Focused Martin adapting to new digs in Bronx

Revue de presse

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com, April 18, 211

NEW YORK -- Russell Martin didn't necessarily have to be a major part of the Yankees' blueprints, but as the hard-nosed catcher continues to make an impact, he may turn out to be one of the team's most delightful surprises of the season.

The Yankees scooped up Martin as a low-risk signing this winter, hoping he would be healthy enough to serve as a transition piece between Jorge Posada and a younger crop of catchers on the way.

Through 14 games, Martin has been much more, showing flashes of the talent that made him a rising star with the Dodgers before injuries had the young product of Canada questioning where he was headed in the game.

"I want to prove to myself that I can do it, obviously," Martin said. "I'm 28 years old. I don't really feel old, I don't really feel beat up. I've healed from my injuries. I feel back in shape, and [I'm] enjoying playing baseball."

Catching all but nine innings of the season thus far, Martin belted his fourth homer on Sunday for New York -- after having hit just five in 97 games last season -- and has quickly adapted to handling a new pitching staff.

A two-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner with the Dodgers, Martin acknowledged he was less than 100 percent focused on and off the field in 2009 and '10, something he was intent upon changing this year.

After signing a one-year, $4 million deal with the Yanks, Martin linked with a fitness trainer in the Montreal area, discovering many of the same techniques that mixed martial arts fighters have used to prepare for their matches.

He has seen no ill effects from the fractured right hip and a torn labrum that effectively ended his Dodgers career last August, and was blunt in his assessment of his renewed focus, saying that he "finally got my work ethic back."

"I'm just more explosive, stronger, compared to the last couple of years," Martin said. "I just worked out harder. I feel for me personally, if I work out as hard as I can, it gives me confidence just knowing that I've done everything I could to get myself in good playing shape. I think it affects my game.

"In 2010 and 2009, it's not that I slacked off, but I feel like I didn't give that 100 percent. It kind of can play tricks on you. If you hit a fly ball to right-center and it just barely doesn't make it, you think, 'Maybe if I would've done that extra set, it would have left.' This year, if I hit one to the track, I know I gave it all I got."

This spring, Joe Torre showed up at George M. Steinbrenner Field in his new capacity as MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations. Torre left behind a positive job reference for Martin, his catcher for three seasons with the Dodgers.

"The kid handles pressure very well," Torre said. "Of course, New York pressure is unlike any other pressure. But I think, with everything surrounding him, he could be a nice surprise for the Yankees."

That day, Martin pulled his old manager aside and asked what he was getting himself into. Torre's response excited him.

"Joe said this was a whole different ballgame," Martin said. "He said, 'You'll see, you'll be fine, you'll enjoy it.' I love the intensity, and that's really what I'm all about. It's going to be a fun year."

Joe Girardi also had an inkling of how Martin might adjust, having watched some Dodgers games in an earlier life as a TV broadcaster. He and Martin went to dinner over the winter, one catcher getting to know another, and the meeting went well.

"I always felt he had the potential to be a great player," Girardi said. "I saw him play at a very high level. I didn't really know his personality coming here. He's a student of the game, and that's not something I necessarily knew about him."

Girardi said that he sensed Martin's calm personality and an ability to control his emotions well.

"Sometimes when you see a guy with his stature, you think they can be hot-headed," Girardi said. "When you look at Russell, I almost think of him like a fullback, that he's going to pound into the line of scrimmage. But he's pretty laid back."

Not that Martin wasn't serious about the challenges ahead. One of his major concerns was getting to know a new pitching staff and figuring out what made each hurler tick.

He had an idea coming in of what veterans like CC Sabathia or A.J. Burnett would want to do, but wound up being most impressed by relative unknowns like 24-year-old Ivan Nova.

"It was the first time I ever had to deal with anything like that, where I had to learn a bunch of pitchers," Martin said. "It's just a lot of communication, sitting with the guys, talking to them and getting to know what they like to do in certain situations. I feel like when we go out there, we have a game plan, and if something goes wrong, I know what to do."

Joba Chamberlain said that Martin's heads-up attitude has been recognized and appreciated by the pitching staff.

"Russell's great," Chamberlain said. "He's done a tremendous job, he works hard back there. It's nice to be able to throw to somebody that takes pride in what they do, and he definitely does that."

Martin shrugs off those compliments, saying that the Yanks made his transition easier from the first day, specifically naming shortstop Derek Jeter in that conversation.

"It starts with the captain, I think," Martin said. "He's just a cool dude. He likes to joke around, keeps it loose. As far as the group, it's a good group of guys, they get along and understand the concept of teamwork.

"On this team, all they think about is winning, whatever it takes. It's just a good environment to be in."

Revue de presse publiée par Jacques Lanciault.