WHY RUSSELL MARTIN HAS BALLS

(Photo: Getty)
Russell Martin has been a pleasant surprise, has he not? The guy started strong and while his bat cooled off during the season a bit, he’s showed quality defense behind the plate and has really demonstrated leadership when it comes to harnessing the Yankees pitching. Yes, Pitchers throw ball games, but catchers call them and Russell Martin calls a good game and has most of the season. While his average has been low, ,236, his homer are decent for his first year in the American League with 17. He also has an on base percentage of .323, 17 doubles and 62 RBIs.

But not only that stuff, the guy's got balls. It takes a real man to step forward ahead of the Yankees P.R. machine and say how they REALLY feel about the Red Sox. Andrew Marchand has the full story HERE about Russell Martin and his true hatred toward the Red Sox. I have some of his damn good quotes:

"Anything to get the Red Sox out would be awesome for me, because I hate the Red Sox."

"They are fun to play against because they have a quality team and they are gritty and they play hard and stuff, but I would love to see them lose."

Look, this may not be the "Yankee Way", but you have to hand it to him, we’ve been longing for a New York Yankee to say something vicious toward those Sox. The corporate line is fine, but going balls out against a division rival verbally, well, that gets the fans really amped up, and I like it.

Martin has developed into a true Yankee animal, he’s got the hunger that so many Yankees have had before him. Look, it’s no secret, I was excited when Russell Martin came to the Yankees, to me, it was a big deal. For one, it was the end of the Jorge Posada era, which was sad, but I was willing to turn the page, after all, Posada was still going to be there. Secondly, when healthy, I knew Martin would be a great asset.

Since day 1 in the Spring, Russell learned what the Yankees were all about, he confided in Jorge and learned the pitching of the Yankees. No doubt, it hasn’t been easy, we have a lot of personalities in our rotation, not to mention a language barrier some times. Luckily, they all speak the language of baseball and once Martin saw what he had to work with, well, he went to work.

Martin’s bat has been pretty decent this year, it's about what I expected in his first season. OK, maybe the homers could have come more often, but so be it. Now, in fairness, Curtis Granderson didn’t exactly have a great first season on the Yankees. He experienced slumping, low average and a lack of power, but to me, a 1^st year on new teams is a time for adjustment. Some players just jump right in and start clubbing homers, but there is a learning curve. Again, I bring up Curtis Granderson because it’s the perfect example. It wasn’t until after the All-Star break last year and alittle tweak by Kevin Long that Granderson became red hot and that overlapped to this year where he's having a monster season. Perhaps, Martin will need alittle extra time on that front.

A lot can be said about Russell Martin, but the title of leader comes first. He’s had a stress dealing with new pitchers and a new city and he's done a great job. Couple that with venom against a bitter rival, the Sox, and we see someone not afraid to lead a Yankee team in the next several days to the finish line with a goal of possibly winning almost 100 games. The Yankees post season begins soon and a lot of credit needs to go to Russell Martin. He’s had tremendous patience, tremendous balance of personality, plus, he’s hungry to destroy the Red Sox. Bottom line, if you had any reservations about Russell Martin before, it must have changed now I hope. Martin should be rewarded on a job well done. Plus, I love that he has guts to speak his mind. Pure guts.

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