Sometimes, sitting beats crouching
What would have been unfathomable to catcher Russell Martin two seasons ago and only slightly more palatable last season seemed like a very good idea to him Friday.
After starting 22 consecutive games, ranking second in the major leagues with 3232/3 innings behind the plate and leading the major leagues in total chances and putouts, Martin acknowledged he was tired and took a game off.
He put his career-best 15-game hitting streak on hold while his teammates rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium. His absence isn’t going to become a common occurrence, but he realizes that a short rest now might save him a long fade later.
“Now when it gets to the point where I feel I need a day, I’m not afraid to take it,” he said.
That wisdom has come from many sources. Smarts. Maturity. Knowing that he batted .258 before the All-Star game in 2009 and only .239 after it, and that he batted .294 before the break in 2008 and .260 afterward.
“It’s understanding the bigger picture,” he said, “and just understanding myself better too.”
Manager Joe Torre had been talking for a while about giving Martin a day off and had told A.J. Ellis several times to be prepared to play. Each time, Torre backed off.
Finally, after deciding he wanted Martin to catch Clayton Kershaw on Thursday, Torre told Ellis he would be the guy Friday. Torre said Brad Ausmus, who’s on the disabled list because of a back problem, phoned to ask when he should call Ellis to say it was another false alarm.
It was the real thing for Ellis, who had last played on May 8 as a substitute and had last started on April 27 in the second game of a doubleheader at New York. He was one for four with a run batted in, working smoothly for seven innings with starter Chad Billingsley and teaming with relievers Ronald Belisario and Jonathan Broxton for two hitless innings.
Torre said he held firm about resting on Martin on Friday because he saw Martin dragging.
“He’s such a high-energy guy. He really drains himself a lot,” Torre said. “He’s done a great job. Knock on wood, we keep him healthy, he’s going to be a big plus for our pitching staff.”
In Torre’s day, players never asked for days off. He played 161 games in 1971, the year he won the National League batting title, but by then he had moved out from behind the plate to third base. Martin caught 149 games in 2008 because the Dodgers had few alternatives and appeared in 161 games. In 2009 he caught a league-leading 1,201 innings. Over the last three seasons he caught a major-league-high 3,693 innings.
“I think we make more of resting people now than we did years ago,” Torre said, but resting Martin on Friday was inarguably the right move.
“You wind up going out there and starting to force it, you find yourself going out there and falling into bad habits,” Torre said.
The Dodgers can’t afford to have that happen to Martin. They need him to be as honest as he was Friday.
“In the past I would try to fight it and tell myself I feel good,” he said, “but I kind of felt a little fatigued. I didn’t feel I was as energetic behind the plate and stuff. When that happens, I’m trying to be smart about it now it and take a day and come back strong.”
Martin has been strong at the plate, going 18 for 59, a .305 batting average, during his streak. Part of the reason might be he’s using shorter bats this season, 33 1/2- or 34-inch models instead of the 35-inch bats he had worked up to. “My hands feel like they’re going through the zone quickly. And I choke up with two strikes every time. I feel like I can get to almost any pitch,” he said. “It feels good.”
The better he feels, the better the Dodgers are likely to feel in August and September.
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