BUCN Perfect : The 2013 X Factor: Russell Martin

The Fort 2012 Rod the Bod 2012 Russell the Muscle 2013

Games Played 88 99 86 (so far this year)

Batting Average .233 .203 .251

HRs 12 11 10

SOs 73 69 71

SB 61 93 (worst in NL) 30

CS 13 6 27

CS% (CS/(SB+CS)) 18% 6% 47% (career high)

If this fancy little table doesn’t show you the reasons why Russell Martin has been the X Factor for the Pirates this year, let me enlighten you a little more:

1. Three of the nine walk off hits the Pirates have this year are thanks to Russ. (Barajas has one last year and Fort had none.)
2. His CS% is second in the league as well as the best in his career.
3. He is a 3 time All Star, won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and Tip O’Neil award in 2007. He’s on track to win the Gold Glove this year as well.
4. He averages 92 wins per year.
5. He has only played for a losing team ONCE in his career, that year he missed the last two months.
6. He has one error this year.
7. His fielding % as a catcher is 1^st in the league, at .999% and he is also 1^st with assists as a catcher with 73.

By far, catching has been our most improved position this season. There is no way we could lose Russ and be in contention to win anything in the post season, and especially now with Fort out the rest of the year. This morning on twitter BnGBlitz posed a question about which player the Pirates cannot afford to lose. My answer is hands down Russ. The improvements he’s brought to our defense behind the plate are countless.

BnGBlitz said that he believes Cutch, and his potential to be MVP, is the guy he believes we can’t afford to lose. Although I feel it certainly would cripple us either way, as the team stands now, losing Russ would be far more devastating. Let’s break it down…

Fort is done for the season, if Russ went down, we would have to rely on Tony Sanchez to completely finish the season. Tony isn’t terrible, but he isn’t great either. He doesn’t bring the experience and leadership that RussMart does. The loss of Cutch would obviously be devastating as well; he’s been Clutch Cutch as usual all year. HOWEVER, the impact of losing Russ would have far more potential to screw us the rest of the season. Let’s hope that neither of these scenarios come into play though… #FingersCrossed
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