So, I'm reading through the baseball notes the other day, and I come across this:
"[Russell] Martin, hitting just .234 in September, could get more rest down the stretch, reports the Los Angeles Times."
You don't say. What Grady Little has done to Martin this year should be enough to get him fired. Martin is two games away from 1,200 innings caught this year. No other catcher is even close to 1,100, aside from Jason Kendall, who still has logged about 70 innings less than Martin. Through August, Martin averaged 1.2 games off a month. Most catchers get a game off every week to week and a half. It's no surprise that Martin's production has tailed off.
As our esteemed Dodgers beat writer Dave Regan noted in the aforementioned update, other than killing his All-Star catcher, Little is also hurting his team's playoff chances by overusing Martin:
"Not that games in June aren't important, but having the team's best player resting more than normal in September during a pennant chase seems odd, but it's certainly needed considering the way Martin appears to be wearing down. He won't ride the pine too often, but don't be surprised if he gets a game or two off per week going forward."
The Dodgers backup catcher must be the easiest paycheck in sports. Way to go, Grady.
Posted by Jason Thornbury at 9/19/2007 2:33:00 PM
