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| Russell Martin hit just his sixth homer of the season in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Giants. The two-run shot off Brad Penny represented the only Dodger runs and was Martin's lone hit on the day. |
Our View: Martin's line this season (.258/6/48) looks extremely bad for a franchise player. Especially when compared to what he did in 2007 (.293/19/87), which is what he's capable of. He's trended down the last two seasons now.
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| Russell Martin provided the big blast Thursday night with his sixth inning grand slam, as the Dodgers rebounded from losing two of three to the Cardinals to beat the Cubs 7-2 at home. |
Our View: The four RBI give Martin just 38 on the season, putting him well on pace to set a career low in the category. The 65 he drove in as a rookie in 2006 is his current low.
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| Russell Martin hit his first home run since July 10 on Sunday, but it came in a losing effort, as the Dodgers lost 8-6 to the Marlins at home. |
Our View: Martin has had a prodigious power outage in 2009, slugging only three in 313 at-bats. He is also just 8-for-14 on stolen base attempts, and looking not at all like the elite catcher he was in 2007 and 2008.
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| According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Russell Martin's offensive struggles have caused the Dodgers to sit him for the next three days. |
Our View: The team is calling it a mental break. Martin is hitting just .192 in June and has struggled all season with a .247 average and hit for very little power. He now joins A-Rod and Jimmy Rollins on the list of high profile fantasy players that have been benched due to poor performance. At least the Dodgers aren't calling it anxiety. Martin is set to return to the lineup on Friday.
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| Russell Martin finally hit his first home run of the season on Saturday as the Dodgers beat the Angels 6-4. Martin went 3-for-4 with the homer, two runs scored, and an RBI in the win. |
Our View: Martin has been a major disappointment this season, but maybe his power will start to take off now that he has the first one in the books. He is still a solid fantasy catcher, but if the power comes he will return to elite status.
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| Dodgers catcher Russell Martin will not be in the starting lineup tonight according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Manager Joe Torre says that it is just a scheduled day off. Brad Ausmus will start in his place.
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| Russell Martin was 3-for-6 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base in Monday's 16-6 win over the Rockies. |
Our View: Martin has not yet lived up to the lofty expectations that he had entering the season, but he is having a much better May than April. All five of his stolen bases have come this month and he is hitting .349 compared to just .205 in April.
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| Russell Martin didn't see a lot of pitches to hit, but was still a big factor in the Dodgers' 8-0 win over the Giants. He was 1-for-1 with three walks, a run scored and a stolen base in the contest. |
Our View: Martin has been struggling this season. His average is at .275 and he has yet to hit a home run. He's still getting on base at a .393 clip, but is slugging like Scott Podsednik (.324). Hopefully he turns it around soon.
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| Russell Martin was dropped to sixth in the order on Saturday after being benched on Friday. The catcher responded by going 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored in the Dodgers 6-5 win over the Rockies. |
Our View: Martin has gotten off to a slow start in regards to his batting average (.241). However, he has accumulated 10 runs and 10 RBI providing some value to his owners. April figures to be an abnomally and better months are on their way.
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| According to MLB.com, Russell Martin is on the bench for Friday's game against the Rockies. Veteran catcher Brad Ausmus took his spot. |
Our View: Martin doesn't hit Rockies' starter Aaron Cook well (1-for-18 in his career) and for the second time in a week he's riding the pine with Cook on the mound. Don't worry though. Martin is healthy as a horse and should be in the lineup tomorrow.
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| Catcher Russell Martin and shortstop Rafael Furcal will sit on Saturday, and the Dodgers will start Brad Ausmus and Blake DeWitt in their places, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. |
Our View: Manager Joe Torre is simply giving some regulars a rest early in the season. There are no injuries related to these probable moves.
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| Russell Martin has been scratched from today's lineup with a case of the flu, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. |
Our View: The elite fantasy catcher should be fine with just a bit of rest.
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| Russell Martin was 1-for-4 on Saturday with a two-run homer and a stolen base. The home run was his third of the spring. |
Our View: Martin is tearing up spring pitching with a .391 average, three bombs and nine RBI. He is arguably the top fantasy catcher in the game and is certainly showing why. Expect an average near .300 with 20 home runs, 80 RBI and close to 20 steals.
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| Russell Martin collected his second home run of the spring in the Dodgers 7-3 win over Milwaukee on Saturday. He was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. |
Our View: Martin is arguably the best fantasy catcher in the game. He is set to hit No. 2 in the Dodgers' lineup just ahead of Manny Ramirez. The result could be his best season yet, although he may not get the green light as often.
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| Catcher Russell Martin batted 2-for-2 with 3 RBI and a pair of runs scored in Thursday's 16-7 victory over the Giants. |
Our View: Martin also hit his first home run of the spring Thursday. He finished among the top 10 catchers in league last season with his 13 home runs.
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| Russell Martin had an MRI on his foot, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. However, the results came back negative. |
Our View: Martin is participating in usual drills since the exam was negative. It was just a precaution, but it appears that he'll be fine to start the season.
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| The Dodgers have avoided salary arbitration with Russell Martin by signing the catcher to a one-year deal worth $3.9 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. |
Our View: The deal is now the largest ever given to a catcher in his first year of arbitration, but Martin is one of only a few ranked in the elite class.
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| Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti stated that the rumor that Russell Martin is on the trading block is not true, according to the LA Times. The team is also not going to move him to third base, which was also part of the rumor. |
Our View: Martin is one of only a few elite catchers in the majors, and it did seem odd that the team would intend to trade him or move him to third.
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| Peter Gammons of ESPN states the Dodgers intend to either trade Russell Martin or move him to third base. |
Our View: There is speculation that the Dodgers are interested in free agent catcher Jason Varitek. If Martin is to be traded there are several potential suitors, such as the Blue Jays and Phillies.
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| Russell Martin had a poor playoffs highlighted by a terrible .200 batting average and a whopping 10 K in just eight games for the Dodgers. Martin also knocked in just one run over his last five games. |
Our View: Martin struck out just 83 times in the regular season, a rate of one every 6.66 AB, but that number tumbled to one every three AB in the playoffs as he, and his mates, had a disappointing end to the 2008 campaign.
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| Russell Martin's only hit of the night was a ninth inning solo home run off of Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis on Wednesday night as the Dodgers took Game 1 of the NLDS in Wrigley 7-1. |
Our View: On a night the wind was supposed to keep the ball in the park, Los Angeles hit three home runs. Martin had a mere .396 slugging percentage this season but 10 of his 13 home runs came after the All-Star break.
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| Russell Martin hit a pinch-hit two-run home run off of Brian Wilson in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers the lead over the Giants 6-5 on Friday. The Giants were able to come back and win the game in 10 innings. |
Our View: Martin is still hitting just .257 this month since being moved to the top of the order but he is doing his job well. His on-base percentage is a healthy .436
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| Russell Martin is hitting second tonight, with Matt Kemp occupying the leadoff spot. Martin has been in the leadoff spot lately. |
Our View: Martin has just one hit in his last 11 at-bats but has been walking a lot, so this was likely Joe Torre just shaking things up a bit for a team that got shut out on Sunday.
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| Russell Martin reached base five times on Friday night, twice on walks. He scored three times, had an RBI and stole his 15th base of the season. Andre Ethier also had five hits in the game. |
Our View: This was by far Martin's best game batting leadoff. The Dodgers will need him to adapt to the role quickly if they intend to make a run at the postseason.
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| Russell Martin may be tiring, according to the LA Daily News. He batted eighth in the lineup for the third time this month Sunday, and entered the day with one hit in his last 12 at-bats. Manager Joe Torre said, "It's not hurting him to bat eighth, let's put it that way. I don't think it's any magic formula right now. We need to win ballgames, and he seems to be all right hitting eighth." Martin had thrown out only 15.5 percent of the runners who had tried to steal on him, putting him last in the majors among everyday catchers, and the 77 steals against him were the fourth-most among all major league catchers. Last year, when he won the National League's Gold Glove as the best defensive player at catcher, Martin threw out 30 percent of the runners who tried to steal on him.
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Our View: His decline is believed to be due to fatigue. He should still remain active in all lineups at a thin position, and hopefully he can finish the year strong in September.
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| Russell Martin isn't interested in going the Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitski route in having the Dodgers buy out his arbitration years, according to the LA Daily News. The Dodgers have approached Martin about an extension, but the catcher has rejected the overtures on the advice of his agent, Bob Garber. "I don't really even worry about stuff like that," Martin said. "It's not my concern. That's (the agent's) job." |
Our View: Martin is making only $500K this year but figures to qualify as a "Super Two" player next year, at which point he would be due for a big raise.
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| The NL reserves for the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium have been announced, according to MLB.com. They are catcher Russell Martin (Dodgers), first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (Padres), second baseman Dan Uggla (Marlins), third baseman Aramis Ramirez (Cubs), shortstop Miguel Tejada (Astros), and outfielders Matt Holliday (Rockies), Nate McLouth (Pirates) and Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals). Manager Clint Hurdle also selected shortstop Cristian Guzman (Nationals), catcher Brian McCann (Braves), and first baseman Albert Pujols (Cardinals).
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Our View: The final vote candidates are third baseman David Wright (Mets), and outfielders Pat Burrell (Phillies), Corey Hart (Brewers), Carlos Lee (Astros) and Aaron Rowand (Giants).
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| The Dodgers and Astros engaged in extra innings this evening to decide the winner of their matchup, and it was LA that emerged victorous, 7-6, thanks to the work of catcher Russell Martin. Martin went 3-for-5 at the plate with one walk, his 15th double and his ninth homer of the season to total three RBIs and three runs scord on the night. |
Our View: Martin posted a lackluster .267 average through June and was especially cold coming out, going 3-for-15 over the final five games of the month. He's hitting the month of July with an early surge of offense. Let's see if he can keep it going.
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| Russell Martin went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers. |
Our View: That was only his second homer in June, and his sixth of the season. He is still hitting a solid .311 for the season, and remains in the top class among fantasy catchers.
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| With Andy LaRoche and Blake DeWitt in place, Russell Martin likely won't see any more time at third base, the Los Angeles Times notes. Martin has played six games at the hot corner. |
Our View: It would be a luxury for Martin to have third base eligibility in fantasy leagues, and the extra spot did offer a chance for extra at-bats. But this isn't a huge deal. Russell remains an elite backstop.
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| The Dodgers treated their brothers to the south to a 7-2 whooping this evening, dropping San Diego despite a strong start from Greg Maddux. Catcher Russell Martin was the weapon of choice, going 3-for-5, all singles to total three RBIs and two runs scored on the night. |
Our View: Martin was 0'fer through four games but now has seven hits over his last three, touting six RBIs as well.
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| Russell Martin had three hits, including his fifth home run of the season, for the Dodgers on Saturday. Martin scored twice and was able to knock in three runs in the outing. |
Our View: Even with this effort, Martin has only five home runs and 25 RBI putting him on pace to hit roughly 13 home runs with 70 RBI, which would be a big time step down from his work last season (19-87). He is hitting .316, but the rest of his performance is a bit disappointing including just five SB.
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| Russell Martin went 4-for-4 with three RBI in Friday's 9-5 win over the Mets. One of his hits went for a solo home run (off John Maine). |
Our View: He raised his average to .326 and now has four homers and 23 RBI over 54 games, with 12 of his RBI coming in May.
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| The Cubs and Dodgers battled to extra innings this evening as the team aces went head-to-head in a pitchers duel, and in the end it was the Cubs pulling away in 10, 2-1. For the Dodgers, catcher Russell Martin provided the only relief for fantasy owners, going 3-for-5 at the dish with three singles and one run scored. |
Our View: Martin is hitting a strong .326 through March with 31 total bases through the month.
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| Russell Martin will be given the night off Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Danny Ardoin will start at catcher, which will be his first start of the season. |
Our View: Manager Joe Torre gave him the option of taking a rest on Monday or Tuesday, and he chose tonight. Adjust your lineups accordingly.
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| Russell Martin is starting at third base today in place of the injured Blake DeWitt, according to the LA Daily News. DeWitt was scratched due to lower back pain. |
Our View: Martin is hitting .302 with three homers and 15 RBI over 39 games. His bat will match DeWitt's, and he is not foreign to third base, as he has been tried there a bit before. This will be his fifth game there (usually in place of the injured Nomar), and some leagues only need five games played at a position for fantasy designation.
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| Russell Martin had three hits on Tuesday night to boost his batting average to .302 for the Dodgers. |
Our View: The average is there, but most of the other marks are a bit down this season including his home run, runs scored, RBI and SB pace, though to be fair, expecting another .293-19-87-87-21 season really wasn't that reasonable to begin with.
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| Russell Martin is starting at third base tonight as the Dodgers play Colorado at Coors Field. Gary Bennett is starting behind the plate. |
Our View: It is Martin's first career start at third base.
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| Russell Martin hit his third home run of the season on a night when he went 2-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored. |
Our View: Martin now has a hit in 7-straight games to push his average up to .292. So much for that slow start.
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| Russell Martin will bat second in the Dodgers lineup on Monday in an attempt to break him out of his early funk, this according to the Los Angeles Daily News. ``He is grinding the (heck) out of the bat, and I want to see if we can help him on the timing part of it,'' manager Joe Torre said. |
Our View: No Juan Pierre tonight, and Andruw Jones, another slumping bat, will hit out of the eighth spot behind James Loney.
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| Russell Martin is trying to break out of his April slump. In Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Braves, the LA catcher accounted for the only Dodgers offense hitting a home run off Jair Jurrjens in the fourth inning. |
Our View: It was Martin's second home run of the season, and his Sunday RBI game him six on the season. These numbers are far from what is expected of the talented hitter.
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| Dodgers catcher Russell Martin has been scratched from today's starting lineup as manager Joe Torre has handed the job to Gary Bennett for the day, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. When asked the reason for the decision, Torre commented, "(Martin) wasn't happy, and I didn't expect him to be. When I talked to him the first time in spring training, trying to find some formula for resting him, he didn't want to have the conversation about it. It's definitely all feel now. If you want him in August and September, I think it's important we (rest him)." |
Our View: Martin has struggled at the plate in the early going, batting just .196. Torre also noted Martin is pushing too hard, citing a bad decision to attempt a freelance steal of second base on Friday night (easily thrown out on the play). All of that has led Torre to give Martin a day of rest.
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| Russell Martin fell to .196 on the year thanks to an 0-for-3 outing on Friday night in which he was also thrown out on the bases. |
Our View: Martin also limped home to end last season and now has just three HR with eight RBI while hitting just .234 over his last 40 games. Its' not time to panic, but it's certainly time to be concerned.
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| Russell Martin had a tough day at the plate against the Angels on Saturday as he went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. His spring average sits at .208 but his starting job is safe following his breakout 2007 campaign. |
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| Russell Martin spent time working out in Arizona over the offseason and has reduced his body fat percentage. "I feel more explosive," Martin said in the LA Times. Martin is arguably the top fantasy catching option this season. He wore down a bit at the end of the year, so perhaps being in a little better shape will help him sustain his success through September. |
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| Russell Martin went 2-for-4 with two runs on Thursday night. He missed Wednesday's contest due to a sprained left knee. "I feel fine," Martin tells the Los Angeles Times. "I was running 100%, I was swinging pretty good. It felt like any other day." |
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| Dodgers catcher Russell Martin underwent a precautionary MRI on his knee after suffering an injury Tuesday night. The MRI came back negative, although Martin did not play in Wednesday’s game against the Cubs. "Hopefully he'll be ready to play tomorrow," manager Grady Little told the Associated Press. |
Our View: Martin should be back in the lineup in the next couple of days.
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| Russell Martin will take Sunday off to get some rest, so Mike Lieberthal will catch starter David Wells. "We've got a quick turnaround to play on Monday night in L.A.," manager Grady Little told the LA Times. "We think it's a good opportunity to give Russell a break." Russell has caught more games than any other player in baseball thus far, having started all but 12 of the Dodgers' contests, so he could clearly use a day off to rest up. |
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| Russell Martin was given a routine day off Saturday, the AP reports. "Two days off will do Martin good," Grady Little said, noting the Dodgers have an off day Monday. It's strange to see Little resting Martin so much here given that the LA skipper hardly rested Martin in the first half of the year, and the Dodgers had Friday's game rained out. |
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| Russell Martin was set to sit out Friday's game before the contest was rained out. Martin is nursing a sore back, according to the LA Times. "I've been kind of grinding it out the last couple of days," Martin said. "Normally, I don't like days off at all, but I'm going to cherish this one." Martin is expected to play Saturday and Sunday before resting when the Dodgers are off Monday. He's hit just .146 since July 16, so hopefully he can shake the injury off with a little rest and turn things around at the plate soon. |
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| Russell Martin was able to play Saturday despite an injured forearm. He was hit there by a pitch during Friday’s game against the Giants. When healthy, Martin must remain in your lineup.
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| Russell Martin sat out Sunday's game with a stiff neck, according to the AP. Mike Lieberthal picked up a rare start and had one hit in four plate appearances. Martin will likely be back in the lineup on Tuesday after Monday's off day. |
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| Russell Martin leads all NL catchers in average (.321), runs scored (31), RBIs (33), stolen bases (eight), walks (21) and hits (51), the AP reports. |
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| Russell Martin has only sat out two games so far and backup catcher Mike Lieberthal has just 10 at-bats, the Los Angeles Times reports. Martin was originally scheduled to get Tuesday off, but after catching Saturday night and then getting Sunday's marathon day game, it's plausible the off-day for Martin could be shifted to Monday. It's not difficult to see why Grady Little is reluctant to sit Martin - the second-year catcher is off to an outstanding start in 2007, with a .314 average, 17 runs, two homers, 18 RBI and five stolen bases. |
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| Russell Martin is hitting second for the Dodgers Monday with Rafael Furcal out. Martin was tentatively slotted in the No. 6 position before Furcal's injury, and Martin will probably slide back down in the order when Furcal is ready to play again. |
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| Russell Martin is tentatively slated to bat sixth this year, as Grady Little likes his potential as an RBI man, the Dodgers official site reports. The batting order on paper currently looks like this: Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre, Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, Luis Gonzalez, Martin, then Wilson Betemit and Andre Ethier batting seventh and eighth in some order. |
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| Russell Martin made his ninth start in ten days Thursday, despite the fact that the Dodgers were playing a day game after a night game, the Los Angeles Daly News reports. Martin, who as a minor-leaguer never continuously played a season this long, has started 99 of the Dodgers' 117 games since he was recalled May 5. "Right now, he still has a lot of life in his body," manager Grady Little said. "We're keeping a close eye on him, but right now, he is still doing a good job. We talk to him every day. We have learned to read him well enough to where we can tell (when he needs a break)."
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| Russell Martin was given the night off Thursday, the Dodgers official site reports. "We had a tough travel night, and the amount of effort he puts forth, he needs a break," manager Grady Little said. |
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| After bruising his wrist on Tuesday, Russell Martin was back in the lineup on Thursday, according to the Dodgers website. He went 1-for-3. |
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| Russell Martin missed Wednesday's game after being hit on the wrist by a pitch on Tuesday, according to the Dodgers website. He is considered day-to-day. Martin was replaced in the lineup by Toby Hall. |
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