I did," he says, "that's fine. I just want to win today." Whether that criticism comes depends largely on whataspects of Martin's game are most valued in the context of this Dodgers team.
And a World Series, L.A.'s first in over 20 years, wouldn't hurt.
Comment Email Print Share
By Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky
Special to ESPN.com
Archive
Don't ask Dodgers catcher Russell Martin to pindown the moment his swing came off the rails. He can't.
"Spring training felt pretty good, but then I don't know what happened," he says. "It's was hard finding a groove and a rhythm, andwhen I had it, it just seemed like it didn't last very long."
While the Dodgers have seen young talent like MattKemp and Andre Ethier mature into stars,their 26-year-old fourth-year catcher -- already a Gold Glove winner in 2007 and twice an All-Star (2007, '0
-- is in the final stretch of a disastrousseason with the bat, a virtual lock to set career lows in nearly every major statistical category.[+] Enlarge
Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireRussell Martin is headed for career lows across the board offensively.
Martin's problems actually began during the second half of 2008, as his numbers dropped and he struggled to drive the ball. This year, he didn'thit his first home run until June 20 and entered the All-Star break with only 12 extra-base hits, 15 fewer than at the same point a year earlier. Nor has theproductivity of his first two and a half seasons returned in the second half. Martin will enter the final week of the season with a .681 OPS, good for 146th inthe majors among qualified hitters.
It was a fall substantial enough that Martin fielded questions about steroid use from the Los Angeles Times.
Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly suspects the power drought played havoc with Martin's mechanics, as he began losing his identity as a line-drive,gap-to-gap hitter in an effort to quickly put up sexier numbers. "After a while you start trying to get [a home run] on the board," Mattingly says."I really think he got into some bad habits along that path. He started spinning out, and it's really caused him problems all year."
Martin believes an offseason training program designed to shed weight and make him more athletic also robbed him of strength. It's not unreasonable tobelieve efforts to compensate have hurt his swing as well.
Whatever the reason, for Dodgers fans, the lack of patience and discipline common in young players feels jarring in reference to Martin, who arrived in L.A.seemingly complete with the polish of a 10-year veteran, both on the field and while interacting with media. He quickly became the pre-Manny Ramirez face of a franchise that badly needed one. Growingpains? Not part of the equation. Unfortunately, the same production that made him enormously popular around town also created expectations that have, at leastthis season, proved difficult to meet.
Manager Joe Torre believes Martin's failure to meet his own high standards left him searching for faster fixes at the plate for his slump than the gamenaturally allows. But Torre is also quick to note that while Martin's fall from offensive grace may be the dominant public narrative of his season,it's only half the story. After a 2008 season in which Torre and others in the organization felt Martin's defensive work fell short of expectations,this year Martin has bounced back admirably. Bad as he's been with the stick, he's been that good behind the dish.
Aided by the arrival of 16-year veteran Brad Ausmus,Martin has not only cleaned up his on-field fundamentals, but more importantly intensified and improved his efforts in preparation and scouting, leading to abetter game plan against opposing hitters. "It's about getting better structure and consistency, translating information into a plan and buildingconfidence with my pitchers," Martin says. "There's not much glamour in that, but it has a big impact on whether we win or we lose."
Martin's work handling the staff has helped L.A. to a 3.40 ERA, by far baseball's best, particularly impressive considering the Dodgers haveoperated much of the season with a well-publicized lack of a traditional ace and a bullpen reliant on previously unknown quantities like Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario.
His importance hasn't been lost on teammates. Ausmus says Martin's contributions behind the plate outweigh anything he can do offensively. Saysveteran utility man Doug Mientkiewicz: "We'renot in first place if he's not catching every day."
Martin hopes a strong postseason run with the stick will repair much of this season's wreckage and quiet those who wonder if his first two and a halfseasons were a mirage. "April doesn't matter in October. Or May, or June, or July. That's the mindset for me. Everything that's happened inthe past, it doesn't matter. Today matters. Tomorrow matters," Martin says.
In the end, Martin's season, while clearly disappointing in many aspects, illustrates the relative nature of value. "If somebody wants to look backand start criticizing what I did," he says, "that's fine. I just want to win today." Whether that criticism comes depends largely on whataspects of Martin's game are most valued in the context of this Dodgers team.
And a World Series, L.A.'s first in over 20 years, wouldn't hurt.
Los Angeles
formerly bright nikes
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Its kind of crazy to think of what kind of funk Russ has been in.
A season long "slump" that has shown zero consistency at the plate and the drop off stats wise.
You can see him at the plate though trying to swing for the fences or being overly aggresive on the first pitch.
He's still that dude, but like today when the game really mattered Joe took him out to bring Ethier in which helped that 4 run inning.
Get it together russ, the season is almost over and we need you just like anyone else on this squad.
Let's gooooo
A season long "slump" that has shown zero consistency at the plate and the drop off stats wise.
You can see him at the plate though trying to swing for the fences or being overly aggresive on the first pitch.
He's still that dude, but like today when the game really mattered Joe took him out to bring Ethier in which helped that 4 run inning.
Get it together russ, the season is almost over and we need you just like anyone else on this squad.
Let's gooooo
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When is Russ an FA?
TheGodFresco
formerly gsdoubleu
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congrats fellas
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Martin has two more years or arbitration after this season.
He miiiiiight be a Super Two which would give him 4 years of arbitration instead of the normal 3.
This was his first arb year, he made over 4 mil. He's most likely going to make somewhere between 5 and 6 mil next year.
edit: Martin and Ethier are both under team control through 2012
He miiiiiight be a Super Two which would give him 4 years of arbitration instead of the normal 3.
This was his first arb year, he made over 4 mil. He's most likely going to make somewhere between 5 and 6 mil next year.
edit: Martin and Ethier are both under team control through 2012
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Thanks bro
Pmac thanks for that
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#@$!@%* hate that batting stance guy
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*%%! you Martin
swinging at dirt with a favorable count
swinging at dirt with a favorable count
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Tie
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Can't even watch the celebration if they win :/. Not being home FTL
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Martin with a clutch hit WOW
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Russ
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Somebody record the celebration
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Let's get it together OX
Los Angeles
formerly bright nikes
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Today is just a weird %@$%@$# day, Niners lose with 16 seconds left to a prayer from the senior citizen who doesn't know when to retire and then Russ getsa clutch hit?
Just strange.
Just strange.
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Originally Posted by bright nikes
Today is just a weird %@$%@$# day, Niners lose with 16 seconds left to a prayer from the senior citizen who doesn't know when to retire and then Russ gets a clutch hit?
Just strange.
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this fat bum better not choke
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anyone else noticing the offbeat claps from the crowd? lol
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..........................................
i have no faith in Ox come post season
i have no faith in Ox come post season
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Exactly.
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What a hunk of %%*%*$@*.
Gave WAY too many outs away.
Ox can't close the deal.
Looking like early season Ox
What a #$!# way to blow a game.
Why do we suck so @***+#@ bad against the #%#! tiest teams in the league?
%%$@ this. Lame way to "clinch" if the rox lose
Gave WAY too many outs away.
Ox can't close the deal.
Looking like early season Ox
What a #$!# way to blow a game.
Why do we suck so @***+#@ bad against the #%#! tiest teams in the league?
%%$@ this. Lame way to "clinch" if the rox lose
