Martinez fighting through the pain
Cleveland Indians slugging catcher Victore Martinez has been playing pretty poorly all season. Alright let’s not sugar coat it his playing like crap and has zero homeruns through his first 168 at bats. The cause of his struggles might rest in his leg, his left hamstring to be exact.
The wait goes on for Victor Martinez to flash the extra-base power that defined his 2007 season, and a bothersome hamstring seems to the reason the Indians catcher has been unable to flip the switch.
Martinez, who had career highs in doubles (40) and home runs (25) last season, has totals of 10 and a glaring zero in those categories over 168 at-bats as Cleveland’s cleanup hitter in 2008.
His left hamstring, injured while Martinez ran the bases in Cleveland’s season opener March 31, is still an issue, manager Eric Wedge said.
“He’s trying to fight through that thing,” Wedge said Sunday. “When he hits, his lower half is real active. It all comes into play with him.
“Victor still feels [the hamstring] when he runs. It’s affected his swing a little.”
“A little” looks like a lot when the numbers come into play.
Martinez has batted better than .300 each of the past three seasons, but his average during the month of May tumbled from .356 to .292 thanks to a 10-for-57 slump, and his slugging percentage — .505 last season — is sputtering at .351. All but 10 of Martinez’s hits are singles.
With Martinez struggling and Travis Hafner being on the DL the Indians are lacking a whole lot in the middle of their order. If Martinez can’t right himself and Hafner can’t get healthy and productive soon, Cleveland’s World Series contender status will prove to be way too premature.
