I can say I did understand where the Phillies were coming from when they drafted utility player Michael Martinez in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2011 season. But why he continues to 1) Be on a major league roster, 2) Actually play some games and 3) Start some of them is out of my realm of comprehension. For the Phillies, a cheap utility player who could play many positions was worth a shot. But come on, now, why is he still here?
Even when the Phillies took Martinez in the draft, many were less than impressed. The blog Call to the Pen offered this scouting report of Martinez at the time of the draft:
"We’re talking about a guy who hit .253/.298/.393 in Double-A this year at age 28. He almost never walks, doesn’t boast plus power, and is merely an average contact hitter and basestealer…Yes, he’s a versatile defender, but there’s a very strong chance that Martinez hits an empty .220 in the majors next year, which just doesn’t cut it unless you’ve got Ozzie Smith’s glove."
Having watched him, I am not sure he has even Pete Orr's glove, and I wish we had that empty .220 this year. After going 0 for 4 in Wednesday's matinee, Martinez is now batting .115. On a team that thought Wilson Valdez's .200 batting average was not good enough, what are they doing with Michael Martinez?
Speaking of Pete Orr, he was on the bench and available for yesterday's game. On a day when Manuel presumably wanted a left-handed hitter at third base, Orr and his .286 major league batting average sat on the bench. As a left-handed hitter, Martinez is hitting a ridiculous .077! Further consider that the Phillies released Mike Fontenot, hitting .289, because Martinez could hit right handed at a .154 clip and it's enough to pull my hair out.
The Phillies have had plenty of AAA utility player property over the years and could do so much better. This year we have/had Kevin Frandsen, Pete Orr, and Hector Luna. In the past we had such names such as Cody Ransom, Miguel Cairo, Russell Branyan and others that were hanging around AAA in case of injury and next season they could easily find more of them.
But please, no more Michael Martinez.
