Sent to 'pen, Martin encouraged by Doc
PHILADELPHIA -- If Phillies pitcher Ethan Martin's confidence has been rattled following seven rough starts in the big leagues, Roy Halladay offered some perspective this week.
He handed Martin one of his baseball cards, which showed his 10.64 ERA in 2000 with the Blue Jays. It is the highest ERA for any pitcher in baseball history with 50 or more innings in a single season.
"He wrote a little note on his card to Ethan, to remind this kid, that, you might be taking your lumps now, but there's a lot of good that's going to come down the road in the future if you continue to learn, continue to have the heart to go out there," said Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, who announced Friday that Martin will finish the season in the bullpen. "Ethan definitely has the heart and the mound presence."
Right-hander Tyler Cloyd will assume Martin's spot in the rotation the remainder of the year.
"It doesn't really click in until Halladay came over and said, 'Hey, do you know holds the record for highest ERA with over 50 innings pitched in the big leagues in a year?' I said, 'No', and he said, 'Well, I did,'" Martin said. "Then he came and handed me the card with a 10-point-something ERA and had it highlighted. When you look at that … I'm still upset with how I've done, but it makes you say, 'OK, there's still a chance I can still be that starter or whatever I have to do.' I'm just taking that in, and once I'm down there [in the bullpen], I'll come in for an inning or whatever they want me to do and give it all I have.
"I was really stunned. Dubee told me to go look at [Greg] Maddux and [Tom] Glavine, and it was the same kind of situation. It's crazy to think back and see what they did throughout their careers, and where Roy is now, and they had rough starts. I guess I learn from these last seven starts and just build off of it."
Martin went 2-4 with a 6.90 ERA in seven starts. It has been speculated Martin might end up in the bullpen because he has a big arm that could serve the Phillies well in the late innings.
Martin has been successful the first time through the lineup, but the longer he has pitched, the less effective he has been. Opponents have hit just .200 (11-for-55) the first time they see him. He has walked just six, but struck out 23. But after the first time through the lineup, opponents have hit .324 (22-for-68) with 15 walks and 11 strikeouts.
"I think he's a gem," Dubee said. "I think he really is going to be a gem in this league. Right now he's got a lot of innings. We're just trying to protect him from the workload and also see what he looks like in the bullpen.
"I'm not afraid to put him in the eighth inning right now. Again, this is all trial and error. It will be interesting to see how he handles it. His stuff has played phenomenally well the first time through a lineup. I don't know if it's because of fatigue. I don't know if it's because he burns up too much energy, but his stuff shortens up the second and third time through. He will play some big role on a pitching staff. It will be a nice little change to take a different look at him."