Comments on: Hot Stove – Easy Bake Oven Edition

By: T. Hawk

T. Hawk — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:55:12 +0000

Martin is not a good hitter

By: monkeypants

monkeypants — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:22:52 +0000

[11] If you recall, he was batting close to .300 early in the season, with some HR pop.

Or put another way, if not for his super hot April, his season last year would have been really, really bad.

By: monkeypants

monkeypants — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:21:35 +0000

[11] has had a few great years

Um, he had ONE great year, which wasn’t even all that great. He’s had three consecutive not great years, and at age 28 I don”t see him trending better.

Look, he’s a solid ML catcher, above average when all is taken into account. But the Yankees really should try to see what they can get out of Montero, and in any case Martin will (should be?) gone after next year.

By: briang

briang — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:09:35 +0000

oh i just did some investigating…..i think the thing we’re recalling most vividly is the bases loaded, one out situation where martin pops up…..that was bad but shit happens. put him up there again and he gets the run in. i recall the fly balls to the warning track and the hits…..call me an optimist.

By: briang

briang — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:00:27 +0000

funny, lots of martin ALDS bashing…….what i recall though was a couple hard hits up the middle and a few deep fly balls to the track. his bat for a catcher is. 3 hits in 5 games and solid, solid contact at least a few other times. if he has five hits in that series we’re singing a different song…..somebody please remind me what he did that was so horrific in the series.

By: kenboyer made me cry

kenboyer made me cry — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:35:06 +0000

Martin had more than a few stellar games where he was the difference in the wins. He’s tough, keeps most of AJs bouncers in front of him, handles the pitchers well, and is solid nullifying the opposing running game.

If you recall, he was batting close to .300 early in the season, with some HR pop. His fall-off could be due to gained familiarity from the opposing pitchers, but I suspect that oblique injury and other nagging aches and pains took their toll in the second half. Have belief that his bat will turn around next year when he is completely healed.

He’s been an all star, has had a few great years, and will have a few more. The Yankees are fortunate to have him on the roster, and should look to keep him.

[9] I too have to watch that “we” when talking about the Yankees. I would love to be a part of the team, but besides picking up towels and handling some traveling details…what else could I offer?

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:21:29 +0000

[3] the pinch hit situation is very real.
look how washington didn’t use torealba (sorry for butchering the spelling) last night when he was a more legitimate option.

By: Bronx Boy in NC

Bronx Boy in NC — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:03:41 +0000

[3] Self-wrist-slap: I was moving fast and stumbled into using “we/us” when I should have been using “they/them.”

I have enough trouble hanging around a league where you have to pay to play.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:57:30 +0000

oh and as a follow-up i think girardi is more than willing to sacrifice the hitting portion of the catcher’s job for the backstop portion of the cathcer’s job.
hopefully not to the levels of mike scioscia, but i think more than many of us would be willing to go.

By: ms october

ms october — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:42:26 +0000

martin certainly seems to be a good defensive catcher and the pitchers did seem to like him (especially aj – though interestingly cc seemed to prefer cervelli).

a wrc+ of 100 from a catcher is not bad but it is a huge drop-off from what the yanks were used to in po’s heydays.

i think martin got too many at-bats – both from the perspective of that bat is not one that needs so many at-bats but also it seems he wore down a bit which has been his typical pattern.

i really wish they would give montero 2 pitchers to catch next year. bart wold have been ideal, but hughes and someone else besides aj or nova would be okay.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:06:59 +0000

David Ortiz as a Yankee = Derek Jeter as a Red Sox. Doable, yes, but odd nevertheless.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:02:28 +0000

[3] Yes, agree, the Yanks should work Montero into the catching mix. I would give him one of the pitchers. I think Hughes would be the best choice, easiest pitches to handle. That’s 1/5 of the games behind the plate – not a bad way to start. If earns more than that, great. If not, well at least they’ll know what they’ve got.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:00:19 +0000

I concur. While Martin’s post season at-bats were nothing less than torture only root canal can rival, I agree that his overall contribution to the team was solid and positive. I would like to see him back. He is a smart player and if he makes the pitchers comfortable, then it’s a no brainer, at least for 2012.

By: Bronx Boy in NC

Bronx Boy in NC — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:45:24 +0000

Since I’ve bashed Martin’s bat in this space and spoken up in favor of giving Montero a look-see behind the plate, I ought to clarify that I think Jon is spot-on here.

What I’d like for Montero isn’t a “trial by fire” that would leave us weak every day behind the plate and perhaps sap his morale. Just enough of an “assay” to know whether we can ever put him back there at all.

There’s a big difference between carrying Montero as a pure DH and considering him a part, even a tiny part, of the catching corps. Lots of potential ripple effects there, even if it’s only late-innings or every fifth day.

Plus in a less rational, more old fogy sort of way, I’d still like to think of DH as something you do after your defensive skills have waned or been proven absent — not something you do instead of ever finding out whether you have defensive skills in the first place. This is the major leagues, for chrissake. Grr, get off my lawn.

And I don’t want to run Martin out of town by any means. When you’ve got someone burying splitters with men on, he’s the guy I want back there. I just want a credible way to pinch-hit for him in the kind of pressure situations we saw earlier this month.

By: briang

briang — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:40:44 +0000

yeah, i liked him too, solid’s a good word. as for his fizzling in the ALDS….add him to the list wit the others. he’s hardly alone.

i predict more of the same from him as this past season.

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:28:00 +0000

I think he was solid. Occasionally gave them something with the bat but the pitchers seemed to like him and I figure he might be a good teacher for Montero. I’m eager to see him stay.