More Victor Martinez, You Say? Yes, Please
by Randy Booth on Oct 16, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
in News
43 comments
I'll be the first to come out and say that I did not want the Red Sox to trade for Victor Martinez. I didn't think he'd really improve the offense at all. I thought he'd give the Sox some mediocre stats from behind the plate and at first base, but really wouldn't make much of an impact.
I'll be the first to say I was wrong.
Status for 2010: The Red Sox hold a $7.5M club option for V-Mart, but have yet to exercise it. Theo Epstein has said recently that Martinez will be the Sox's catcher next year, so the option will be exercised soon.
Sitting in the No. 3 spot, Martinez came out hot and just hit the ball. He racked up a .912 OPS in 56 games with the Sox. He didn't walk as much as he was with the Indians, but who can blame the guy? He was acquired to come over and hit the ball in the three-hole.
Martinez was also pretty lucky, as his BABIP sat at .350 with the Sox. Just a little on the high side. But his power stayed consistent with the switch. It seems like he was comfortable at Fenway Park, as his average rose from .265 at Jacobs Field to a .304 average in his new Boston duds.
I was really pleased with V-Mart's production with the Red Sox, but the unfortunate thing is that he's not a long-term solution to the Sox's catching problems. He'll probably be good for another couple of years, but where do the Sox stand after that? Do they exercise his option for 2010 and then aim for Joe Mauer for 2011? If V-Mart was 10 years younger, we'd be all set, but I don't imagine we'll see him as a Sox for too many more years.
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The option is not 7 millions
It’s 7.5 Millions (If he’s traded by the Indians).
He didn’t walk as much as he was with the Indians, but who can blame the guy?
Not exactly true if you consider the sss:
In Cleveland he had 435 PA where he walked 51 time (11.7% BB rate), with Boston he had 237 PA where he walked 23 time (9.7% BB rate).
Martinez was also pretty lucky, as his BABIP sat at .350 with the Sox. Just a little on the high side.
Martinez LD% with the Sox was 22.8%!!! When a player hits that many line drives, you’ll expect his BABIP to be quit high and luck has a little to do with it!
And could you elaborate on why you thought that a career .837 OPS catcher will give the Sox some mediocre stats from behind the plate?
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
by radiohix on Oct 16, 2009 6:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Cot's on Victor Martinez contract
if traded, 2009 salary increases to $6.2M and 2010 club option increases to $7.5M
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
by radiohix on Oct 16, 2009 6:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, his walk rate was down
Hence the “he didn’t walk as much as he was with the Indians.”
Small sample size or not, that number probably wouldn’t have fluctuated too much.
by Randy Booth on Oct 16, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
RE: "mediocre state from behind the plate"
I just didn’t expect anything out of him. I had low expectations, lets put it that way. I wasn’t a big fan of V-Mart’s before the trade, but as I said above, that has now changed.
by Randy Booth on Oct 16, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Another issue with the V-Mart trade
Is the initial reports — I didn’t want those to happen. Originally, it was going to be Clay Buchholz (plus another?) for V-Mart. That automatically turned me off from the deal. But the deal ended up being good for both times, so that soothed it a bit.
by Randy Booth on Oct 16, 2009 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is why I was against it when rumored.
I figured he would play too much at 1B, especially with Tek playing well. But when it turned out that we did not have to give up Buch, and Tek was clearly going in the shitter, then I was excited for the guy. And he came through.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
by BTLove on Oct 16, 2009 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Supposedly, LD%+.120 isn't the best predictor of an xBABIP.
Randy, you might want to try this file:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/fantasy/article/simple-xbabip-calculator/
@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 17, 2009 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The biggest plus that Victor gave the Sox
was that he took Tek’s bat out of the lineup. He also hit well for the Sox. I was against the deal because I saw Victor as mostly a 1b. As a 1b he is and will be at best an average hitter. Recall that the contending teams have Teixiera, Youkilis, Morneau, Cabrera, and Morales at 1b-all are better hitters. The other thing I did not like was that in my view LaRoche was a better fielder at 1b and arguably as good a hitter. LaRoche had a monster stint with the Braves after we traded him-he has always had better slugging than Victor with similar wOBAs.
While these things are true, the real value of Victor is that when he does catch, he makes the lineup better because we can also play Youk at first (where he is a better fielder) and Lowell at 3b. So we remove a bad hitter (Tek) and insert another good one. He is also a switch hitter with nearly even hitting splits, and a good guy and leader. Going forward, he will help the team most if he can catch and hit well when he catches. Historically his hitting splits as a catcher vs 1b are fine, but they really suffered in Cleveland earlier this year.
by Buzzy on Oct 16, 2009 8:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I gave him a B because
of his offense and team coherrency, BUT I have to ask how anyone can give a catcher an “A” that cannot throw runners OUT?? Martinez would be an “A” Mauer type equivalent (the gold standard for catchers) if he could hit like he does AND develp the ability to throw out baserunners.
by NG on Oct 16, 2009 8:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree
And anyways, there is only one catcher in all of baseball that would receive and A from me.
by Justin_Bobo on Oct 16, 2009 8:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A good point.
Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.
by Bloggy on Oct 16, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Problem
Throwing out runners has been a problem with the Sox for so long now. It seems that we can never throw anyone out. Teams just run all over us…remember the Rays this year when Crawford stole 6….i didnt even know that was possible. Letting them steal is a huge problem too…it seems that anytime someone is on first with 2 outs and has a little bit of speed they steal on us….then a base hit scores them….it hurt us alot against the angels too
by cnubsbl16 on Oct 16, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"it hurt us alot against the angels too"
No it didn’t.
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 16, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
it didnt?
im pretty sure they stole 2nd plenty of times to get a runner in scoring position. In game 2 they izturis and howie kendrick both stole second, and they both scored on a base hit (would not have scored if they were on first). I would say that hurt
by cnubsbl16 on Oct 16, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
In game 2
We scored 1 run.
And the steals both would’ve scored regardless. A triple was hit after them. Hint: If you triple, EVERYONE ON BASE WILL SCORE
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 16, 2009 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ok
Whatever you say…you dont have to be a dick about it i understand the game of baseball very well actually….maybe if we could have thrown the guy out at second there never would have been a triple hit in that inning….ever think about that
by cnubsbl16 on Oct 16, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was a contentious argument before the series, so if it sounds like USG is being a dick, thats probably why. (though I thought you were wuite civil, USG)
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
by BTLove on Oct 16, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe if we could have thrown the guy out at second there would have been 30 straight homers hit in that inning...
Just saying.
@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 17, 2009 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If we had a good-throwing catcher
People might not even try to steal. Don’t call me a dick just because I made a point.
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 17, 2009 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"i didnt even know that was possible."
How could it be impossible?
And no, it’s not a HUGE problem. If we can get the CS% up to 25%, we’re cutting down enough runners to account for the run value of the safely stolen bases.
@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 17, 2009 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Mark f'ing Wagner
40%+ my friends!
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 17, 2009 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was lukewarm to the VMart trade, not because I didn’t think he would be a fine additional but because I thought the resources were best used elsewhere (Halladay, Gonzo, King Felix, etc.), now or later. However, he exceeded my expectations, hitting and catching (specifically Wakefield) well.
I would be interested to hear from the two people on why he was deserving of an F.
by mg050369 on Oct 16, 2009 10:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Or Indian fans?
I mean, they were really pissed at us for not wanting him.
@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 17, 2009 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The initial reports had us sending a shit ton their way.
Sorry we didn’t want to give up the farm.
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 17, 2009 3:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
but
wasn’t it a shit ton for Vmart and cliff lee?
by wolf9309 on Oct 17, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They're still probably a little mad that we're not worshiping him like they did.
@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 17, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Victor Martinez
Offense was better than I expected. The thing that worries me is the way runners stole at will on him. Cleveland was not using him to catch at all. If offense was what you were after than he is a step up from Varitek. Defense though is a question mark.
by Newman5972 on Oct 16, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Victor
used to be decent at throwing runners out. I think that may have changed after his injury in 08.
by Buzzy on Oct 16, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wonder how much the injury had to do with holding runners and the back and forth playing time from C to 1B at Cleveland. Also, I get the impression the Sox as a whole don’t focus much on keeping runners from advancing.
by brogshan on Oct 16, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And since 2010 is after 2008...
…this should DEFINITELY be a cause of concern for us.
Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.
by Bloggy on Oct 16, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Perhaps the Sox can get his arm in shape again over the offseason.
He’s not so old that he’s breaking down.
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 16, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think that a good off season program, or just more reps once spring comes around would help him out.
by brogshan on Oct 16, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
problem solved in 2111
Sox get best-throwing catcher in baseball in Yadi Molina and also acquire his best friend and teammate, some guy named Albert. Both will be FA that year. Victor spells Molina here and there at C and Youk goes back to first on those days, otherwise playing third. AP, meanwhile, hits 65 balls over the Monster and has 190 RBI.
Oh, well……it’s fun to fantasize.
by ccthemovieman on Oct 16, 2009 2:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That will never happen
In 2111 Pujols will be 131, there is no way he is hitting more then 30 dingers at that age.
by drabidea on Oct 16, 2009 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
YES HE WILL
I’ll bet 1000 martian dollars that he’ll hit 35-40 taters!
"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur
by radiohix on Oct 16, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Martian Dollars aren't worth shit.
Centurai Cents or bust.
by Ben Buchanan on Oct 16, 2009 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’ve actually been loading up on Uranus yen futures for 2111. But what do I know.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
by BTLove on Oct 16, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hehehheh ...URANUS....heheheheheh
Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.
by Bloggy on Oct 17, 2009 8:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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