In 34 at-bats this spring, Fernando Martinez is batting .294.
In a report on Martinez in the Journal News, John Delcos talks with David Wright, Tony Bernazard, Omar Minaya, Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez about the young outfielder’s future, work ethic and personality.
Willie Randolph, on Martinez, talking to reporters yesterday…
“Well, I’m just enjoying watching him. I mean, I’m not looking for him to show me anything. He’s a young player with a long way to go. It’s just nice to be able to see him play consistently…Every one knows he has the potential to be a good hitter, he has a nice approach for a young player, and he’s learning how to play defense, among other things. But, he’s really too young, I don’t look to evaluate him really because you have to see what he has first. When I’m looking at him now, I’m just trying to see what he’s all about. The potential is there, like I said.”
In a post to Dugout Central, Jesse Santos lists Martinez, along with Lastings Milledge, among others, as the top prospects in the National League East.
{ 35 comments }
Willie: I like my players to be at least 26 before I start evaluating them. Why bring them up when they’re young, even if they do happen to show that they’re capable of handling themselves? To be honest, I’ve been making a conscious effort to not even look in the direction of Martinez yet. I don’t actually like to physically look at a player until they’re 22. At that point. I do a few years of evaluating, and once they earn their stripes, then I relegate them to bench duty. That’s just the way I am. Call me old-school.
Downtown isn’t ready yet
“what did you tell him”
“i told him to go downtown”
“you did what!?”
reyes and wright played full-time under willie at age 22. joe smith pitched out of college last year. in fact, he was used every other day in april.
clear bias.
Willie Randolph was the regular 2b for the Yankees by the age of 21. His backup in his first season with the Yanks? Sandy Alomar.
If you didn’t catch on to the lighthearted nature of my comment, you’re a moron. Remove the pole from your a.ss, and have a nice day.
that is funny.
you know you would think randolph didn’t get a shot til he was 30.
he was the starting 2b for yankees at the age of 21!
i am normally a Willie defender, but it’s impossible to defend a statement like this. it’s just plain dumb. i’m gonna start calling him Willie Scalia for having his head stuck up his traditional butt.
Willie has always been one to hold praise for a young player…Remember how he was toward Wright in 2005?
I see it as him trying to temper expectations on the young player, because in a place like New York, expectations can easily grow too high, especially with your manager singing your praises…I like his approach in the sense that he makes the kids feel like they need to earn it by being solid all-around
Kinda like “the black Ted Williams” label slapped on Strawberry?
I still think that held him back from reaching his true potential and messed up his head.
All the talk about needing another outfielder to spell Alou…
Why don’t we just give Martinez a shot. Who’s it going to hurt in April and May?
Jesus Willie sounds like hes retarded – nothing he says makes any sense
i dont think fmart should be in the bigs yet bc he is still young. but what willie is saying is just so stupid. how about “he really looks like a promising player, it will be nice to see him blossom and contribute to the big club in the future” no instead he almost makes it seem like he wants him to fail so that it proves the point that all young players suck until they turn 26 then they are automatically good. and once they turn 30 they are locks for starting jobs.
Or maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t want F-Mart to be producing any thoughts in the back of his mind, thinking that he’s either already made it or that he has an easy road to the Bigs.
Do you people realize that Reyes and Wright are 24/25 yrs old? And what team are they starting for???
You people are like little jr. high school girls… every quote from anyone even remotely associated with the team turns into everyone on here bashing them for it — either b/c they’re not positive enoough, or they’re not negative enough for you.
I really need to stop reading the comments section… too aggrevating.
If you don’t see the problem with the way Willie handles young players, you’re either stupid or just plain ignorant.
The only reason Wright and Reyes are playing every day is a) because they came up BEFORE Willie got here and b) because they’re so good that Willie has absolutely no excuse not to play them.
Here are a few instances where Willie let his fat head get in the way of treating young players fairly:
- Mike Jacobs. The guy comes out of nowhere, and hits a three run homer in his first at-bat as a Met. You’d think that’d be enough to warrant at least another game with the team. But no. If Pedro Martinez hadn’t lobbied for this kid to get a chance, he would still be rotting in the minors right now. But instead he raised his value, and became a key player in the Delgado deal
- Lastings Milledge. How BAD was Shawn Green last year? I know Milledge had some attitude problems, but it was pretty clear that despite the better than average production we were getting from him, Willie wasn’t letting the guy anywhere near a starting job. And it had nothing to do with his playing ability. The only reason the Milledge trade was a good trade is because Willie wouldn’t have let him start this year anyway.
- Jose Valentin BOMBED last season. And Gotay filled in very nicely in the few instances he got a chance to play. The obvious thing to do would be to sit Valentin, let him heal from nagging injuries, and let Gotay get some at-bats. But no. Valentin had to hurt himself to the point where Willie had no other choice. And what did Gotay go on to do? Hit around 300 with some pop.
I could go on and on. I’m no Willie-hater, but it’s a well known fact that Willie is a moron and biased against younger players.
the way Willie is talking, it sounds like he’d rather have Alou around until he’s 50, and then maybe he’ll consider giving FMart a shot.
i get the feeling that Willie would have kept Miguel Cabrera in the minors until he could legally drink.
i wonder what willie was thinking (i use that term loosely) during the 04 world series when a 20 yr old kid was putting on an opposite field hitting clinic against his veteran yankee team.
this is brilliant. when the yankees are getting younger than the mets, you know there is a problem in 2008
I’m not making any assumptions or anything. Just an observation. But after looking at the picture in Delco’s article, is he really 19? Do we have actual proof of his age, or could he actully be a little older?
What, does he have Lebron James disease?
haha, try Greg Oden, dude looks like he is 40.
Dude is so ugly, I really want to know if he knows it too… Seeing as if he did a parody of himself in that ESPN The Magazine commercial…
Oh, and no homo.
why does everyone assume that if you aren’t born in the united states, you can somehow easily fudge your birthdate, like it dosen’t matter, like it happens all the time, and only in the united states is the system upheld well enough that we in fact know every single person born here is the age they say they are. Fernando actually does look young, so I have no idea what you’re talking about actually. Look at his body, he looks like a 19 year old who just started lifting weights.
Did you notice I said I wasnt making any assumptions? I actually thought that in that particular picture his face looks older. To be honest with you I haven’t even seen that many pictures of him, so I have no idea how old he actually looks. And I have no idea how easy or hard it is to fudge your age in any country, i just know that it happens. Again, it was just an observation. Relax.
no you weren’t making assumptions…
you were making assertions.
they should get him to the majors soon. once he hits 21 and starts drinking it all goes downhill. pretty soon he’ll be fat, in his mid-30s and divorced twice, reading internet blogs at work all day. i hate my life
sounds like one deppressed dude.
Go easy on him. He has gas.
Willie needs some Kumon.
I think Willie is being wise to NOT rush the kid. Yes, he has alot of potential, and has shown brilliance in the OF, and patience at the plate, which are things you want in any veteran player, let alone a 19 year old. But one of the last kids they tried to bring up to “give a shot” is now playing for the NATS. That experiment was only so-so for us, and I kinda wish we still had him right now bcuz he hasn’t even started to understand the game and is going to be solid.
Cool the jets, let him get a taste @ the right time, and send him back down. Fmart has skills and the organization recognizes that.
I believe Willie knows how good this kid is. I think he just doesnt want to hype him up too much. As good as he is, Fmart has ALOT of hype to live up to. Remember not too long ago the hype behind milledge and when he got to the majors how much his stock went down cause he couldnt live up to it. Im sure Fmart is going to be awsome but i would like for him to logg in some serious playing time in AAA before he gets up here. Remember NY is a “what have you done for me lately” town and to bring him in to that too young might do some harm, not to mention how BAD we are needing an OF with some pop after this alou experiment is over. We have alot of expectations for Fmart and willie i think is just dumbing down the hype to make and eaiser transition for him to the ML when he gets here.
fire willie
metzelaar isn’t funny or smart.
*for calling me a moron for giving a serious answer without sarcarm or personal attacks
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