Victor Martinez

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Let me preface by saying I realize he's hurt. Also, it's still very early in the season and hitting numbers will likely level out over time. Further, his babip is ridiculously low, and should if it were even average he would have twice his current BA.

Still, does anyone think we might be well served to give Martinez some time off? Maybe the cut on his hand is bothering him. Maybe he's still just readjusting to big league hitting. Maybe he's just really really unlucky. But the results obviously aren't there. Maybe he just needs to take a rest and let things settle for a few days. I don't really know. But at the moment everything he hits out of the infield seems like a soft toss straight to the center fielder, and he's just not getting the ball through the gaps of the infield. A lot of this should correct itself over time, but it also wouldn't hurt to try giving Castellanos or Tuiasasopo some more at bats.

 

[Rebbiv]

You do not sit someone like Victor this early. You let him work through it, which won't happen if you bench him.

 

[tomdalton22]

Victor is old, coming off of a very serious injury and missed an entire season. I highly doubt that he comes close to what he was in 2011. I think he will come around but it is very likely that he turns into a .280 - .290 hitter with very little power. That said...he will probably still be an improvement over what we had at the DH spot last season.

 

[turok]

NO to Castellanos, he would have to replace someone playing defense who could be sent down. VMart is FT DH. I would like to see Matt Sosoapy get more plate appearances, to keep him from getting too rusty, but Leyland can only slot him in late in games, (or once a week or so as a starter), or maybe when some games are no longer still in some doubt as to the winner (or loser).

I think that the Tigers will give VMart at least a month if not two, to heat up. and it isn't like he can't hit, he is just being mostly unlucky with some 300+foot flyouts and some liners being hit right @ infielders. Almost everything is dropping in, especially for example, Fielder, Hunter, and Jackson, but not for Victor. Miggy is typically hitting above .300, but he is not as yet homering very much, all that should change soon, as the weather warms up.

 

[spockmaster]

He might still be getting used to the pitching again, but mostly its his ridiculously low .158 BABIP. That is going to likely double, up to near his career BABIP, and so will his BA. He's had a lot of hits, especially extra base hits, robbed from him so far this year. Its not going to continue. Im not worried about VMart even in the slightest.

 

[durtymrclean]

I rather see outs in the outfield then outs in the catcher's mitt.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I'm just wondering, how does a team improve something like that. His babip is unreasonably low. In most cases that will sort itself out over time, but also sometimes guys just lose their ability to drive the ball. I really like Victor, and am happy with anyone not named Delmon Young taking over the DH spot. I'm just trying to figure out if there's anything Victor or the team can actually do.

 

[kalinecountry]

Shaking off rust from in-game pitching, and some bad luck with at least 6 solid hit line drive type hits at a fielder. The word on the cut and stitches on Victor's thumb was swinging the bat didn't affect/bother it.
12 games, let's see how he is by mid to end of May.

 

[Thumb]

We played Delmon young and Boesch for nearly 162 games last year, why in the hell would we even consider benching VMart 2 weeks into the season.

Especially when he's been putting good swings on the ball lately, just not getting rewarded for them much.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Sit Martinez, lol. And play who, Kelly? Dude will play.

 

[tigermud]

He's fine, making good contact and doesn't swing at everything thrown up there, huge upgrade over last years parade of hacks in that spot

 

[motownwebguy]

Sit Martinez, lol. And play who, Kelly? Dude will play.

Exactly!
One doesn't bench arguably the 3rd best AL hitter, in the last season Victor played. Even rookie roster hitters are most-times given the entire first month (at least) to produce satisfactorily. Most seasoned veterans are given until mid-May time-frame to snap put of "bad' slumps. prior to losing their every day roles. Annually productive guys like Victor sometimes are never benched for the entire season, regardless of their slump.

That goes for many pitchers too.

 

[tinselwolverine]

Sit Martinez, lol. And play who, Kelly? Dude will play.

Kelly?

You mean Don Kelly?

Don freakin' Kelly?

 

[Mitchrapp]

Don freakin' Kelly.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Saw Victor went 3-4 last night. Really haven't been worried since the 1st few games, he's been hitting the ball hard and to all fields. Can you imagine if this year's Victor is the same hitter he was in 2011? That 1st 5 in the batting order is just tough for any pitcher to get through.

 

[Rebbiv]

Leyland needs to sit Martinez ASAP and rest him for later on is the season.

 

[coulomb]

Saw Victor went 3-4 last night. Really haven't been worried since the 1st few games, he's been hitting the ball hard and to all fields. Can you imagine if this year's Victor is the same hitter he was in 2011? That 1st 5 in the batting order is just tough for any pitcher to get through.

The 3-4 put vmarts average over the mendoza line. Even if he is only 3/4 of the 2011 vmart, this offense is going to be a terror.

 

[lonesometiger]

4-21-13 at .167 until he starts hitting. I'm the opponent I pitch around Fielder and take my chances! Today found a win for the Angels.

 

[byco42]

The Tigers' bench is rotten. And SIX Mudhens are hitting below the Mendoza line. *BANGS HEAD ON WALL*

 

[kalinecountry]

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2013/04/22/v...ve-no-excuses/
Victor Martinez: ?I have no excuses?.
from JasonBeck'sTigersblog

His at-bat with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Sunday suggests he?s still putting good at-bats together. He fouled back three fastballs and worked into a 2-2 count after falling into an 0-2 hole. He couldn?t center one of them to send back up the middle, instead flying out to left.

It?s early, but so far, Martinez is seeing a higher percentage of fastballs than he has in the past, about nine percent over 2011 according to fangraphs. Some of that could simply be a product of the pitchers he?s facing or the early-season cold weather that prompts some pitchers to go to the fastball and try to jam hitters, but some could also be a part of the strategy against him early on.

Make no mistake, the Tigers are going to give Martinez every opportunity to get his timing back this season. Whether he hits for power is almost irrelevant; remember, he drove in 103 runs two years ago with just 12 home runs but 40 doubles. Remember, too, that it doesn?t take much run production to provide an upgrade over what Detroit received from the DH spot last season. Still, a productive Martinez is better than the vast majority of designated hitters in the league, which is all the more reason to give him time to get there.