Martínez as closer echoes Cards' playoff past
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ATLANTA -- Working his way back from a right shoulder cuff strain this spring, Carlos Martínez was faced with a choice. Martínez, a starter most of the last four seasons, began his recovery by trying to strengthen his arm with the goal of throwing five innings at a time. Eventually, he realized that the quickest way back to the Cardinals was throwing one inning at a time.
On May 18, Martínez returned as a reliever. A little more than a month later, he had to take on a new role out of necessity. Jordan Hicks had Tommy John surgery on June 26, and the Cardinals immediately shifted Martínez into the closer role.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 3 | STL 7, ATL 6 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 4 | ATL 3, STL 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 6 | ATL 3, STL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 7 | STL 5, ATL 4 (10) | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | STL 13, ATL 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “I said I can pitch in whatever situation he needs. I don’t need to be the closer,” Martínez said through interpreter Carlos Villoria. “Any situation you put me in, I will be able to perform at a high level.”
Martínez will be at the back end of the Cardinals’ bullpen on Thursday as they begin their National League Division Series against the Braves at SunTrust Park. If his story feels familiar, it’s because St. Louis has been in this situation before: entering the month of baseball most often decided by bullpens with a different closer than the one who started the season.
Remember Adam Wainwright in 2006? Of course you do. He caught Carlos Beltran looking at that famous curveball in the NL Championship Series and recorded the last three outs in the World Series.
Remember Jason Motte in 2011? He started the year in middle relief and ended it on the mound in Game 7 of the World Series.
“My job was to go out there, get some outs and put up zeros. I worked my way into some more important innings later in the year,” Motte said in a phone interview. “I was having a pretty good year, then one day we were literally just sitting in the bullpen, the phone rang, and they were like, ‘Motte, you’ve got the ninth.’ I was like, ‘OK. All right. Sweet.’”
Throughout that season, then-manager Tony La Russa made a point of never officially naming Motte the closer. He was just the guy who happened to be pitching the ninth inning when the Cardinals were up by three runs or fewer -- all the way from late August through the end of October.
“It was kind of an ongoing joke. He wouldn’t say I was the closer until after we actually won the World Series,” Motte said. “We were going through the line, hugging everybody, and that’s when he finally dropped it. He’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re my closer now.’ Oh, sweet. A day later, he’s like, ‘I’m retiring.’ And I’m like, funny, real funny, Tony. That was very Tony-esque to do it that way.”
The transition was a little more formal for Martínez. After the Cardinals learned that Hicks was done for the season, Martínez said, manager Mike Shildt approached him and asked if he wanted to close. During the same press conference that Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Hicks’ diagnosis, he named Martínez the closer.
Martínez possessed the necessary experience and stuff to make it a smooth transition. The right-hander broke into the Majors in 2013 as a reliever, and he made 50 appearances out of the bullpen in ’14. He pitched in the postseason 16 times during those two years, with every outing coming as a reliever. He was an All-Star as a starter two of the following three seasons, averaging 31 starts and 193 innings per year.
“With the experience that I have throwing one inning, I think I can do it really well if it’s close or any other situation,” Martínez said. “I have experience in the playoffs and the regular season, so that helps me a lot, too.”
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Standing in front of his locker after the Cardinals’ pre-series workout on Wednesday afternoon, Martínez said several times that he treats any situation -- whether it’s the first inning or the ninth -- the same. Coincidentally or not, Motte cited that mentality earlier in the day when discussing his move to the ninth inning.
“I just kind of went out there and did the same thing I’d been doing all season: I’m going to try to get outs and put up zeros. It didn’t matter what inning it was or who it was,” Motte said. “I was just going to try to go out there and do my job. Lucky for us, we ended up winning the whole thing. It was definitely a cool experience.”
Martínez finished this year with a 3.17 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, 53 strikeouts and 24 saves in 48 appearances. In a season dominated by news of record-shattering home run totals, he allowed only two in 48 1/3 innings.
“Great competitor. Incredible stuff, obviously,” said Wainwright, who became one of the Majors’ most durable starters for years after his bullpen apprenticeship. “If you take a guy who’s a great competitor with good stuff and put him anywhere, he’s going to be OK. If you have stuff like Carlos has, you can put him in any role on the field.
“You could almost put the guy at shortstop, and he’d be fine. His stuff plays in any role or capacity, but his mental game when he crosses the line is pretty great.”
Martínez made it clear on Wednesday that he still wants to start next season, just like he did before and like Wainwright did the year after he closed out a World Series.
For now, though, his stuff and versatility have made him the most important arm in the Cardinals’ bullpen.
“He pitches to righties and lefties because he’s started. He recovers well, which allows him to go multiple days [in a row]. And he wants to pitch more than the one-inning deal,” Shildt said. “There are days where he’s defined to a one-inning situation, but he’s more than willing and has his head around pitching multiple innings. You don’t have to search for a matchup, look for the righties or lefties. Whatever makes sense, he’ll get in there and compete based on his previous starting experience.”