I wanted to take some time to give my thoughts on the only Dodger in last night's All-Star Game from Yankee Stadium, Russell Martin. While he wasn't voted in as a starter (shame on you people!), he definitely played a huge role in the outcome as the night went on.
I didn't even realize this until I read about it today, but he caught 10 innings! Not bad for a guy that didn't even start. Geovany Soto was the starter, but he went 0-2 before coming out in the 5th for Martin. From there, many big plays were made centered around him.
In looking at how he did at the plate, he was 1-3 with a sac bunt, so not too shabby. He flew out in the 7th against Joe Nathan and in the 14th against George Sherrill. His best AB came in the 10th against Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera when he singled with 1 down. Miguel Tejada singled him over to 3rd, and it was 2 on and 1 down. Unfortunately for the NL, they blew a golden opportunity to score when Dan Uggla grounded into a DP. I think Uggla should burn the tape of this game. Not a night he wants to remember.
The sac bunt came in the 12th off of Joakim Soria to put runner on 2nd and 3rd with 1 down. But, yet again, 2 straight K's ended the threat.
At the end of the night, Martin can be very proud of his effort. He was on the receiving end of a great throw from the Pirates Nate McLouth in the 11th to gun Dioner Navaro at home. It was a fantastic play from both men. I don't care what the idiot from ESPN says, there's no way Navarro slid underneath the tag. Get some damn glasses, moron.
About the only thing that didn't go Martin's way was trying to throw out base stealers. Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Grady Sizemore, and JD Drew all took 2nd off of him. Kinsler was also the only guy to get nailed. 1-5 isn't too good, but that's not what lost the game in the end.
So despite the fact that I wasn't happy about Martin not starting, I think it was more fun to watch him play such dramatic innings as the game went on. The announcers on Fox, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, were very complimentary of his play, and they were right. It was kind of cool to see Navarro hitting and Martin catching, as they were the 2 prized catchers at one time in the Dodgers' organization. I think both of their careers worked out for the better in the long run.
Most importantly, I'm glad the whole world got to see why Russell Martin will soon be the best catcher in all of baseball. He's already on the fast track to it.
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