Rick Osentoski- USA TODAY Sports
Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Detroit Tigers‘ desperation at catcher might be best summed up as the guy at 3 A.M. when the bar is closing looking for someone to take home after being rejected consistently all night. With Alex Avila and Brayan Pena hurt and with the DH spot going away as the Tigers head off to face the New York Mets, everything was in place to make the decision to go ahead and let Victor Martinez, who hasn’t caught in two years and hasn’t caught effectively in almost four, to get the starting nod tonight at catcher.
A lot has changed in the time that has passed since Martinez last strapped on his catching gear, and I am not just talking about the 500 or so trips I have made to Arby’s within that time span. No one knows quite exactly how this is going to work out, but one thing Jim Leyland is known for, is that he will take the risky move; if you question him about it be prepared to be yelled at while he is helping himself to some noodles.
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How will tonight play out? It’s either going to be a smash hit success or a train rail disaster, but more than likely it will be somewhere in between. It’s a move that some will agree with and some will disagree with, but really only Martinez and the managerial staff can really gauge their comfort with this decision. Tigers fans will have to hope for the best, because if this goes wrong it will just be another blunder that is unneeded at such a crucial point in the season.
