V-Mart Against The Main Competition In The AL East

The team was struggling and needed an infusion of new blood. Former Mets GM Jim Duquette recently said on MLB.com that he liked to trade for a reliever at the trade deadline because they typically cost less (in terms of players / prospects) but still sent a vital message to his ballplayers that he believed in them… he believed the mere fact that the front office made a deal had a beneficial effect on the ballclub.

Martinez, 30, can be an offensive force… he is a career .298 hitter, with 103 HR and two 100+ rbi seasons to his credit. Everyone in Red Sox Nation knows the offense, in particular, was scuffling before his arrival and that the Red Sox needed a bat to plug into the middle of the lineup.

And V-Mart’s versatility provides insurance at several positions. As a catcher, he can provide an off-day for an aging and sometimes (offensively) ineffective Jason Varitek. The fact he plays first base will allow manager Terry Francona to give 1B Kevin Youkilis some occasional rest and provide 3B Mike Lowell a needed day off periodically without measurably diminishing the club’s offense. And lest we forget, he provides a backup to David Ortiz at DH — just in case Big Papi should succumb to age and / or distraction.

But a closer look at Martinez’ statistics provides further insight as to why he may have been a target of the sabremetricians in the Red Sox front office… he has performed extremely well against the Sox main competition in the AL East, albeit in limited competition as he has played in a different division. And with eighteen games remaining against the NY Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays over the next two months, you can be certain his track record was not lost on GM Theo Epstein and his minions.

Against the New York Yankees current pitching staff, Martinez is a career .301 hitter with 4 HR in 83 at-bats… he has walked ten times (a .371 OBP) and has slugged at a .518 clip against them (an OPS of .889). He is just 1-for-4 (.250) in very-limited experience against staff ace and former teammate C C Sabathia; otherwise, he has handled himself quite nicely in limited at-bats against the other members of the Yankees rotation:

A J Burnett: .250, 3-for-12, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Joba Chamberlain: .400, 2-for-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Phillip Hughes: .333, 1-for-3, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Andy Pettitte: .300, 3-for-10, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Against key members of the bullpen, he has hit .500 (7-for-14, 2 HR, 3 RBI) against lefty set-up man Damaso Marte, and .200 against closer Mariano Rivera (2-for-10, 1 RBI).

His numbers against the Tampa Bay Rays are even better. He is a lifetime .325 hitter against the pitchers currently on the Rays staff, and although he doesn’t have a home run against them, he has knocked in 17 runs in just 77 career at-bats.

As with the rest of the AL East, he has faced Rays starters fewer than a dozen times. Still, if past performance is any indicator, he may be a BIG help against the new kids on the AL East block:

Matt Garza: .300, 3-for-10, 2 RBI
Scott Kazmir: .455, 5-for-11, 0 RBI
Jeff Niemann: .000, 0-for-2, 1 RBI
David Price: .000, 0-for-2, 0 RBI
James Shields: .333, 3-for-9, 3 RBI

He has been especially effective against the Rays bullpen. He has hit .500 (3-for-6, 4 RBI) against setup man Joe Nelson, .333 (1-for-3, 1 RBI) against setup man Grant Balfour, and .273 (3-for-11) against current closer J P Howell.

Martinez’ best overall numbers against an AL East opponent are against the Toronto Blue Jays — a team that has often given The Olde Towne Team fits!

For want of a better term, he has “owned” the Blue Jays pitching staff… in his career, he has hit .372, with 3 HR and 19 RBI in 86 AB. Again, we are talking about very limited experience against the staff, but if the results hold true he will be a considerable asset against them.

He has hit well against the current rotation, albeit without ANY home runs or RBI:

Brett Cecil: .400, 2-for-5, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Roy Halladay: .300, 3-for-10, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Scott Richmond: .500, 1-for-2, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Ricky Romero: .333, 1-for-3, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Marc Rzepczynski: .000, 0-for-1, 0 HR, 0 RBI

He has hit .778 (7-for-9, 1 HR, 6 RBI) against starter Dustin McGowan, who is expected to re-join the rotation next spring training.

He has also fared well against the Jays ‘pen… he is 2-for-7 (.286), with 1 HR and 4 RBI, against setup man Brian Tallet; 2-for-5 (.400) against setup man Jason Frasor; and 3-for-10 (.300), with 2 RBI, against closer Scott Downs.

(NOTE: Martinez has hit .406 in his career against the Orioles. As he has not made more than three plate appearances against any member of the O’s rotation, I will provide this information as an editorial notation only)